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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. The sun is shining this morning here at the Shop. Today is going to be another beautiful early Spring day!

We are going to see some warm weather this afternoon and tomorrow. There is a little rain in the forecast for Saturday and early Sunday but it shouldn't be enough to mess the fishing up.

Water levels in the Smokies are very good. This morning the flow on Little River is 2.00 feet or 205 c.f.s. The normal flow for this date is 325 c.f.s. The streams are flowing clear.

Water levels dropped again overnight. This morning the Little River is at 48.5 F. Water temperatures will warm throughout the day.

Fishing has been slow first thing in the mornings due to the overnight drop in water temperatures. If you head out early nymphs are going to be your best bet. Prince Nymphs, Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ears and Tellico Nymphs are good bets. Keep adding split shot till you get to the bottom.

Look for some scattered hatches as you get to the afternoon. The Quill Gordons and Blue Quills should be getting sparse but they are being replaced by lighter colored mayflies like Hendricksons and March Browns. The hatches have started so they will keep changing every several weeks.

Have a variety of dries with you out on the river. You can have some general patterns like Parachute Adams and Thunderheads. Hendricksons are starting up. March Browns are also good patterns to have in the box.

Using a dry/dropper rig this time of year is a good approach as it covers the spread of top water and subsurface. Smaller nymphs and even wet flies make good droppers.

John Chambers told me that he and Larry Rogers managed to get out on the Clinch the other day for a float. They did well fishing nymphs DEEP under a strike indicator. There is still a lot of flow and you can only fish it from a boat but atleast flows are starting to improve.

Fly Tyers Weekend is only seven months away. That seems like such a long time but before I know it it will be next week. Last year I was lamenting that it was only a week away and I wish I had another week to get ready. Bill Bolinger, in his wisdom, told me, "You had an extra week last week."

This afternoon Byron and I are going up to Tremont Lodge to meet with them about Fly Tyers Weekend. This year's event is going to be held there at the Lodge. It is going to have some major advantages. Not the least of them is going to be a weather-proof location. There won't be any stress about rain, or cold, or heat. We won't have to worry about wind blowing away a tent. Less stress is always a good thing. Stay tuned to the website and email for updates! FlyTyersWeekend.com

Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.

Daniel Drake
March 28, 2019

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com

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