Every year is different from every other, but this winter has certainly been a cold snowy one in the Smoky Mountains. There has been snow on the ground most of the time with very few days without. This winter has been dryer than the previous two when we had multiple high water events. However, water temperatures have been much colder than we’ve seen the past couple of winters.
Most days water here in Townsend is between 38 and 41 degrees. We’ve seen a few days where the water spiked up to the high 40’s, but those times have been relatively brief and have tended to coincide with rains that brought water levels up significantly as well. In short this all means that while there have been some windows for fishing, most days have been very slow.
We just experienced a typical East Tennessee snow event. Knoxville saw some snow but very little accumulated. As you moved toward Townsend and Gatlinburg there were definite accumulations depending on where you were. However, the tops of the mountains received 8″-11″. That’s a tremendous gradient considering Townsend and Gatlinburg are a few scant miles from the highest peaks.
The long range forecast is calling for the coldest weather of the winter with temperatures hovering in the 30’s in Knoxville, so you can be sure highs in the mountains likely won’t even reach 30 while overnights will be in the single digits. All this means that water temperatures will be about as cold as we see, so we’re not expecting any red hot fishing for at least a couple of weeks.
We usually start to see some acceptable conditions by some time in February and the real spring fishing will kick off some time in March. That might be early March or mid-March, but seldom holds out until late March. Keep your wits and stay patient. The good stuff is just around the corner.
Jim W says
See you in the Spring!