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Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:38 am, the temperature outside is a 30.3 degrees.

Snow fell yesterday. I think we got about an inch or more here at our house. It was beautiful. The snow clung to the trees but melted on the roads. I don’t know what the current road conditions are in the valley.

Many roads are closed in the Park due to snow and ice. They include: Little River Road, Cades Cove Loop Road, Cherokee Orchard Road and Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road).

Other roads may be closed. You can read the GSMNP Road Twitter page by CLICKING HERE, to obtain up to date road closings and openings.

We may see snow flurries now, until 7 am, and possibly until 9 am. After that, today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature around 40 degrees. We may see some snow flurries tonight. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 40 degrees.

Little River is flowing at 159 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.90 feet on the flow gauge. Median flow for this date is 233 cfs. The water temperature is 39.7 degrees this morning.

Fly fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains will be slow today due to cold water conditions. Another issue is closed roads in the Park. Some roads may open today, but the water will remain cold, through the weekend.

If you go, plan on using nymphs, heavily weighted and tickling the bottom of the stream. You may see some active post spawn brown trout. They are hungry. They may be feeding. But, for the most part, the trout will be sluggish.

If Cades Cove opens, you might try Abrams Creek, near the Falls trailhead. The water will be warmer there, due to the influx of springs.

It may be windy today and tonight. 20 mph gusts are possible this afternoon. 10 to 15 mph wind is likely this afternoon. It will feel colder thanks to the wind.

This really is not a good day to be fishing in the Smoky Mountains.

As far as I know right now, our beginner fly tying class will be held today at 9 am. I don’t know at this point what the road conditions are. You may want to call the shop this morning if you are a student, to find out if the class is still being held. Call 865-448-9459.

If you are a student, and the class is called off, the guys at the shop will call you. They may have already. There are 3 openings in the class. You might be able to squeeze in at the last minute by calling the shop.

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

Byron Begley
December 9, 2017

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com