Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:37 am, the temperature is 55 degrees.

It will be wet and cool today. The high temperature will be in the low 60’s, falling to the low 50’s this afternoon, then to the low 40’s tonight. The rain will be light but the chance is around 50%.

Tomorrow will be partly cloudy with a high temperature in the low 50’s and a low overnight in the middle 29’s.

Wednesday will be chilly, with a high in the middle 40’s dropping to the middle 20’s overnight.

Little River is flowing at 43.9 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.30 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 97 cfs. The water temperature is 59 degrees this morning.

Streams in the mountains are still flowing very low. Water temperatures are within the trout’s preferred range at most elevations. We will see water temperatures fall dramatically tonight.

If you go fishing in the Smokies today, cast to the broken choppy water using nymphs or dry flies. A dry and dropper rig is a good choice. I would use a Yellow Stimulator or Parachute Adams for my dry fly with a small bead head Pheasant Tail dropper. Weighted nymph rigs are also a good choice.

Fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers will be fair at best today. The cloud cover is a good condition. The low water is not. Water temperatures are OK right now. Fish in the deeper pools and runs using streamers and crayfish imitations.

Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevation rivers is fair to good. These rivers are flowing low but water temperatures are fine this morning. Trout will be packed in the deeper water. From what I have heard, small midge pupa flies are working for these trout.

This may be a fair to good lake fishing day. It will be partly cloudy, especially this afternoon. That is helpful to fly anglers fishing on lakes. It will be a little breezy with winds blowing at 10 miles per hour at times. To catch bass and panfish, cast to the banks and cover with streamers or swimming nymphs. Try foam floating flies or poppers.

There are reasonable generation schedules for tailwater anglers planned today at some dams. Many breaks are in the morning with some in the afternoon hours. Visit the TVA website to see what tailwater fishing options you have today.

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

Byron Begley
October 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