Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:47 am, the temperature is 58 degrees.

Today will be sunny with a high near 81 degrees, falling to the upper 50’s tonight. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high in the low 80’s and a low in the upper 50’s. No rain is predicted this weekend.

Little River is flowing at 51.8 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.38 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 83 cfs. The water temperature is 62.4 degrees this morning.

Most streams in the mountains are flowing lower than normal. Normal in late September is low. The trout are spooky and hiding in the broken choppy water. Staying hidden from the trout is essential to your success. Dress to blend with the forest. Cast into plunge pools, pockets, runs or eddies.

Trout are actively feeding. Using a dry fly with a dropper is a good tactic. Try a Yellow Stimulator or black foam beetle for your dry fly. Drop a Green Weenie off the dry.

If you are fishing in the low elevations, keep an eye on the water temperature. If the stream where you are fishing  rises to the middle 60’s, drive upstream to fish where the water is cooler.  

Fishing for smallmouth bass and other lowland river species is fair to good. Most lowland rivers are flowing low. Fishing will be best in the deeper pools and runs. Streamers, crayfish imitations, foam floating flies or poppers are good fly choices.

Lake fishing will be best early or late when the sun is low. If you are out there in in the sun, try to find shaded banks or coves to fish. Retrieve weighted streamers or swimming nymphs slow and deep. Bass and other gamefish may be holding closer to the surface in the colder lakes so don’t rule out using top water flies where the surface temperatures are cooler.

There are some generation schedules tailwater anglers can work with today. Visit the TVA website from the links below to see what your options are.

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

Byron Begley
September 30, 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