Troutline

Little River

Tennessee·Great Smoky Mountains·35.66° N, 83.67° W
Flow
194 CFS
LITTLE RIVER ABOVE TOWNSEND, TN
Water Temp
71°F
LITTLE RIVER ABOVE TOWNSEND, TN
Condition
Above Normal
Weather
72°F
Chance Rain Showers
near Townsend

Insights

Flow
194 CFS — wading range
Solid water for fishing.
Wind
Wind 0 mph — calm
Easy casting and clean surface presentations.
Water Temp
Water 71°F — stress zone
Trout are oxygen-stressed. Fish dawn only, or pick a colder water — survival rates drop fast above 68°F.

The Little River is the Great Smoky Mountains' signature roadside freestone — a river you can fish out your car window for a morning, then walk four miles up a rail-grade trail into brook-trout headwaters by afternoon. It drains the high country below Clingmans Dome, and Little River Road shadows the East Prong for miles through a boulder-choked gorge of plunge pools and pocket water. What sets it apart from the park's other big drainages is how much water type it packs into one watershed: warm smallmouth and rock bass down at the Townsend "Y," wild rainbows through the gorge, the largest brown trout in the entire park between Metcalf Bottoms and Elkmont (20-inch fish live here, though they're rarely landed), and native Southern Appalachian brook trout up in the tributaries and the trail-access headwaters.

This is short-line, tight-quarters fishing. Casts run 15 to 30 feet, drifts last a second or two before the current shreds your fly, and you'll spend as much time reading pocket seams and plunge-pool tailouts as casting. A 7.5- to 8-foot 3- or 4-weight covers most of it. The wild rainbows run 6 to 9 inches and eat a well-drifted dry with abandon, so it's forgiving fishing that rewards stealth over presentation finesse. April is prime — Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, Hendricksons, March Browns and caddis overlap for the best dry-fly weeks of the year. Summer pushes you to fish early and late, or to gain elevation where the water holds in the 50s and 60s; by July the Townsend gauge can read into the low 70s °F and the trout stack in the faster, better-oxygenated runs. Winter fishes on warm afternoons with midges and small nymphs.

The trade-offs are real. The gorge blows out fast off steep terrain — above roughly 400 CFS at Townsend you're picking your spots, and over 700 CFS you should go elsewhere. Little River Road is one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the park, so the roadside water sees pressure and the pull-offs fill on summer weekends (and GSMNP now requires a paid parking tag for any stop over 15 minutes). But that same road is the access: you can leapfrog runs for miles, and the crowds thin the moment you commit to wading up a section or hiking past Elkmont. If the main stem is high or off, the Middle Prong toward Tremont and the West Prong along Laurel Creek Road give you smaller, more intimate water with the same wild fish.

Species

  • Rainbow Trout
    Primary · Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct · 6-10"

    The bread-and-butter fish through the gorge and the lower and mid river — wild, resident, and eager dry-fly eaters. Most run 6 to 9 inches, opportunists that will chase a well-drifted attractor.

  • Brown Trout
    Common · Oct-Nov, Mar · 8-14"+

    The Metcalf Bottoms-to-Elkmont reach holds the park's largest wild browns; fish over 20 inches exist but are rarely landed. Best odds come streamer-fishing the deep pools as they turn aggressive in fall.

  • Brook Trout
    Common · May-Sep · 4-8"

    Native Southern Appalachian char in the headwaters above Elkmont and the upper prongs and tributaries. The park's brook-trout restoration succeeded to the point that brookies are now legal to keep parkwide under the combined limit — a notable recent change.

  • Smallmouth Bass
    Seasonal (lower river) · Jun-Sep · 7-14"

    The warmwater draw of the lower East Prong through Townsend and below the "Y," where the river warms out of trout range in summer. Poppers and streamers on the wide, slower water; mixes with a few trout at the cooler upper end.

  • Rock Bass
    Common (lower river) · Jun-Sep · 4-8"

    Abundant "redeye" in the lower river alongside the smallmouth, and a scrappy summer bonus. The park allows 20 rock bass a day on top of the trout and smallmouth limit.

Ideal wading flow100–300 CFS
Blow-out>700 CFS
Ideal water temp50–65°F

The Townsend gauge (03497300) fishes very well from roughly 120 to 400 CFS, with the sweet spot for wading around 100 to 250; normal summer baseflow runs near 130 CFS. From 400 to 700 CFS it's fishable but wade the gorge with caution, and above roughly 700 CFS the river is off-color and unsafe — go elsewhere. It spikes fast after rain off the steep terrain and drops within a day or two. Spring (April) is prime, with overlapping Quill Gordon, Blue Quill, Hendrickson, March Brown and caddis hatches on cool flows. Summer is good early and late and up high with yellow stoneflies and terrestrials, but midday the lower and mid river warms into the low 70s °F and stresses trout — fish dawn and dusk or gain elevation. Fall brings brown-trout aggression (streamers Oct-Nov) and BWOs; winter fishes on the warm afternoons with midges and small nymphs. Overcast, mild days pull the best mayfly hatches.

