Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:45 am, the temperature is 68 degrees.

Light rain has been falling for about two hours. I heard thunder a few minutes ago.

It will likely rain all day today with a high temperature in the low 80’s. There may be some thunderstorms mixed in. Rainfall up to a half of an inch is possible today with possibly heavy rain and gusty winds in the stronger thunderstorms. It will continue to rain tonight.

Showers and thunderstorms are likely tomorrow and overnight. This weather pattern will continue each day through at least Friday night.

Little River is flowing very low at 46.9 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.39 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 135 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date was 56.6 cfs in 2015. The water temperature is 67.6 degrees this morning.

Most streams in the Smokies are flowing lower than median flow. Tellico River is rising. Other streams will probably be rising soon.

If you go fishing in the Smokies today, you might do well. Or, you may find rising and maybe stained water. Watch out for that. Nymphs or weighted nymph rigs are good tactical choices.

Fishing for stocked trout could be good today in some rivers.

Fishing for smallmouth bass and other warmwater species in the lowland rivers may be good today, depending on how much rain falls in the watershed you are fishing. Thunderstorms may cause stained water conditions. Steamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies and poppers are good fly choices.

This would be a great lake fishing day but the chance for strong thunderstorms would be enough to keep me off the water. It will be overcast which is beneficial condition. It might be windy. Streamers and swimming nymphs are good fly choices. Or, try foam floating flies and poppers.

There are some generation schedules you can work with if you decide to fish on a tailwater. This may turn out to be a good tailwater fishing day. You will have to deal with rain and maybe thunderstorms. Check the TVA website from the links below to make that determination yourself.

We really need this rain and it appears we may get plenty this week.

We have a new restaurant in Townsend called Jim-Bob’s BBQ. I stopped by yesterday on my way home from work. They were busy. I talked to Jim-Bob, who I had never met. It turns out, I have known his father and brother for many years. The rack of ribs I brought home were excellent. I think this eatery will do well and be here to stay.

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

Byron Begley
June 19, 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