Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:44 am, the temperature is 65 degrees.

It is going to be sunny today with a high temperature in the middle 80’s, dropping to the low 60’s tonight. There is a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms tomorrow with a high in the low to middle 80’s. Showers and thunderstorms are likely Thursday and Friday and it will be much cooler. The predicted high temperature Thursday is in the upper 70’s.

Little River is flowing at 114 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.69 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 140 cfs. The water temperature is 69.8 degrees this morning.

Streams in the mountains are flowing near normal, some lower and others higher. The streams are very warm in the low elevations.

Fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Look for water temperatures in the middle 60’s. Trout are hiding in the broken water. Dress to blend with the forest to help avoid being seen by the trout. Nymphs and dry flies will work for you.

Some lowland rivers continue to recede. Most are flowing low. Fishing for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish is fair to good. Fish in the deeper pools or runs using streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies or poppers.

If I were going to fish on a lake today, I would be at the ramp right now. It is going to be sunny today. Fishing will be best when the sun is low. Try hitting the banks and cover with foam floating flies or poppers early. As the sun rises higher, try weighted streamers or swimming nymphs. Or, find shaded areas to fish and stick with the top water flies.

TVA and the Corps are planning to generate for long periods today at some dams. There are breaks in the schedules planned at other dams. Refer to the TVA website from the links below to plan your tailwater fishing day.

We just finished the seventh month of the year. I’m looking forward to running the sales reports this morning, comparing this year to past years. I do that by category, rods, wading, flies and fly tying for example. There are many others. Breaking down sales by categories identifies trends. We learn what categories need attention. “Attention” usually means stocking better.

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

Byron Begley
August 1, 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