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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. A beautifully cool spring day is upon us. The highs today are only going to be in the low 70's. Hopefully you haven't packed your waders away yet.

The weather forecast is dry and sunny for the next week. Temperatures will warm but there is no rain. Dry weather will help water levels recover.

Water levels are still high. Too high to fish for most of us. The gauge on Little River is reading 3.31 feet or 965 c.f.s. The daily normal is 221 c.f.s. Water clarity should be better now.

We have had colder nights which have caused water temperatures to drop. This morning the Little River is down to about 55F. There has been a downward trend in the water temp over the last few days. Cooling water can cause the trout fishing to slow.

High water and cooler water is going to make fishing in the Smokies tough today. Nymphs sunk deep are going to be your best bet. Water levels above 3 feet can make some streams unfishable. You will need to be careful and stay out of the water as much as possible. Some of the smaller creeks like West Prong of Little River, Anthony Creek, Forge Creek, and Lynn Camp Prong might be workable. Just be careful and smart about where you go.

Tailwater fishing is out today. The Clinch, Holston and South Holston are all generating.

The mountains will be fishable soon. Water temps will be warming all week and we will be able to pull out the dry fly box again. Hatches are light in color. Yellow Sallies have begun. The best time to find this hatch is the last few hours of the day. Good patterns are Neversink Caddis, Yellow Stimulators, Rob's Hellbenders, Doculators, and other yellow sally patterns. The sizes are #14 - #16.

Other good dry patterns are Smoky Mountain Candy, Light Cahill, Yellow Parachute Adams etc.

If you try fishing today I would suggest nymphs. Fish them deep with plenty of split shot. Double Tungsten Stonefly, Prince Nymphs, Pheasant tails etc. Whichever pattern you decide on keep adding weight till you are deep enough. Be careful of the high water.

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

Daniel Drake
May 14, 2019

Respond to: info@littleriveroutfitters.com

Orvis is doing their Rod Swap promotion again this year. The idea is very simple. Just bring us a functional fly rod and you receive 20% off the regular price of an Orvis Helios3, Recon or Superfine series rod. The rod you bring needs to be in usable condition as it will be donated to a non-profit fishing organization.

The online store won't give you credit for this so if you want to do this via the mail please give us a call and we'll get it all set for you. The promotion begins today and runs all the way till Father's Day. If you want a great rod at a great price this is the perfect opportunity.