Welcome to the Fishing Report from Townsend Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. The temperature this morning at 4:33 am is 67 degrees. It is raining at our house right now, where I am writing this report.

Thunderstorms are likely today with a high temperature around 80 degrees. Most sunny conditions are predicted tomorrow through next Thursday. It is going to be hot, with highs in the low to middle 90’s after tomorrow’s high in the upper 80’s.

Rainfall has been about normal this year. Through yesterday, 26.90 inches has fallen at the Knoxville Airport. Normal for this period is 25.71 inches.

As a result, streams in the Smokies and surrounding region are flowing well. Little River is flowing at 232 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.08 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 132 cfs.

Heavy rain caused a rock slide and flooding on Interstate 40 near the Tennessee and North Carolina state line. The interstate has been closed again, though only two lanes have been open for months. You can read more on the WBIR website by CLICKING HERE.

Water temperatures are going to be warm in the low elevations over the next few days. Right now, the water temperature in Little River at the Townsend gauge is 67.3 degrees. It would be wise to fish in the higher elevations where the water is cooler.

Fishing conditions in the Smokies are good. Water levels are great. Watch for rising water today. The Park is crowded, mostly due to people taking Summer vacations. That will continue for a few weeks until the first week in August when kids go back to school. It is a good idea to go early to avoid crowds and to find your favorite parking spot vacant. Fishing will also be best when the water is cooler early in the mornings. You may see better aquatic insect activity later in the day.

Fly choices should include any Yellow Sally Stonefly imitation for your dry fly. Dropping a Green Weenie, Squirmy Worm or small bead head fly off your dry fly is an excellent tactic right now. I would also try a weighted Green Weenie fished alone. Give a weighted double nymph rig a shot.

Fishing for smallmouth bass and other warmwater species is good in the lowland rivers. Try poppers, foam floating flies, nymphs, streamers or crayfish patterns. You may find stained water at times today in some rivers due to thunderstorms.

I was driving to work early yesterday morning on our private gravel road. Ahead of me was a wild turkey hen with her two poults. The babies were smaller than a grown chicken. I would compare their size to a Ruffed Grouse. They stayed in the road ahead of me. I drove slow to avoid hitting them. The babies flew for short distances to keep up with their mother. Finally, all three veered off the road into the forest as I moved on.

Speaking of Ruffed Grouse. I have not seen one around our house in probably 20 years. I have actually flushed them from our driveway back then. I’ve heard they have pretty much disappeared from around here. Some people blame the rise in the wild turkey population. I don’t know the real reason, but I do know they are scarce.

It is really pretty in the Smokies right now. Everything is very green and lush.

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

Byron Begley
June 19, 2025  

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