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Tellico River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A Cherokee National Forest trout river above Tellico Plains with a seasonal permit area, a winter delayed-harvest reach and wild-trout tributaries.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
53 cfs
Air / High
74 / 74 F
Wind
WNW 2 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03518500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Tellico River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 53 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind WNW around 2 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 74. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:40 PM-12:40 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 72 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Tennessee requires a fishing licence from age 13, from $33.00 for residents. What a Tennessee licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with TWRA before you keep anything. The season dates for Tennessee, read off the agency, are on the Tennessee seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Tellico River at Tellico Plains.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03518500.

14130446753 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 81 years of October 23

At 53 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 03518500 (Tellico River at Tellico Plains) is at the 31st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 81 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 75 cfs; the highest was 437 cfs and the lowest 24 cfs.

p10 34median 75p90 191

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 03518500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp74 F
High / Low74 / 41 F
WindWNW 2-3 mph
Pressure1022.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:50 / 18:51
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Tellico River this week

The best day on Tellico River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:40 PM-12:40 AM
Minor period
4:34 AM-5:34 AM
Sun
07:50 to 18:51
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Tellico River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Tellico River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Tellico River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Tennessee requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Tennessee fishing license with trout privileges. Tellico-Citico permit required March 1–Aug 15 from the Turkey Creek confluence to the NC line; closed Thursdays and Fridays in that period; 7 trout, no length limit, one rod. Delayed harvest, North River mouth to NC line: catch-and-release, artificial lures only, Oct 1–Feb 28. North River, Bald River, Sycamore and Rough Ridge creeks: 5 trout, single-hook artificials (TWRA, updated Sept 15, 2026).

Access

The permit area runs from the Turkey Creek confluence to the North Carolina line in the Cherokee National Forest above Tellico Plains; check the Cherokee National Forest for roads and campgrounds.

About this water

A mountain trout river in the Cherokee National Forest above Tellico Plains, Monroe County, Tennessee.

Fishing Tellico River: the full guide

The Tellico-Citico permit area

TWRA's permit area covers the Tellico River from its confluence with Turkey Creek up to the North Carolina line. From March 1 through August 15 anglers there need the Tellico-Citico permit, the river is closed on Thursdays and Fridays unless they fall on a state or national holiday, fishing runs from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, and each angler may use one rod. From August 16 to the end of February the permit is not required and the river is open every day. The daily creel is seven trout with no length limit.

Delayed harvest above North River

From the mouth of North River upstream to the state line the Tellico is a delayed-harvest area, catch-and-release from October 1 to February 28. During that season no trout may be kept, only artificial lures are allowed, and bait may not be used or carried.

Wild trout tributaries

TWRA manages North River, Bald River, Sycamore Creek and Rough Ridge Creek, with their tributaries, as wild trout streams: five trout a day with no length limit, single-hook artificial lures only, and one dropper allowed.

Free Fishing Day and the gauge

On Tennessee's Free Fishing Day, the first Saturday after the first Monday in June, the Tellico from Sourwood Campground up to the dam is closed until noon to anglers 17 and older. The USGS gauge on this page, 03518500, is at Tellico Plains, below the forest reaches.

Common questions

When do I need the Tellico-Citico permit?

From March 1 through August 15, on the Tellico from Turkey Creek to the state line and on the listed part of Citico Creek. From August 16 to the end of February no permit is needed.

Is the Tellico open every day?

Not in spring and summer: from March 1 through August 15 the permit area is closed on Thursdays and Fridays, except holidays. The rest of the year it is open daily.

What are the rules on North River and Bald River?

Both are TWRA wild trout streams: five trout a day, no length limit, and only single-hook artificial lures.

Is fishing good at Tellico River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Watts Bar Lake25 miHiwassee River33 miNantahala River42 miClinch River43 miChickamauga Lake46 miLake Nottely47 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03518500 — Tellico River at Tellico Plains
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.6037, -84.2127 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.