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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:43 am, the temperature outside is 67.6 degrees.
I woke at 3 am to the sound of rain. We have had 1.10 inches of rain during the past 24 hours near our house. The rain appears to be over now, until later today.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely, mainly after 4 pm today. The high temperature is predicted to be 81 degrees. Thunderstorms are also likely tomorrow through at least Thursday.
Little River is flowing at 549 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.73 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 205 cfs. The water temperature is 64 degrees this morning.
Other streams in the Smoky Mountains are flowing fairly high this morning, including Little Pigeon, Oconaluftee and Cataloochee. Tellico River is also flowing high. Right now, all are still rising except Cataloochee Creek.
It is hard to say early this morning, what fishing will be like in the Smokies today. Some streams are probably fishable and other may not be. Some streams may be stained. I think they will peak and begin to recede this morning. They may recede slowly, because the ground is saturated.
Little River, which is flowing at 2.73 feet is fishable, but care should be taken wading. We do not take beginner fly fishing students on the water when the gauge is at 2.5 feet or above. Some anglers do not like fishing when the river is at this level. Others prefer flows like we have now.
With more rain expected this afternoon and tonight, some streams may be flowing high tomorrow, Memorial Day. We will have to wait and see what happens.
I am calling the fishing “Fair”. I don’t know if the streams are stained. I don’t think they are. But, some or all could be. Fair means there is a fair chance fishing will be good. Or, there is a fair chance it won’t. This is a tough call right now. The best way to find out is go.
You might do best with nymphs. Try a Bead Head Pheasant Tail or one of the Weenie patterns, Pink or Green. If the water is swift, stand near the bank and “High Stick” larger nymphs that are weighted heavily. Hatches may also occur when the water is flowing high. Be prepared to switch to a dry fly if you see bugs on the water, or you just want to fish with dries. Try a Yellow Stimulator, Rob’s Hellbender, Yellow Neversink Caddis or a Parachute Light Cahill. Foam beetles might work too.
Wherever you go, be careful wading.
Check the TVA website flows on the tailwaters using the links below. You may find a workable generation schedule on your favorite river. Fishing is good in the tailwaters for trout and smallmouth bass.
The lakes are fishing well for smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, shellcrackers and other species. I would not go today or tomorrow. The lakes will likely be very crowded.
Subtropical storm Alberto will make landfall in the Gulf late tomorrow or Tuesday morning. The Gulf States are preparing for heavy rain, strong wind and a high storm surge. The latest estimate is, the storm will move north through Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky then north from there. The worst weather may miss us in East Tennessee, but we will get more rain associated with the storm.
The outlook for fishing here next week does not look good. Maybe that will change before mid-week.
The Southeast and Northeast United States is currently drought free. Check the US Drought Monitor by CLICKING HERE. There is an awful drought going on in parts of the Southwest.
Well, I hope you find good fishing today and tomorrow. There is a fair chance you will.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
May 27, 2018
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com |