Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:48 am, the temperature is 42 degrees.

Today will be mostly cloudy with a high temperature in the middle 60’s and a low tonight in the low to middle 40’s. Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer with a high in the low 70’s and a low in the upper 40’s. Rain returns to the forecast Friday and Friday night.

Little River is flowing at 35.6 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.24 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 144 cfs. The lowest recorded flow on this date was 24.7 cfs in 2017. The water temperature is 48.6 degrees.

Streams in the mountains are flowing very low. The water is chilly this morning even in the lowest elevations. Fishing will be better later today when the water is warmer. Fish in the low elevations where the water is warmer.

Stealth is essential to your success. The trout are spooky. Dress to blend with the forest. Do everything possible to avoid being seen by the trout. Show them your leader and not your fly line. Use fine tippet. Wade as little as possible.

Fly fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers will be slow early today and possibly all day long. The rivers are cool this morning, below the bass’ preferred range. The rivers are flowing very low. If you go, fish in the deeper pools or runs. Streamers and crayfish imitations will likely work best for you.

You have a shot a fishing on a few tailwaters today. Generation schedules are favorable for wading or boating in the tailwaters below some dams today. Check the TVA website from the links below to see what your options are.

We are holding a free fly tying demonstration Saturday between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. The featured fly tyer is Jonathan Yeager from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Jonathan is a Tenured Professor of Religious Studies (PhD) at UT-Chattanooga. He and his family have a home fly tying business, tying and selling flies. All you have to do is show up for this demonstration.

Jonathan is a lot of fun to talk to and to watch tying flies. We all hope to see you there.

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

Byron Begley
November 15, 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