Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:05 am, the temperature is 34 degrees.

Today will be partly sunny with a high temperature in the upper 60’s, falling to the low 40’s tonight. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with a high in the middle 50’s and a low in the low 40’s.

Little River is flowing at 38.2 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.26 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 126 cfs. The water temperature is 48.7 degrees this morning.

Streams in the mountains continue to flow very low. The streams are chilly this morning, below the trout’s preferred range at all elevations. Trout are spooky and difficult to catch. If you go, wait a while for the streams to warm and fish in the low elevations where the water is warmer. Dress to blend with the forest. Wade as little as possible. Try dry flies or nymphs or use a dry and dropper rig. Nymphs might work best today.

Fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers is probably slow due to the low flows and chilly water conditions. If you go, wait until later. Fish in the deeper pools and runs. Streamers and crayfish imitations are good fly choices.

There are some generation schedules you can work with today if you are hoping to fish on a tailwater. Check the TVA website to see what your options are.

We are slow at the shop. Not many people are fishing right now. If we had higher flows, fishing would be good. So now we will wait. Rain is likely Friday and more likely Friday night. The long term weather forecast predicts more rainy days in our future through late November. I hope that pans out for you and us.

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

Byron Begley
November 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