Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:44 am, the temperature is 54 degrees.

Today will be mostly cloudy with a high temperature in the low 70’s and a slight chance for rain. Showers are likely tonight. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch are possible.

Showers are likely tomorrow morning with a high in the middle 60’s. We may get another quarter to a half inch of rain.

Little River is flowing at 107 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.71 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 209 cfs. The water temperature is 60.3 degrees.

Streams in the mountains are flowing lower than normal with some flowing quite a bit lower. That may change by tomorrow. Water temperatures are good for trout feeding activity at all elevations.

Trout are taking dry flies, nymphs and wet flies. It will be overcast today which is beneficial to fishing. Dress to blend with the forest to help conceal you from the trout. Fish the choppy broken water in riffles, runs and plunge pools. A dry fly with a nymph or Green Weenie dropper is a good choice today. Or, use weighted nymph rigs to fish in the deeper runs and plunge pools.

Fishing for stocked trout is good. This is a holiday weekend so you will likely encounter swimmers and tubers in these rivers. Sub-surface flies will probably work best for you. Try small nymphs, squirmy worms or midge pupa. Go early or late when there are less people on or in the water.

Fishing for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish is good, though some of the lowland rivers are flowing low. Fish the deeper pools with nymphs, streamers, crayfish patterns, hellgrammite imitations, foam floating flies or poppers.

Cloudy days are good lake fishing days. Go early. Launch at daybreak. There will likely be many recreation boaters on the water due to the holiday weekend. Cast to the banks and cover with streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers. Seek out coves where there may be less boat traffic later today.

There are long periods of no generation with intermittent pulsing planned at many dams today. There are also a few dams that will be generating for long periods later today. With careful planning, there are many tailwater fishing options. Check the TVA website from the links below to plan your day.

If we get the maximum expected rain tonight and tomorrow morning, some rivers may be flowing high tomorrow. We’ll have to wait to see what happens.

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

Byron Begley
May 27, 2023

NOTICE: We are holding a Beginner Fly Tying Class all day on Saturday June 17th. Right now, we have one opening. The cost for the day is $100, which includes the use of tools, materials and lunch. The class will be taught by Brian Courtney. Brian has been teaching our fly tying classes with Walter Babb for many years. This is a great opportunity for you to begin this incredible hobby. You will learn to tie 5 different trout patterns. This class will get you started. Call the shop at 865-448-9459 to book your spot in this class.

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