Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:41 am, the temperature is 71 degrees.

Severe thunderstorms blew through the area yesterday. Strong winds were the primary concern though we did get heavy rain in some storms.

It will be partly sunny today with a high temperature in the low 80’s. It will be a little breezy but no rain is expected.

Thunderstorms and heavy rain move back into the forecast beginning tomorrow night and lasting through Thursday night.

Little River is flowing at 154 cubic feet per second (cfs( or 1.85 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 136 cfs. The water temperature is 69.1 degrees this morning.

Though many streams rose quickly yesterday, they are mostly receding and flowing closer to normal now. The streams are warm in the lowest elevations. Fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler. Trout are taking dry flies and nymphs. Try a dry and dropper rig. Your dry fly could be a Yellow Stimulator, Yellow Sally Stonefly or a foam beetle. A great dropper to use is a Green Weenie but you might also try an ant pattern.

Fishing for smallmouth bass or other river bass is good in the lowland rivers. The same is true for panfish. Most of the rivers are flowing low so you will find fish in the deeper pools and runs. Use streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies or poppers.

It will be partly sunny today which means it will also be partly cloudy. I like partly cloudy better as it pertains to lake fishing. Cast to the banks or cover with streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers.

TVA and the Corps of Engineers will be doing a lot of generating today. You can work with some of their schedules if you are hoping to fish on a tailwater. You might have to drive further than usual. Visit the TVA website from the links below to see what tailwater fishing options you have today.

Part of our Fall Simms pre-season order arrived yesterday. It is huge. Our wader and wading boot selection has never been better. Our selection of flies has never been better. The entire inventory in the shop has never been better. As a result, our business has never been better.

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

Byron Begley
August 8, 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