Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:41 am, the temperature is 58 degrees.

Rain began falling at midnight. So far, personal weather stations in the Townsend area are reporting rainfall amounts around 1.5 inches and it is still raining.

The rain will continue today, tonight and tomorrow. Today’s high temperature will be in the upper 60’s with a low tonight in the middle 50’s. Localized flooding is possible. Our County (Blount) and Sevier County are under a flash flood warning. Tomorrow will be warmer with a high in the low to middle 70’s, falling to the low 40’s overnight. It will be windy. The weekend will be sunny and cooler.

Little River is flowing at 695 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.63 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 351 cfs. The river is rising quickly. The water temperature is 55.2 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 5.72 feet or 5,110 cfs compared to median flow of 660 cfs. The river is rising fast.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 3.08 feet or 1,500 cfs, which compares to median flow of 632 cfs. The river is stained and rising quickly.

Tellico River is flowing at 1.87 feet or 426 cfs compared to median flow of 329 cfs. The river is rising.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 4.02 feet or 658 cfs, compared to median flow of 138 cfs. The creek is rising fast.

Davidson River is flowing at 1.17 feet or 141 cfs, compared to median flow of 132 cfs. The river is rising but not as quickly as some other streams in the mountains.

I don’t think there is any doubt that many streams in the Smokies will be blown out today. Most streams are likely stained. It is possible some streams in western North Carolina have so far not been affected by heavy rain.

Due to high water, fishing for stocked trout in many low elevation rivers will be slow today.

Tailwater fishing anglers do not have many options today. TVA and the Corps will be generating or sluicing at most of their dams all day. There are a couple of exceptions I noticed. Check the schedules at South Holston and Chatuge dams.

Saturday will be our last Free Fly Tying Demonstration for the Winter season. Our featured fly tyers are Walter Babb and Ray Ball. They will be demonstrating their tying skills and entertaining you from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm at the shop.

You should try to attend this event. Walter and Ray are both local fly fishing legends, having spent most of their life fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains. Believe me, they will have some stories to tell. You will enjoy your time with Walter and Ray. They will be demonstrating at different locations in the store.

You do not need a reservation. Just show up at the shop.

Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.

Byron Begley
March 2, 2023

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Parking Tags are now required to park your vehicle inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 15 minutes. Tags may be purchased at Visitors Centers, including the center in Townsend. Or, they may be purchased online. You can buy a daily, weekly or annual tag. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com