Sections

5 sections on this river

The Townsend "Y" & Below Townsend

WadeRainbow Trout · Smallmouth

Where the Middle Prong meets the East Prong at the "Y" and the river leaves the park — wide, warmer, slower water that transitions from trout river to warmwater smallmouth stream. The USGS gauge (03497300) sits just upstream of the park boundary in this reach and is the reference for the whole river. Roadside access at the Wye and along US-321 through Townsend, with easy wading at normal flow.

Best for: Summer smallmouth bass and rock bass on poppers and streamers, with a few trout at the cooler upper end — warmwater fly fishing, not the trout draw.

The Sinks & Little River Gorge

WadeBrown Trout

The heart of it — a steep gorge of plunge pools, pocket water, and boulder runs, with the dramatic waterfall complex known as The Sinks as the downstream landmark. Classic Smokies pocket-water fishing. Little River Road parallels the whole reach with frequent pull-offs, including the Sinks parking area, so you can wade up from anywhere. The slick boulders make felt or studded soles worth it, and the tight quarters keep casts short.

Best for: Wild rainbows on dries and dry-dropper, plus the occasional big brown in the deeper pools — short-line nymphing and high-stick dry-fly work.

Metcalf Bottoms to Elkmont (Trophy-Brown Reach)

WadeBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

The mature trout water — deeper, wider pools mixed with productive runs and riffles, holding both high numbers of fish and the biggest specimens in the drainage. This reach between Metcalf Bottoms and Elkmont grows the park's largest wild browns, with 20-inch-class fish present (though rarely caught). Access is Little River Road to the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area, then Elkmont Road to Elkmont Campground, where campsites sit right on the water.

Best for: Wild rainbows plus the park's largest wild browns — dry-dropper, nymphing the deep pools, and streamers for browns in fall.

Headwaters Above Elkmont (Little River Trail — Backcountry)

WadeBrook Trout · Rainbow Trout

A small tumbling stream narrowing to brook-trout water, reached on foot up the Little River Trail — an old railroad grade — from Elkmont toward the Fish Camp Prong junction, about four miles in on an easy grade. Wild rainbows give way to native Southern Appalachian brook trout as you gain elevation, and the solitude away from the road is as much the draw as the fishing. Tight, brushy casting.

Best for: Wild rainbows and native brook trout on attractor dries — small-stream stealth fishing well away from the road crowds.

Middle Prong (Tremont)

WadeBrook Trout · Rainbow Trout

The main alternative when the East Prong is high or crowded — formed by Lynn Camp Prong and Thunderhead Prong near the old Tremont townsite, with long pools, runs, and riffles through the flat, open Walker Valley. Tremont Road (the old Little River Railroad roadbed) follows the lower four miles; the upper reaches are foot-trail access. This prong is ungauged, so read the Townsend gauge and infer its condition — there's no live overlay here.

Best for: Wild rainbows on approachable lower-reach dry-fly water near the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and native brook trout up high toward the Lynn Camp Prong restoration water.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

The entire Little River watershed inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park is governed by federal NPS regulations, enforced parkwide and applying to all prongs. It's wild-trout, single-hook artificial-only water — there is no stocking anywhere inside GSMNP. Regulations are verified as of July 2026; confirm the current rules on the NPS GSMNP fishing page before you go.

  • License: anglers 16 and older need a valid Tennessee OR North Carolina fishing license — either state's license is valid throughout the park, and no separate trout stamp is required. Licenses aren't sold in the park; buy them in surrounding towns or online
  • Season and hours: open year-round, from 30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset
  • Gear: artificial flies or lures with a single hook only — up to two flies (a dropper) on a leader. Double, treble, and gang hooks are prohibited, as is any bait or liquid scent. One hand-held rod
  • Creel limit: 5 trout (brook, rainbow, or brown) and/or smallmouth bass combined per day, plus 20 rock bass. Stop fishing once you reach the limit
  • Minimum size: 7 inches for brook, rainbow, and brown trout and smallmouth bass; no minimum on rock bass. Undersized fish must be released immediately
  • Brook trout are now legal to keep parkwide — 7-inch minimum, counting toward the combined 5-fish trout limit. This reflects the park's successful Southern Appalachian brook-trout restoration; for decades brookies were closed to harvest

All fish in the park are wild — there is no stocking inside GSMNP. Note that GSMNP now requires a paid parking tag ("Park it Forward") for any stop longer than 15 minutes, which applies to parking at the fishing pull-offs along Little River Road.

Source: National Park Service — Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Regulations change annually — verify before fishing.

Access & Logistics

Getting there, fly shops, and lodging

Getting There

Townsend, TN

~45 min from Knoxville (McGhee Tyson Airport, TYS) — Townsend is the closest of the three park gateways to the airport. ~20 min to Maryville/Alcoa for full services

Fly Shops

Camping & Lodging

Elkmont Campground sits right on the East Prong with streamside sites; Cades Cove Campground is nearby. Metcalf Bottoms and the Sinks are day-use picnic and parking access. Townsend — "the Peaceful Side of the Smokies" — is the gateway town at the "Y," with cabins, campgrounds, and outfitters along US-321; Maryville/Alcoa is about 20 minutes out for fuller services.

