Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:42 am, the temperature is 45 degrees.

Today will be sunny and warm with a high temperature in the low to middle 80’s, falling to the middle 50’s tonight. Winds will be calm.

Thursday will be sunny and warmer. The high will be in the middle to upper 80’s with a low in the upper 50’s overnight.

Friday will be mostly sunny and breezy, with a high in the low 80’s and a low around 50 degrees. Rain will move in Friday night and remain through Saturday.

Little River is flowing at 167 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.95 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 272 cfs. The water temperature is 54.5 degrees this morning.

Streams in the Smokies are flowing lower than normal for this date. Water temperatures are well within the trout’s preferred range in the low to middle elevations. The temperatures are falling but they will bottom out and begin to warm by mid-morning. Yesterday, the water temperature in Little River began rising at 10:30 am. The river is warmer this morning than it was yesterday morning.

Fishing conditions are good in all but the highest elevations where the water is colder. Trout will be actively feeding today, taking nymphs, dry flies and wet flies. Fish in the lower elevations where the water is warmer. Take care not to be seen by the trout. Concentrate on the shaded areas of broken water when the sun is high and get a good drift.

Fly fishing for stocked trout in the low elevations will be good today. Nymphs, squirmy worms and small streamers are good fly choices. If you are not doing well, downsize your tippet and flies.

Fly fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers is improving as the water warms. Nymphs and streamers will likely work best though you may want to try foam floating flies and poppers to see what happens.

This will be a good lake fishing day, especially early or late. Winds are predicted to be calm. Cast to the rocky banks with weighted streamers. Retrieve slowly to allow your fly to sink deep as it moves into deeper water. The lakes will warm further today and through Friday, improving fishing for bass and other gamefish.

Tailwater anglers have a lot of choices today whether you are wading or boating. There are long pauses planned with intermittent pulsing at every dam I checked this morning. Check the TVA website from the links below to plan your day.

Overall, fishing is very good. The weather is cooperating as well, until Saturday.

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

Byron Begley
April 19, 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