Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. Thunder storms rolled across the area yesterday evening and night.  More rain is in the forecast for today and tomorrow leading into a nice stretch of weather for the rest of the week.

A good quantity of rain fell in the Little River watershed last night.  Water levels on Little River spiked up before coming back down.  This morning the gauge on Little River is giving a reading of 2.43 feet or 369 c.f.s.  The daily normal flow is 102 c.f.s.  

Water temperatures dropped overnight.  This morning the gauge is reading 67.5F.  Cooler water is ultimately good for the trout but big swings in water temp can throw them off their feed.

Rain is in the forecast today and tomorrow.  Rainfall totals close to 1 inch each day could swell water levels to an unfishable level.  Storms could also miss the watershed all together.  Check the streamflow gauge before heading out and while you are on the water be aware of your surroundings.  Water levels can rise extremely fast.

The Little Pigeon watershed must have gotten a lot of rain last night.  The gauge in Sevierville is currently reading 909 c.f.s.  The normal flow is 175 c.f.s.

The Oconoluftee River in North Carolina is running at 369 c.f.s. just a bit more than the normal of 228 c.f.s. 

Tellico River seems like it was spared from this round of storms.  It's gauge is reading 162 c.f.s. with a daily normal of 92 c.f.s.  The road is still closed due to a washout so the only way to access fishing on Tellico River now is an adventurous drive on small backroads bringing you in past the Holly Flats Campground.  If you are really needing a Tellico River fix I expect that if you stop in an talk to Cody down at Tellico River Outfitters he can show you on a map how to do it.

Weather the rest of the week is going to be cooler which will cause water temperatures to drop.  This cooling should make for better fishing conditions over the next while.  For the most part anglers who have been fishing in the mid to high elevation in the Smokies have been doing well.  They are fishing a mixed bag of dries and nymphs.  The key is to have a variety and to stay flexible.  If you are fishing dries and seeing no activity on top changing to a different dry isn't likely to get you more action. Switch to a nymph and try subsurface.  If you are seeing trout come up and look at your dry fly but not take it then try a different on.  Try something similar but a little smaller.  There was something that the trout did like but not enough to commit fully.  

If you decide to head out fishing today be aware of what the weather is doing.  If you get rained out you can always come by the Shop and talk with Bill and Ron.  

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

Daniel Drake
August 28, 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