Little River Road (Little River Gorge Road) parallels the whole gorge with frequent pull-offs, so you can leapfrog runs for miles and wade up from any of them. Access is easy; the catch is the crowds and the paid parking tag now required for stops over 15 minutes. Elkmont Road climbs from Metcalf Bottoms to the campground for the trophy-brown reach, and the Little River Trail (an old railroad grade) is the foot access into the brook-trout headwaters above Elkmont. If the main stem is high, the Middle Prong at Tremont and the West Prong along Laurel Creek Road are smaller, road-accessible alternatives — but both are ungauged, so read the Townsend gauge and infer their condition.

Conditions data is live from public monitoring networks. Regulations change annually — always verify current rules with your state fish & wildlife agency before fishing.

More in Tennessee

View all 9 rivers

Great Smoky Mountains

Little Pigeon RiverTN

Three rivers under one name on the Tennessee side of the Smokies — the West Prong and Greenbrier (Middle Prong) tumble down out of the national park as wild-trout freestone pocket water with native brook trout up high, then the same water rolls into Gatlinburg's stocked town reach and out to a warm lowland mainstem. Wild specks and a family stocked stream inside fifteen road minutes of each other.

Other regions

Caney Fork RiverTN

Nashville's trout river — a cold Army Corps bottom-release tailwater running out of Center Hill Dam and, above all, a midge factory. Center Hill is a hydro-peaking dam, and TVA reports its release on the Lake Info feed, so the whole trip revolves around the generation schedule: wade the gravel flats only on zero generation, float through one or two units. When the turbines spin up the river rises several feet in minutes, so check the release before you go and give it a couple hours to drain after they cut water.

Clinch RiverTN

The Clinch below Norris Dam is Tennessee's oldest trout tailwater and, on the right day, the best shot at a genuinely huge brown in the eastern half of the country — this is the river that gave up the 28-pound-12-ounce state record in 1988, and fish in the high-20s still turn up on TWRA electrofishing runs. Day to day it's a technical, gin-clear midge fishery: the anglers who catch the most are drifting a size-18-or-smaller midge larva or pupa on light tippet, with a 14–20-inch protected slot keeping the big browns in the system. Everything keys off the Norris generation schedule — wade the flats around Miller Island and the weir when the turbines are off, and get well clear before a one- or two-unit release turns 13 miles of tailwater into an unwadeable torrent.

Hiwassee RiverTN

A big, scenic TVA tailwater running through a forested gorge in the Cherokee National Forest near Reliance — and a river with a quirk. Apalachia Dam doesn't release into its own riverbed; it shunts the whole flow through an 11-mile mountain tunnel to the Apalachia Powerhouse, and the trout water starts there, at Big Bend. So the number that decides whether you wade, float, or stay home isn't a dam gate but how many generators are spinning, which is exactly what the TVA release reading reports. Cold tailrace temperatures keep stocked rainbows and wild browns fishing year-round, over what locals call the most diverse bug life of any Tennessee tailwater — spring grannom caddis blizzards, a famous May-into-summer sulphur show, and big summer Isonychia.

Nolichucky RiverTN

The big freestone that drains the west slope of the Unaka and Bald mountains and punches through the deepest gorge in the Southeast before it spills out at Erwin. Be honest about what the "Chucky" is: first a smallmouth river, second a whitewater river, and only in the cold months and only up top a trout river. From Chestoa and Erwin down it's rock gardens, ledges, and boulder pockets you work with a 6- or 7-weight and Clousers, crawfish patterns, and dawn poppers for river-wide smallmouth, big muskie in the slow lower reaches, and a seasonal put-and-take stocked-rainbow reach near the Erwin hatchery that warms out of trout tolerance by May.

South Holston RiverTN

The "SoHo" is the tailwater that put Tennessee trout on the map — cold, limestone-rich water from the base of South Holston Dam holding one of the densest wild brown trout populations in the East and a year-round sulphur hatch that makes for some of the most technical dry-fly fishing in the country. A single-generator dam and a re-oxygenating weir dam mean everything keys off the TVA generation schedule: wade the flats before the afternoon release, float when the water's up.

Tellico RiverTN

Tennessee's biggest freestone trout stream, tumbling roughly twenty miles out of the North Carolina line down through the Cherokee National Forest to Tellico Plains. It has a split personality: the roadside lower river along Tellico River Road (FS 210) is put-and-take stocker water on a $3.50 Tellico-Citico daily permit, while the wild-trout heart is up in the delayed-harvest reach and the flies-and-lures-only tributaries — Bald River, North River, Citico Creek — that hold wild rainbows, surprisingly large wild browns, and native Southern Appalachian brook trout.