Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:48 am, the temperature is 54 degrees.

It will be sunny today with a high temperature in the upper 80’s. There is a chance for thunderstorms tonight with a low in the middle 60’s.

Showers are likely tomorrow with thunderstorms possible. The high temperature will be in the low 80’s. Showers and thunderstorms are likely overnight.

Showers and thunderstorms are likely again Tuesday through the day and overnight. It looks like showers and thunderstorms will continue each day and night through Friday.

Little River is flowing very low at 48.5 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.40 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 145 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date at the Townsend gauge was 49.4 cfs in 2007.

The water temperature is 65.8 degrees this morning. Yesterday, the water temperature rose to 71.7 degrees at the low elevation Townsend gauge when it peaked at 5:30 pm. That will likely happen again today.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing low and much lower than median flow. One exception is Cataloochee Creek which is flowing fairly close to median flow.

Water temperatures will be very warm in the low elevations later today. For the health of the trout you catch and release, fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Trout will be hiding in the broken choppy water. Dry flies and nymphs will work for you.

Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevation rivers is probably fair depending on the river where you are fishing. The rivers are flowing low and many will be warm later today.

Fishing for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish is fair to good in the lowland rivers. Water temperatures are fine. The rivers are flowing low. Try fishing in the deeper pools with foam floating flies or poppers. Or, cast streamers or crayfish patterns. Fish in the shaded areas if possible.

Fishing on the lakes will be best early or late when the sun is low. Try to find shaded banks when the sun is higher. Foam floating flies and poppers may produce during the dimly lit hours or in shaded areas. Weighted streamers or swimming nymphs are good choices. When the sun is higher, the fish will be deeper.

If you are planning to fish on a tailwater for trout, smallmouth bass or other species, check the TVA website to observe the generation schedules. They vary greatly from dam to dam today. There will be long periods of no generation except for occasional pulsing at some dams. At others, long periods of generation will begin later this morning or this afternoon. You can work with most of these schedules with careful planning, whether you are wading or boating.

We are busy at the shop. We will be open today between 9:00 am to 5 pm, which is normal on Sundays.

We are all looking forward to the predicted rain this week.

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

Byron Begley
June 18, 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