Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:40 am, the temperature is 61 degrees.
We are in for another beautiful day in the Great Smoky Mountains. Today will be sunny with a high temperature in the upper 60’s and a low tonight in the middle 30’s. Tomorrow will be sunny and cooler with a high in the upper 50’s and a low in the low 40’s overnight. Rain will return Thursday and Friday.
Little River is flowing at 568 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.76 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 389 cfs. The water temperature is 52 degrees at the low elevation USGS gauge in Townsend.
Though the streams in the mountains are slowly receding, most are flowing higher than normal. Some rivers and streams are flowing higher than anglers prefer. We still have plenty of water. Water temperatures are good in the low elevations, within the trout’s preferred range. Trout will be actively feeding today.
I would start with weighted nymph rigs, but be prepared to switch to dry flies and emergers. You will likely see aquatic insect activity with trout feeding on the surface. Quill gordon and blue quill mayflies may be present, along with caddis and stoneflies.
Fish in the low elevations where the water is warmer.
Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevations will be good today. Nymphs and other subsurface flies will work. Small streamers are a good choice or at least something to try. You may do well using dry flies or emergers. Don’t rule out midge pupa patterns either.
Fishing for smallmouth bass in the low elevations should improve as the rivers warm. Streamers and nymphs will probably work best. Currents may be swift in some rivers and wading will be limited.
TVA and the Corps are pouring a lot of water through every dam I checked this morning. They are either generating heavily, sluicing or both. This is their attempt to lower the lake levels to create more water storage capacity.
Spring came early this year and except for high water at times, we have enjoyed good fishing for trout in the free flowing rivers. Winter is over, right? Well, not exactly.
We will probably have one more cold front moving in next week. Temperatures will dip to the freezing mark or colder Monday March 13th through Wednesday. It may snow in the mountains. We’ll see what happens.
Have a great day and thank you for being here with us.
Byron Begley
March 7, 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
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