Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:36 am, the temperature is 69 degrees.

Thunderstorms blew through late yesterday afternoon and overnight. We got almost an inch of rain.

It will be partly sunny today with a high temperature in the middle 80’s. Showers and thunderstorms are likely, mainly this afternoon but some are possible this morning.

Tomorrow will be sunny with a high in the middle to upper 80’s.

Little River is flowing at 193 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.99 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 129 cfs. The water temperature is 69.8 degrees this morning.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing close to normal, some higher and others lower. Tellico River is an exception. The river is flowing at 542 cfs and rising. Median flow for this date is 127 cfs.

Water temperatures are warm in the low elevations, exceeding 70 degrees. We should all be fishing in the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for water temperatures in the middle 60’s or cooler.

Trout will take dry flies and nymphs. They will be hiding in the choppy broken water in plunge pools, pockets and deeper runs.

Fishing for stocked trout is good in the cooler rivers. Some stocked rivers are warm and stocking has been ceased until the rivers cool this Fall.

Fishing for smallmouth bass, rock bass and warmwater species is good in the lowland rivers. Most of the rivers are flowing low. Fishing will likely be best in the deeper pools and runs. Streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies and poppers are all good fly choices.

This could be a fair to good lake fishing day, due to the possibility of cloud cover at times. You may have to deal with a thunderstorm. That is not unusual in July. I would cast to the banks and cover with weighted streamers and swimming nymphs. Let your flies sinks deep and retrieve them slowly to keep them deep. If there is cloud cover, you might switch to poppers or foam floating flies.

There are some generation schedules you can work with if you intend to fish on a tailwater. Check the TVA website from the links below to plan your tailwater fishing day.

We will be open today between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm as usual. I will be off today.

We saw bears at our house three times last week. One of them ran out from under our deck when I went to work yesterday morning. Game cameras tell us they are here more often then we see them.

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

Byron Begley
July 30, 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