Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:46 am, the temperature is 37 degrees.

This is going to be a beautiful week at least until Friday. Today will be sunny with a high temperature around 70 degrees, dropping to the low 40’s overnight.

Tomorrow will be sunny with a high in the low 70’s and a low in the low 40’s.

Wednesday and Thursday will be sunny and warm. Rain returns to the forecast Friday.

Little River is flowing at 260  cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.24 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 351 cfs. The water temperature is 52 degrees and falling this morning.

Some streams in the mountains are flowing higher than normal while others are flowing lower. Water temperatures are falling.

If you go fishing in the mountains today, you may find chilly water early. Wait a while before going to give the streams time to bottom out and warm. Fish in the lower elevations where the water is warmer. Right now, the water temperature at Cataloochee Creek is 46.4 degrees and falling. Look for water temperatures in the 50 degrees plus range.

Nymphs, wet flies and dry flies will produce for you.

Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevations will be good today. You may want to wait a while before going. Nymphs, egg patterns, squirmy worms, caddis emergers, streamers or midge pupa are good fly choices.

Fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers may be slow to fair. Go late today when the water is warmer. Nymphs and streamers are good fly choices.

If you go lake fishing, I would cast weighted streamers to the rocky banks and retrieve slow, allowing your fly to sink deep. My usual streamer fly choice in the early Spring is a large weighted black Wooly Bugger.

There are breaks in the generation planned today at many TVA and Corps dams. Some pauses will be in the morning hours, with many planned this afternoon. If you are hoping to fish on a tailwater, you have many options with careful planning whether you are wading or boating. Check the TVA website from the links below.

Paula and I heard two hounds around our house Saturday evening, hot on the trail of an animal. We stepped outside to watch. A large bear ran from the trees nearby and across our driveway. Though the hounds were in pursuit, they lost the scent of the bear. These were not bear hounds. One was a beagle and the other a larger hound, maybe a blue tick. Most bear hunters I know who live around here use plot hounds for hunting bear. It is not bear hunting season. I think the hounds were pets, that were not trained for bear hunting.

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

Byron Begley
April 10, 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