Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the reporting a streamflow rate of cfs. This is also the highest stage along the Tellico River, with a gauge stage of ft at this location. This river is monitored from 1 different streamgauging stations along the Tellico River, the highest being situated at an altitude of ft, the .
The Tellico River rises in the westernmost mountains of the U.S. state of North Carolina, but it flows mainly through Monroe County, Tennessee. With a length of 52.8 miles (85.0 km), it is a major tributary of the Little Tennessee River, and is one of the primary streams draining the Unicoi Mountains.
The Tellico River and its main tributaries are renowned for their brook, brown, and rainbow trout fishing. Upstream from Tellico Lake, above Tellico Plains, Tennessee, the Tellico is a premier trout stream. It meanders through a mountain gorge before reaching the broad plains downstream of Tellico Plains.