Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. At 5:45 am, the temperature is 61 degrees.

It will be partly sunny and warm today with a high temperature in the low to middle 80’s. There is a 50% chance for thunderstorms this afternoon. A tenth to a quarter of an inch of rain is expected, except for higher amounts in thunderstorms.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with a high in the middle 80’s and a chance for thunderstorms during the afternoon.

Little River is flowing low at 72.7 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.54 feet on the gauge. The record low for this date was 62.0 cfs in 1988. Median flow for this date is 167 cfs. The water temperature is 65.5 degrees this morning.

Most if not all streams in the mountains are flowing lower than normal. Some are flowing considerably lower. Hopefully that will change today.

If you go fishing in the Smokies, concentrate on broken and choppy water in pockets, deeper runs and plunge pools where the trout are hiding. Dress to blend with the forest to help you avoid being seen by the trout. Use light tippet. Dry flies and nymphs will work for you. Try a dry and dropper rig. A small Yellow Stimulator or Yellow Sally Stonefly pattern is a good choice for your dry fly. Drop a Green Weenie off your dry fly. Fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler.

Fishing for stocked trout in the low elevations is fair. Deeper pools and runs are harder to find and may be crowded with anglers. Water temperatures have warmed in the low elevations. Use small nymphs with fine tippet.

Fishing for smallmouth bass, rock bass and panfish is good in the lowland rivers. Look for deeper pools to fish. Cast streamers, nymphs, crayfish patterns, foam floating flies or poppers in the shaded areas of the pools.

Fishing on the lakes will be best early or late when the sun is low and there is less recreation boating traffic. Hit the banks and cover with streamers, swimming nymphs, foam floating flies or poppers. It should be partly cloudy today which is a positive condition.

TVA and the Corps have scheduled long pauses with intermittent pulsing at most dams today. They are planning to generate for long periods this afternoon at some dams. Tailwater anglers can work with most of the schedules. Visit the TVA website from the link below to plan your day.

We will be open today as usual between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. We should be busy. There are many local and tourist visitors in Townsend. I have seen a lot of those small motorcycles in town, along with some antique pickup trucks. Those are likely due to small organized events.

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

Byron Begley
June 4, 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