Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:44 am, the temperature is 49 degrees

It will be mostly cloudy today with a high temperature in the upper 70’s and a low tonight in the upper 50’s. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high around 80 degrees and a low of 60 degrees overnight. Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high in the upper 70’s and a low in the high 50’s. Monday will be cooler with a good chance for showers.

It will be cold next week. We may see low temperatures in the 20’s Tuesday and Wednesday.

Little River is flowing at 45.4 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.31 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 85 cfs. The water temperature is 45.5 degrees this morning.

Streams in the Smokies are flowing low which is normal in October. The streams are also flowing lower than normal. The water is chilly in the higher elevations. Fish in the lower elevations or fish later in the higher elevations when the water is warmer.

Most trout are holding in the broken water in pockets, plunge pools, runs and eddies. Dry flies or nymphs should work. Stay hidden from the trout as well as possible. Use finer tippet than you normally would use.

Fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers is fair. The rivers are flowing very low. You will need to fish in the deeper pools and runs. I think streamers or crayfish patterns will work best though I would certainly try foam floating flies or poppers.

This could be an excellent fly fishing lake fishing day. All weather websites I checked claim it will be cloudy, including the words “considerable cloudiness”. Winds will be calm and it will be warm. I would hit the banks and cover with streamers or swimming nymphs at times, then switch to foam floating flies or poppers and see what works best.

There are generation schedules you can work with at several dams today if fishing on a tailwater is what you intend to do. That may be a great idea. Check the TVA website to see the generation schedules and plan accordingly.

This should be a good fishing day no matter where you go due to the “considerable cloudiness”.

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

Byron Begley
October 27, 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