Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:45 am, the temperature is 36 degrees.

It is cold this morning but temperatures will be rising soon. Today will be sunny with a high in the upper 70’s dropping to around 50 degrees tonight. It will be breezy today. Humidity will be extremely low.

Tomorrow will be sunny with a high in the low 80’s, falling to the low 50’s overnight. Winds will be calm. Thursday will be warm with a high in the low 80’s and a low in the upper 50’s overnight.

Little River is flowing at 173 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.97 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 274 cfs. The water temperature is 52.5 degrees and falling.

Most streams in the Smokies are flowing lower than normal. Some are flowing right at normal. Little River is flowing quite a bit lower than normal but at a good fishing level.

Water temperatures are chilly this morning and falling. That will change today at some point and temperatures will rise each day this week.

Like yesterday, the streams will be cold early, then warm later today. If you go fishing in the mountains today, fishing will be best later when the water is warmer. Fish in the low elevations where the water will be warmer. Trout should be taking dry flies, wet flies and nymphs. I talked to some anglers yesterday who fished early and reported slow fishing. It was also windy yesterday.

Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevation rivers will be good today, especially later. Nymphs and squirmy worms are good fly choices. If trout are not responding, downsize your tippet and flies. You may want to try midge pupa.

I think smallmouth bass fishing in the lowland rivers will be slow or possibly fair today. Go later when the water is warmer. Nymphs and streamers will probably work best for you today. Fishing for smallies in these rivers will improve later this week when the water is warmer.

Fishing on the lakes is fair. Doug sent me an email yesterday reporting on his recent lake fishing day. He told me the bass were in deeper water on that day. The lake he was fishing could be colder than others. If you go today, cast weighted streamers to the rocky banks and let them sink deep by retrieving slowly. Extra weight may help too. Instead of pinching split shot onto your leader which weakens your tippet at that point, try sliding a tungsten bead onto your tippet before tying on your fly. Smallmouth bass and other gamefish will move into shallower water when the lakes warm further. They may be there now on some lakes.

Tailwater anglers are taking advantage of the long pauses and intermittent pulses at most dams. The same will occur today. You should not have a problem finding a good tailwater generation schedule to fish today.

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

Byron Begley
April 18, 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