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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:44 am, the temperature is 43.5 degrees.
It will be sunny today with a high temperature in the upper 60’s and a low tonight in the low to middle 40’s. Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer with a high in the middle 70’s, dropping to the low 50’s tomorrow night. A chance for showers returns Friday, lasting through the weekend.
Little River is flowing at 228 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.08 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 272 cfs. The water temperature is 54.7 degrees and falling.
Showers early yesterday caused most streams in the mountains to rise slightly and briefly. Water levels are still at about normal or lower than normal this morning. Water temperatures are good in the lower elevations but the stream temperatures are falling.
You might do best fishing in the low elevations early today where the water is warmer. Nymphs will work for sure. Dry flies might produce for you later today after the water has warmed some.
Lowland river fishing for stocked trout remains good. Nymphs and other sub-surface flies will catch trout. Fishing in these rivers further downstream for smallmouth bass will be best later today after the water warms. Nymphs, streamers and crayfish patterns will likely interest the smallies. You might try foam floating flies or poppers to see what happens.
The lakes are warming. Depending on which lake you are fishing, game fish may be found in shallow water, reachable by flies. If they are not there yet, they will be soon. My favorite lake species is the smallmouth bass. I usually find them on the rocky banks this time of the year. Streamers and swimming nymphs are good fly choices. Of course, my best Spring smallmouth fly is a large weighted black Wooly Bugger. If you read this fishing report, you probably know that. By large I mean, size 2/0.
There will be long periods of paused generation at many dams in the region today offering tailwater fishing opportunities for wade and boat fishing. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what is going on at your favorite tailwater.
Sadly, a fire burned the Ocoee Whitewater Center, located on the river in Polk County early yesterday. The center was built to serve as a whitewater venue for the 1996 Olympic games. It has since become a tourist and events destination. You can read more on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.
Paula and I saw some Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks on our bird feeders late yesterday. Neither of us have ever seen one though the Southern Appalachians are in their range. They are beautiful.
Something else that has never happened before, occurred yesterday at the feeders. A wild turkey hen flew up and landed on a hanging platform feeder, spilling seeds to the ground. She then flew back to the ground and enjoyed the feast.
We watch turkeys wander around the feeders all day, every day, hoping to find seeds dropped by other birds. It seems like a tough way for them to make a living, but they keep coming back. The hen learned something yesterday that will benefit her and the others in the flock, including a big old tom. I bet we see more of that activity in the future.
New to our fly tying department is Semperfli Dirty Bug Yarn. This yarn is made from mixtures of natural and synthetic materials, that allow fly tyers to create lifelike dubbed bodies, easily. This yarn comes in 22 colors. The yarn is made by wrapping two strands, which can be parted for smaller flies or used off the spool for larger bugs.
I ordered a few colors several weeks ago to see if customers were interested. They were. I brought in the remaining colors last week. You can see the whole selection by CLICKING HERE.
Semperfli says the yarn can be used for dry fly bodies too.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
April 27, 2022
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
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