Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:44 am, the temperature is 59 degrees.
About an hour ago, all heck broke loose. High winds, thunder and heavy rain moved into Townsend and the Smokies. We have had almost an inch of rain at one private weather station in town during the past hour. A weather station near our home reports about one half of an inch has fallen so far.
Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg to Cherokee is temporarily closed due to the high wind warning.
These storms should be gone by about 9 am. Then, it will be mostly cloudy later this morning before clearing later today with a high temperature in the middle 70’s. It may be breezy later today. Tonight will be clear with a low in the upper 40’s.
Tomorrow will be sunny with a high in the middle 70’s and a low around 50 degrees.
Little River is flowing at 260 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.24 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 351 cfs. The river is rising quickly. The water temperature is 56.8 degrees.
Streams on the west side of the Smokies are rising. So far, there is no change on the east side of the Park. It is too early to predict how high the streams will rise today. Some streams may be temporarily stained. Check the USGS gauges before you go today. I will check again before loading this report on our server.
Fishing in the Smokies has been good. Customers I talked to yesterday reported catching trout, with some being caught on dry flies. Water temperatures in the low to middle elevations are well within the trout’s preferred range. The fish are actively feeding. Many species of aquatic insects are active.
Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevation rivers has been very good. Fishing will be good today if the streams are not blown out.
My best guess is, lowland rivers in our area will be stained this morning. Some rivers may be flowing high. Little Pigeon River at the Sevierville Gauge is rising quickly. Little River at the Maryville gauge is rising, but not as fast as Little Pigeon River. Oconaluftee River at Birdtown is starting to rise.
We will know what to expect later this morning.
There will be pauses in the generation at most dams today, offering tailwater anglers some options. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what tailwater fishing opportunities are available for you.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
March 25, 2023
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Parking Tags are now required to park your vehicle inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 15 minutes. Tags may be purchased at Visitors Centers, including the center in Townsend. Or, they may be purchased online. You can buy a daily, weekly or annual tag. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
|
