Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:40 am, the temperature is 58 degrees.

It will be sunny today with a high temperature in the middle 80’s with a low tonight in the upper 50’s.

Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer, with a high in the upper 80’s. There is a slight chance for thunderstorms and showers tomorrow night.

It will be cooler Monday through Friday next week. Showers and thunderstorms are predicted every day through the period. Chances for precipitation range from 40% to 70%.

Little River is flowing low at 53.5 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.43 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 156 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date was 39.0 cfs in 1988 based on 59 years of data. The water temperature is 66.4 degrees this morning. Yesterday, the water temperature topped out at 70.9 degrees at 5:15 pm.

Most if not all streams in the mountains are flowing below median flow. Some streams are flowing very low. Water temperatures in the low elevations will be warm this weekend. For the health of the trout you catch and release, we should fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for water temperatures in the middle 60’s or cooler.

Fish the broken water where the trout are hiding. Nymphs and dry flies will work for you.

Fishing in the lower elevation stocked trout rivers is fair. Many of these rivers will be warm this weekend. Try small nymphs and light tippet.

Most lowland rivers are flowing low. Water temperatures are fine for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish. I would fish in the deeper pools with foam floating flies and poppers. Streamers and crayfish patterns are also good fly choices. Fish the shaded areas. Fishing will be best early or late.

Due to the predicted sunny conditions, fishing will be best early or late on the lakes when the sun is low. When the sun is higher, find shaded banks to fish. Winds are predicted to be calm. Foam floating flies and poppers should work early, late or when fishing shaded areas. Weighted streamers or swimming nymphs are good fly choices when the sun is higher.

Fishing on a tailwater is a good idea today. Check the generation schedules o the TVA website to plan your day. You will find varying generation times at different dams. You can work with many of these schedules whether you are boating or wading.

We had a very busy day at the shop yesterday and that will likely be the case this Fathers Day Weekend. We are holding a beginners Fly Tying Class today that will be taught by Brian Courtney. Today is my day off this week. My usual day off is Sunday. I will be working tomorrow instead, helping fly tying customers on the second floor of the shop.

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

Byron Begley
June 17, 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