Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:47 am, the temperature is 60 degrees.

Today and tomorrow are going to be cool and pleasant. It will be partly sunny today with a high temperature in the upper 70’s, dropping to the upper 50’s tonight. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high in the upper 70’s and a low around 60 degrees.

The weekend will be cool with a chance for showers Saturday afternoon through Sunday.

Little River is flowing at 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.63 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 78 cfs. The water temperature is 66.5 degrees this morning.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing very close to normal. Tellico River is still flowing higher but at a good fishing level. The streams will be cooling over the next few days, allowing us to fish in the low elevations once again.

Trout are taking dry flies and nymphs. Terrestrial insect patterns are good fly choices. Foam beetles, ants and inchworms should be in your fly box. A dry and dropper rig is an ideal combination. I would use a black foam beetle pattern with a Green Weenie dropper.

Fishing in the lowland rivers is good. Smallmouth bass, rockfish and panfish are actively feeding. Streamers, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies and poppers are good fly choices. Fishing for stocked trout in these rivers will improve now that the water temperatures will be falling.

Fishing with fly gear will improve on the lakes as the water temperatures drop this Fall. We do best when the fish are in shallow water.

I would go early or late today because it may be sunny at times. Hit the banks and cover with weighted streamers or swimming nymphs. You might give top water flies a try, especially in dimly lit areas and in the cooler lakes. Foam floating flies are ideal for fishing on top.

There are breaks in the generation planned at many dams today. Tailwater anglers have a lot of choices, whether you are wading or boating. Visit the TVA website from the links below to see what tailwater fishing options you have today.

Get out and enjoy these cool days and nights. It feels like Fall.

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

Byron Begley
September 14, 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