Little River Fishing Guides and Conditions, Tennessee

About the Little River

The Little River drains the heart of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, gathering the Middle and West prongs above Elkmont and running down the Little River Road past the Sinks and Metcalf Bottoms to the Townsend Y, then out of the park through Townsend and on to the Tennessee River. It is the most accessible major trout stream in the Smokies and one of the most heavily fished, and it is still very good.

Inside the park the fishing is wild trout only. Rainbows dominate the middle elevations, wild brown trout hold in the deeper plunge pools and grow large enough to surprise people, and native brook trout live in the high headwater feeders above about three thousand feet. The park allows fishing year-round with a single hook artificial lure rule and has no closed season, which makes the Smokies one of the few places in the East where a January trout trip is a normal thing to do.

Below the park boundary at Townsend the river warms, opens up, and holds a mix of trout in the cooler months and smallmouth and rock bass in summer, and the tubing traffic between Townsend and the Y is heavy in July.

The gauge above Townsend reads the park water. Under a hundred cfs is low, clear and technical; a couple hundred is comfortable wading; after a mountain storm the river can double in hours and then drop back within a day. The Smokies get a great deal of rain and the river reflects it.

Townsend calls itself the peaceful side of the Smokies and is the base for most anglers; Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are close and much busier.

Access

Elkmont and the Middle Prong: upper river campground and trail access inside the park.
Tremont and the West Prong: road and trail access to smaller water.
Little River Road: miles of continuous roadside pullouts between Elkmont and the Y.
The Sinks and Metcalf Bottoms: popular park access points with parking.
The Townsend Y: the park boundary, heavy summer traffic.
Townsend and the Highway 321 corridor: access below the park in mixed trout and smallmouth water.

Seasons

Year-round fishing inside the national park; check current park rules on gear and species.
March through May: the best hatches and the highest water of the year, quill gordons through sulphurs.
June through August: early morning fishing, warm afternoons, heavy visitor traffic at the popular pullouts.
September through February: low clear water, fall browns, cold quiet days and almost nobody upstream.