January isn’t quite over yet and we’ve already nearly doubled the average rainfall for the month here in East Tennessee. The Smokies have seen an alternate of wet days, then sunny days with snow along the crest of the mountains.
The typical look at Thunderhead Mountain from Townsend when it’s sunny
Streams continue to see-saw between sort of high and really high. Fortunately this week has seen fishable conditions, but the short, gloomy days are starting to get to us. There have been days we had set aside to go fishing when conditions weren’t very good so we took a long hike up a stream instead. Just getting outside along the water with the sun on our face did us a lot of good!
The tailwater scene continues to be pretty miserable in our neighborhood as the Clinch and Holston Rivers continue to run pretty high. A dry spell would get things back in order, so we keep watching the weather along with the “inflows” column on the TVA Lake Information app. The South Holston has some good schedules for wade fishing right now so we can hope the Clinch comes along soon.
Shoot for sunny days in the Smokies if you can, but in all honesty cloudy days might do just as well. It seems here lately that sunny days are melting snow so ironically sunny days are having lower water temperatures. If you have the time we recommend you just get outside and get on the water! Don’t fret about water temperature too much because you can talk yourself out of going. Just get to the water and tie on a nymph or two and get them wet. The sooner the better!
A quick reminder about some road closures in the Smokies that may affect your fishing plans… Laurel Creek road, the only entrance into Cades Cove is closed thru February due to long overdue maintenance on the Bote Mountain Tunnel. Also, road work has started on Cove Creek Road into Cataloochee Valley. Mount Sterling Road is also closed so there is no access into Cataloochee until some time in May. There have been serious erosion issues on the narrow road threatening a landslide and the issue is being addressed.