Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:42 am, the temperature is 57 degrees.

More rain fell during the past 24 hours than anyone anticipated or predicted. The Knoxville Airport reported 2.26 inches yesterday, which was a record for the date. In Townsend, we got 1.75 inches.

The rain will end this morning. It may be over now. It will be cloudy today before becoming sunny later with a high temperature in the middle 60’s, dropping to the middle 30’s tonight. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high in the upper 50’s and a slight chance for showers. The low temperature tomorrow night will be in the low 30’s.

Little River is flowing at 1,410 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 3.82 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 209 cfs. The water temperature is 51.1 degrees this morning.

Most streams in the Smokies are flowing high. Some are flowing too high to safely wade. Most streams are receding. If you plan to fish in the mountains today, check the USGS gauge site pertaining to the watershed where you intend to go. If you encounter water that is unsafe to wade, stand in safe water casting weighted nymph rigs.

You will find high water in most rivers that are stocked with trout. Stand in safe water casting weighted nymph rigs. Water temperatures are within the trout’s preferred range in most of these rivers.

There are generation schedules that are workable at some dams today. If you are hoping to fish on a tailwater, check the TVA website from the links below to see what opportunities you have.

We were very busy at the shop yesterday. Walter Babb conducted a Free Fly Tying Demonstration which drew a large crowd, as usual. The Tennessee Council of Trout Unlimited held a quarterly meeting at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute near Townsend. Many of those attendees ended up at the shop. And, there were many local customers who had ventured out for the day. There were also people fishing in the Smokies who dropped in.

Today will be different. The Townsend Christmas Parade will be held today starting at 2:00 pm. It will be dry later today which is good news. The main highway 321 through town will be closed during the parade. If you are here, you may be stuck for a couple of hours. Most of our customers know that is a possibility so we are normally very slow during the afternoon on parade day.

Townsend’s Christmas Parade is unbelievable. A lot of people travel here to see it. There are many bands, floats, people riding horses, antique cars and tractors and other interesting things to see. Santa Clause will be here. I saw his float parked at Ronnie and Jackie’s house yesterday afternoon. Bring some folding chairs and refreshments if you plan to attend. It will be warm today. I remember one year it started snowing right when the parade began.

We will not be holding a Free Fly Tying Demonstration today.  

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

Byron Begley
December 3, 2023

Join us on most weekends during the Winter for our Free Fly Tying Demonstrations. You don’t need a reservation to attend. Just show up at the shop. You can view our schedule by CLICKING HERE.

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com