Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 4:36 am, the temperature is 51 degrees.

Showers are likely today, with a high temperature in the middle 50’s. Showers will continue tonight with the temperature dropping to the middle 30’s.

There is a slight chance for rain and snow showers tomorrow morning, then a chance for rain during the day. Rain may change to snow tomorrow night, especially in the higher elevations.

Little River is flowing at 154 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.83 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 278 cfs. The water temperature is 44.1 degrees this morning.

Streams in the mountains are flowing lower than normal but at good fishing levels. Some are flowing only slightly below normal and normal is fairly high in December. The streams are chilly though they have warmed somewhat over the past day or two. We may see some warming today along with the predicted rain.

If you go today, fish in the lower elevations where the water is warmer. Nymphs will likely work best for you.

Fishing for stocked trout has improved and I see no reason fishing for them  won’t be good today. Nymphs will likely work best for you.

There are generation schedules you can work with at a few dams today if you are interested in fishing on a tailwater. I saw a couple of surprises while clicking through the TVA list. One was the Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky.

We were busy at the shop yesterday. Jack Gregory was our featured fly tyer and he always draws a crowd.

Oren Mead, his daughter Avery and LB Cummings will be conducting a free fly tying demonstration today (Sunday December 17th) from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. They will be representing Project Healing waters, a fly fishing organization founded in 2005 to serve wounded military service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Oren and Avery will be tying nymphs and midges. LB will be tying streamers and other patterns that target larger fish. Just show up at the shop. You don’t need a reservation.

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

Byron Begley
December 17, 2023

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

The Clinch River Chapter of Trout Unlimited is holding an intermediate fly tying class in Norris, Tennessee beginning Saturday January 13th and running for 8 Saturdays through March 2nd. This is an opportunity for you to improve your fly tying skills to a new high level. CLICK HERE FOR MOR INFORMATION.

Respond to: byron@littleriveroutfitters.com