Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:44 am, the temperature is 41 degrees.

It will be sunny and breezy today with a high temperature in the middle 60’s and a low tonight in the low 40’s.

Tomorrow will be breezy and warmer with a high in the middle 70’s, dropping to the low 50’s overnight.

Little River is flowing at 202 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.07 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 282 cfs. The water temperature is 55.4 degrees this morning.

Some streams rose yesterday due to the light rain that fell mostly on the west side of the Smokies. We got .34 inches of rain in Townsend. The streams have receded to normal or below normal.

Water temperatures are falling this morning. Right now, the water temperatures in the Smokies are withing the trout’s preferred range in the low to middle elevations.

Trout are taking dry flies, wet flies and nymphs. Fishing conditions will be good today with the exception of bright sun and possible windy conditions. Wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour are possible. Given a choice, wait a while before going to give the streams time to warm. Fish in the lower elevations where the water is warmer.

Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevation rivers is good. Try nymphs, squirmy worms, small streamers or midge pupa.

Fly fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers may be fair today, depending on how far the water temperatures fall this morning. Fishing should be best later today when the water is warmer. Fishing for smallies will improve considerably over the next few days. The coming warm front will bring temperatures in the 80’s beginning Wednesday and lasting through Friday. Try streamers or nymphs first. You may want to try foam floating flies or poppers after the water warms.

This will not be an ideal lake fishing day. The sun will be bright and it is predicted to be windy. Go early or late. Cast weighted streamers to the rocky banks or cover. Retrieve slowly to allow your fly to sink as it moves into deeper water.

Tailwater anglers have many choices today. There are long pauses with intermittent pulsing planned a most dams with some exceptions. You will be able to take advantage of several predicted flows whether you are wading or boating. View the generation schedules at every dam on the TVA website from the links below to plan your tailwater fishing day.

I’m going to spend the day ordering fly tying materials. The fly tying department is having another good year so far. Our suppliers are still running short on some items. I try to overcome that by ordering weekly.

Firehole has been out of many hooks and beads for months. They have ramped up production and I hope to see more availability today. Their dealers have the ability to view their inventory online. Our inventory system prints out a order. Then, I go through and check each item on the Firehole site to see if it is available and click “buy”. I do the same thing with Umpqua.

Most fly tying distributors do not have that capability. When I place an order with them, I do not know what is coming until I get the invoice by email when the order is shipped. We have a Whiting Farms order on the way. I’m hoping for the best.

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

Byron Begley
April 17, 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