Yesterday I took Tim Wilson out on Little River for the afternoon. It was a sunny, yet brisk day. The gauge on Little River said the water was 60 degrees just upstream of Townsend, but I was skeptical. Yes, it has been quite warm, but the river is usually about that temperature around Memorial Day and the weather hasn’t been that warm.
Water conditions are little on the high side, but the streams are quite fishable. I had Tim rigged with a Prince Nymph and Beadhead Pheasant Tail. That rig drew a decent number of strikes but Tim had a tough time getting the fish on the hook. He eventually brought three rainbows to hand and even nicked one nice fish we found rising at the tail of a big pool.
We both noted that the water had to be no warmer than 50 degrees if it was even that warm. Our legs were numb from standing about thigh deep in one run of water for about 15 minutes. Any time you get that cold in waders you can be sure that the water is nowhere near 60 degrees.