Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:02 am, the temperature is 65 degrees.

It is five degrees cooler than it was yesterday morning at this time. Yesterday was hot and muggy. The high temperature in Townsend reached 90 degrees.

It will be hot again today, with a high temperature approaching 90 degrees. It will be mostly sunny but there is a low chance for afternoon thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are likely tonight with a low temperature in the upper 60’s.

Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high in the middle to upper 80’s and a fair chance for showers and thunderstorms.

Little River is flowing at 164 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.89 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 123 cfs. The water temperature is 66.9 degrees this morning. Yesterday, the water temperature peaked at 69.4 degrees at 4:45 pm.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing slightly higher than normal for this date. Streams in the lowest elevations will warm to near 70 degrees again today. Fish in the middle to high elevations where the water is cooler. Look for water temperatures in the middle 60’s or cooler.

Trout in the mountains are taking dry flies and nymphs. Terrestrial insects are abundant right now and they are a significant source of food for trout and other species. I would certainly have some foam beetles and ant patterns in my fly box. Try a foam hi-vis beetle with an ant dropper. Ants are hard for us to see on the water, so the beetle gives you an idea where the ant is floating or submerged and also acts as a strike indicator. Another good dry and dropper combination is a Yellow Sally Stonefly imitation with a Green Weenie dropper. Get a good drift and you will catch trout. They will be hiding in the choppy broken water. Dress to blend with the forest.

Fishing for stocked trout is fair to good in some lower elevation rivers, especially those that are colder. Nymphs, midge pupa, Green Weenies and other small nymphs are good fly choices.

Fishing is good for smallmouth bass and warmwater species in the lowland rivers. Streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies and poppers are good choices.

If you plan to fish on a lake today, go early or late. Recreation boat traffic will be heavy later in the morning and throughout the day. It will be mostly sunny which is not a good condition for fly fishing on the lakes. I would launch at daybreak and fish until the sun is high. Hit the banks or cover with weighted streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers.

There are some favorable generation schedules at our area dams. TVA and the Corps plan to generate for long periods at others beginning this morning or early afternoon. If you are going to fish on a tailwater today, check the TVA website to see what options you have and plan accordingly.

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

Byron Begley
July 2, 2023  

BIG CLINCH RIVER CLEANUP TO BE HELD SATURDAY JULY 8TH

The Clinch River Chapter of Trout Unlimited is asking for help from the public, to join in and participate in this year’s annual river cleanup. During the past 25 years, volunteers have removed more than 6,000 tires and more than 10 tons of trash from the Clinch River Tailwater at this event. You can read more about the cleanup on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.

You can register as a volunteer on the Clinch River Chapter website by CLICKING HERE.

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