Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:42 am, the temperature is 61 degrees.

It will be partly sunny today with a high temperature in the low 80’s and a 40% chance for thunderstorms this afternoon.

Tomorrow will be sunny with a high in the middle 80’s.

There is a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms Wednesday through Thursday.

Little River is flowing at 76.3 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.56 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 166 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date was 56 cfs in 1988. The water temperature is 65.1 degrees this morning at the low elevation USGS gauge site near Townsend.

Some streams in the mountains were affected by scattered thunderstorms yesterday. Tellico River is flowing near normal and receding. Oconaluftee River is flowing below normal but higher than yesterday morning. Cataloochee Creek rose quickly yesterday, higher than normal, but it has receded to below normal now. Other steams did rise slightly due to thunderstorms in the watershed, including Little River.

If you go fishing in the mountains today, you will find mostly low water conditions. Fish the choppy broken water where the trout are hiding. Dress to blend with the forest to help avoid being seen by the trout. Use light tippet. Dry flies and nymphs are working. Try a Yellow Sally Stonefly pattern or small yellow Stimulator for your dry fly. Drop a Green Weenie off your dry. Fish in the higher elevations where the water will be cooler this afternoon.

Most low elevation rivers where trout are stocked are flowing low. You may find some are not. Some rivers may be warm this afternoon. Yesterday, the high temperature at the Little River gauge climbed to 69 degrees. Fishing for stocked trout in these rivers is probably fair at best though there may be some exceptions.

Fishing for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish in the lowland river will be fair to good. Water temperatures are good for these species. Some rivers are flowing low. Fish in the deeper pools with streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies or poppers. Fishing may be best early or late.

This may be a good lake fishing day due to the chance for cloud cover at times. Winds will be mostly calm. There is a low chance for strong to severe thunderstorms later today. Cast to the banks or cover with streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers. If there is no cloud cover, seek out shaded banks or coves. If it is sunny, fish deeper.

TVA and the Corps will be generating for long periods this afternoon at some dams. At others, there will be long pauses all day with short periods of pulsing. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what flows you can expect at your favorite tailwater.

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

Byron Begley
June 5, 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