Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:43 am, the temperature is 37 degrees.

Today will be partly cloudy with a high temperature in the upper 50’s and a low tonight in the lower 30’s. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high in the middle to upper 50’s. Showers are likely tomorrow afternoon. Rain is predicted tomorrow night with a low temperature in the low 30’s. Rain will turn to snow in the high elevations.

Little River is flowing at 72.7 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.47 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 181 cfs. The water temperature is 47.3 degrees this morning.

Some streams in the mountains are flowing very close to normal. Others are flowing below normal. Water temperatures are below the trout’s preferred range at all elevations this morning. We will see the streams warm some this afternoon.

If you go fishing in the Smokies today, wait a while for the stream temperatures to bottom out and begin to warm. Fish in the low elevations where the water is warmer. Weighted nymphs will probably work best for you.

Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevation rivers is probably fair to good. Fishing for smallmouth bass in the lowland rivers is likely slow to fair due to the chilly water conditions.

There are generation schedules you can work with at some dams today. Pauses in the generation will occur this afternoon at several dams. Check the TVA website from the links below to see if you can plan a day or partial day of fishing on your favorite tailwater.

Clayton Gist will be conducting a Free Fly Tying Demonstration at the shop today (Saturday) between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.  You don’t need a reservation to attend our free demonstrations. All you have to do is show up.

Clayton has vast trout fly fishing experience dating back many decades. He has done a lot of his fishing and guiding on tailwaters, where small flies and midges often work best. If you are a tailwater angler, this is one demo you don’t want to miss. Clayton is very active in the Clinch River Chapter of Trout Unlimited. He has taught and assisted at many of the Chapter’s fly tying classes.

Kendall Mayers will be tying tomorrow (Sunday) between 1 pm and 3 pm. Kendall is a professional fly fishing guide who works at Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain. He is an excellent fly tyer and a great guy to be around. He loves to fly fishing for about anything that swims. This is another Free Fly Tying Demonstration so come by, grab a chair an watch Kendall tie his favorite patterns.

Our Winter Free Fly Tying Demonstrations have been very popular activities for over 25 years at Little River Outfitters. We’ve almost always held them and they are always FREE. Just show up. The list of demonstrations is under construction on our website but you can see what will be offered through the middle of January by CLICKING HERE.

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

Byron Begley
November 25, 2023  

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com