Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:33 am, the temperature is 66 degrees.

Today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature in the upper 80’s.

Showers and thunderstorms are likely tomorrow with a high in the upper 80’s. Gusty winds and small hail are possible.

Little River is flowing at 139 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.79 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 116 cfs. The water temperature is 68.0 degrees this morning.

Some streams in the Smokies are flowing higher than median flow for this date. Others are flowing lower, including Cataloochee Creek and Davidson River. The streams are warm in the low elevations.

Fishing has been good this Summer in the Smokies and it looks like good fishing will continue. Stream flows have been near normal for a while. Water temperatures have been close to normal lately. Wild trout populations are doing well in the Smokies.

If you go today, fish in the middle to higher elevations where the water is cooler. Do everything possible to avoid being seen by the trout, including dressing to blend with the forest. Present only your fly and leader to the trout. By all means, get a good drift. If your fly is not moving downstream at the same speed as the current, you probably won’t catch trout.

I would use a dry and dropper rig. My dry fly might be a Yellow Sally Stonefly pattern, a Yellow Stimulator or a foam beetle that I can see from a distance. Good dropper choices are ants, Green Weenies or small bead head nymphs. If you don’t want the hassle of the dry and dropper, fish a dry fly alone. If the dry is not working, switch to a nymph.

Fishing is good for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers. Fish in the deeper pools and runs. Good fly choices are streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies or poppers. I would go early or late when the sun is low or fish in shaded rivers.

Fishing would be best on the lakes if it were overcast today. It won’t be overcast. Go early or late when the sun is low. Cast to the banks or cover with weighted streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers. Fish deeper as the sun rises higher or find shaded areas to fish.

If you are planning to fish on a tailwater, check the TVA website first. I saw some unusual generation schedules planned for today. Some are fine and others are not.

I finally found a good accessible news story pertaining to the dam removal plans on Little River. The US Corps of Engineers is planning to remove two dams, Peery’s Mill and Rockford Dam. The intend to leave the Townsend Dam intact. You can read more about this on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.

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

Byron Begley
August 5, 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