Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:35 am, the temperature is 48 degrees.

Today will be sunny with a high temperature in the upper 80’s dropping to the upper 50’s tonight. It will be breezy today with extremely low relative humidity. We are under a Red Flag Warning, which means critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or expected shortly.

Tomorrow will be warm and windy with a high in the low 80’s and a low in the upper 40’s overnight. Rain will move into the region Friday night and remain through Saturday night.

Little River is flowing at 159 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.92 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 266 cfs. The water temperature is 56.8 degrees.

Fishing for trout in the Smokies is very good. Stream flows are below normal. Water temperatures are within the trout’s preferred range at most elevations. Trout are taking dry flies, nymphs and wet flies.

Fishing will be best if you keep yourself concealed from the trout. Dress to blend with the forest. Trout will be hiding in the broken water or near cover. Concentrate your fishing on the shaded areas when the sun is high.

Fishing for stocked trout is good. Right now, trout are overpopulated in some rivers and they are hungry, due to the warmer water temperatures. Their metabolism is in high gear. Nymphs, squirmy worms, emergers, midge pupa or small streamers are good fly choices.

Fishing for smallmouth bass has improved in the lowland rivers now that the water is warmer. Nymphs and streamers will probably work best but you should also try foam floating flies or poppers.

Fishing for gamefish on the lakes is improving as the waters warm. It will be windy today. You may not want to go. If you do, go early or late when the sun is low or late in the day. I would launch at daybreak. Fish the shaded banks. Cast weighted streamers to the rocky banks or cover. Retrieve slow to keep your fly in deeper water as it swims back to your boat. Smallmouth bass will likely be active and in shallower water now. Largemouth bass may be active too.

TVA and the Corps are turning off their generators for long periods at most of their dams today. There are short periods of pulsing scheduled. Tailwater anglers have many options whether you are wading or boating. Refer to the TVA website from the links below to plan your tailwater fishing day.

Fishing is good and we are busy at the shop. Every returning fisherman I talked to yesterday did well.

We are seeing a lot of visitors in Townsend. Some are here for their Spring fly fishing trip to the Smokies. The annual Ford Bronco gathering has grown to become a large event. There are old Broncos buzzing around town. The Bamboo Bash, which is an annual gathering of anglers who are avid bamboo fly rod collectors are in town this week. There is also an organized group of Tenkara fishemen camping at Elkmont.

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

Byron Begley
April 20, 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