Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:45 am, the temperature is 70 degrees.

We are going to enjoy a cooler and mostly dry weekend. Today will be partly sunny with a high temperature in the low 80’s. There is a low chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms. The low temperature tonight will be in the low 60’s.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high in the low 80’s and a slight chance for an afternoon thunderstorm.

Little River is flowing at 647 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.89 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 125 cfs. The water temperature is 62.2 degrees this morning.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 1,240 cfs or 3.14 feet at the Sevierville gauge, compared to median flow for this date of 257 cfs.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 572 cfs or 2.01 feet, compared to median flow for this date of 296 cfs.

Tellico River is flowing at 980 cfs or 2.06 feet, which compares to median flow of 113 cfs.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 57.9 cfs or 2.39 feet, compared to median flow of 55 cfs.

From the sampling above you can see there are some streams flowing high with others flowing closer to normal. They were all flowing very high yesterday, but many have receded.

Some streams or areas in streams are not safe to wade today. Other streams are safe to wade. They will continue to recede today. Water temperatures are good at all elevations.

If you go, don’t take any chances trying to wade in swift water. Stand in safe water. Find smaller streams that have receded to safe levels. I would plan on casting weighted nymph rigs.

Fishing for stocked trout will be good today in the low elevations rivers where the fish have been stocked recently. Some of these rivers are flowing high and unsafe to wade. Pick safe spots to stand and cast nymphs or nymph rigs.

Fishing for smallmouth bass and other lowland river species is good. Most of the rivers are flowing much higher than normal. Safe wading will be limited. Streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies and poppers are all good fly choices.

This could be a good lake fishing day. It will be partly cloudy which is a good condition. Winds are predicted to be calm and it will be cooler. I bet the lakes will be crowded with recreation boaters today. Go early when the sun is low and to beat the crowds. Cast streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers to the banks and cover.

There are some generation schedules you can work with today at the area tailwaters. These schedules vary greatly. You can plan to spend time on most of these rivers today if you are flexible and know where to be at the right times. Start by checking the TVA website from the links below to plan your tailwater fishing day.

I am going to be off from work for a few days to do some much needed fishing. Daniel will be writing the fishing report tomorrow through Wednesday.

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

Byron Begley
July 22, 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