Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:46 am, the temperature is 70 degrees.

Thunderstorms dropping heavy rain moved through the area overnight. Rainfall totals amounting to 3.06 inches at one personal weather station in Townsend is being reported over the past 24 hours. Another personal weather station near hour home is reporting 2.51 inches have fallen during the past 24 hours.

We have a chance for more showers and thunderstorms this morning with a high temperature around 80 degrees dropping to about 61 degrees overnight. Wednesday will be mostly sunny with a high around 80 degrees.

Little River is flowing at 2,310 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 4.84 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 109 cfs. The current reading is a record for this date. The river is rising quickly.

Little Pigeon River is flowing at 1,090 cfs or 2.80 feet at the Sevierville gauge, compared to median flow of 260 cfs for this date. The river is rising.

Oconaluftee River is flowing at 1,400 cfs or 2.98 feet at the Birdtown gauge. Median flow for this date is 263 cfs. The current reading is a record for this date. The river is rising.

Tellico River is flowing at 19,700 cfs or 14.13 feet at the Tellico Plains gauge. The National Weather Service Flood Stage is 9 feet at this location. The current reading is a record for this date. Median flow is 108 cfs. The river has peaked and is receding.

I checked the Tellico River USGS gauge site again and the numbers above are actually being recorded on the USGS website at this location. I hope they are not true numbers.

Cataloochee Creek is flowing at 253 cfs or 3.15 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 53 cfs. The creek just peaked and has begun to recede.

As you can see from the sample above, the rivers and streams in the area are flowing very high, unsafe to wade and unsafe to fish. Some rivers may have reached flood stage or could soon.

The rain has stopped for now at 5:52 am. Hopefully, we will not get more today.

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

Byron Begley
August 15, 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