Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:32 am, the temperature is 64 degrees.

Scattered thunderstorms moved through yesterday and overnight. We woke to thunder, heavy rain and hail at our house an hour and a half ago. It is raining now. Rainfall amounted to .51 inches yesterday and .54 inches since midnight in Townsend near the shop with a little less at our house.

Showers and thunderstorms are likely this morning, mostly before 8:00 am. Wind gusts as high as 20 miles per hour are possible. Then, it will be cloudy through the morning before clearing later. The high temperature is predicted to be in the middle to upper 80’s.

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

Little River is flowing at 279 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.24 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 121 cfs. The river is rising.

Streams in the Smokies are flowing higher than normal for this date. Some streams are rising while others are receding. It is difficult to predict the stream levels later. It is still raining here at our house. Some streams may not indicate what conditions you will find until later today. If you plan to fish in the mountains today, check the USGS gauge sites before you go. There is not a gauge at every river, but readings where there are will give you a an idea what to expect near the stream you plan to fish however that is not always the case. These thunderstorms are scattered.

Fishing for stocked trout may be fine in some low elevation rivers where the trout are still stocked. Again, check the USGS gauges before you go.

The same is true on the lowland rivers. Some rivers may be flowing high today while others may not be. You can be assured the rivers are flowing higher than normal. Some may be temporarily stained. Fishing for smallmouth bass and other species will be good if the rivers are fishable. Streamers, crayfish imitations, foam floating flies or poppers are all good fly choices.

If you go fishing on the lakes, wait a while until the storms have moved through. Refer to the weather radar online. It should be overcast for a while today. That will be the best time to be fishing on a lake. Cast weighted streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers to the banks and cover. When the sun pops out, find shaded areas to fish if you can. If you can’t, fish deeper with streamers and swimming nymphs.

If you are hoping to fish on a tailwater today, refer to the TVA website generation schedules. I saw several schedules this morning you could work with, whether you are wading or boating.

I will be ordering from most of our fly tying suppliers today, to replenish what we sold last week. I do that every Monday then wait until Thursday when the shipments begin to arrive.

We have had a very busy June, so Daniel and Dave are busy placing orders every week. The shop is very well stocked right now.

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

Byron Begley
June 26, 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