Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. Dogwoods are blooming. Mayflies are hatching. The mountains are coming alive.

We received some rain recently which helped water levels but streams are still flowing below normal. This morning the Little River is at 1.90 feet or 191 c.f.s. This is quite a bit lower than the daily normal of 377 c.f.s. The rivers are also very clear.

Water temperatures have been stable. This morning the Little River gauge reads 52.7F. I'm happy to see the streams have cooled some because we didn't need warm temperatures this early in the year.

For the last several weeks the Smokies has played host to myriads of visitors from all over. Spring break is finally tapering off and the Shop has been a little more quiet. Travis, with the Gatlinburg Hatchery, texted me the other day and said to warn people who wanted to take their kids to the Childrens Section in Gatlinburg that they needed to get there as early as possible. He said they would have 30+ kids fishing there most of the day. It didn't take long before the trout in the small section of water got so freaked out that they just stopped eating.

The weather forecast for the next week is going to be perfect for being outside. Highs will be warm, in the 80's some days and overnight lows are only going to be in the 60's. This kind of consistent weather should only help to make fishing in the mountains even better. There is a big variety of bugs hatching right now. March Browns have been hatching for a while and should be slacking off. Hendricksons and Cahills are next in line. It won't be long before we start seeing Yellow Sallies in the evenings. Now is the time to start tying them to get ready. Fishing a dry with a dropper is a good choice right now as the trout are as or more likely to eat a nymph still.

Subsurface, anglers are fishing a variety of flies. Your favorite euro style fly is always a good choice. More traditional nymphs like Hare's ears, Prince Nymphs and Tellicos are good choices to go with. Squirmy worms should be in your box also.

Take advantage of this beautiful Spring weather and get out on the river. Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.

Daniel Drake
April 9, 2026

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