If you do not see today’s Fishing Report, please refresh your browser to empty your cache.
Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:54 am, the temperature is 25.0 degrees.
We will enjoy sunny skies and warmer temperatures today through Thursday. The high temperature today will be in the upper 50’s rising to the low to high 60’s through Saturday. Rain will return Friday night and Saturday.
Little River is flowing at 209 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.04 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 263 cfs. The water temperature is 44.6 degrees and falling this morning.
Most streams in the mountains are flowing at or a little below normal. Water temperatures are chilly. Fishing will improve every day this week as the streams warm. Weighted nymph rigs will probably work best. I would wait a while before going today, after the water temperatures bottom out and begin to rise.
Smallmouth bass fishing in the lowland rivers will be slow today. Fishing for stocked trout in these rivers will be better and improve as the week progresses. The trout can be caught on nymphs, egg patterns and Squirmy Worms.
Check the TVA website and you will find some tailwater fishing windows of opportunity today. You will need to plan around the generation schedules, whether you are wading or boating. Most of the generation breaks will occur later this morning or this afternoon.
Monday is my day off every week and I am looking forward to this one. I will go to the shop early and do some things, like I do every Monday. Then, I’m coming home to take a nap.
We had a great time last night visiting some of our best friends Jim and Pat, for dinner. We met them in the early 90’s, when the Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited was formed. Jim is a charter member, one of 14 people, me being included.
We had a dream back then, to assist the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s fisheries department move through decades of plans to reintroduce brook trout to their native range. The goal was to eventually open fishing for brook trout.
The mission was accomplished thanks to the hard work and tenacity of our large enthusiastic membership and the vision of the fisheries team in the Park. This work required money and lots of it. The money was raised and leveraged with grants to accomplish the goal.
Looking back to those days, it is hard to imagine the brook trout streams were closed to fishing. Over time, more than 30 miles of native brook trout streams were re-opened to fishing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We enjoy that now.
I remember one day long ago, Paula and I were fishing in a tributary to Lynn Camp Prong. We were not sure exactly where we were, but we were catching brookies hand over fist. Those were the dumbest trout I had ever fished for. They were gulping our flies on almost every cast.
I told Steve Moore about our wonderful fishing day. Steve ran the Fisheries Department in the Park and is now retired. After describing where I thought we were, he said, “You were fishing in a closed stream”. I told Steve, “I’m glad we didn’t get caught”. I also recommended that there should be more signs posted in the area, my unsucessful attempt to shift the blame back to him.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
December 13, 2021
WALTER BABB MADE BAMBOO FLY RODS FOR SALE DIRECTLY FROM WALTER – CLICK HERE
Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com
|
