TWRA Weekly Fishing Forecast

NOTE - The TWRA wants to build a comprehensive report each week of the state’s lakes. If you do not see a report for your favorite lake and you are someone who can provide a report, please contact us at Ask.TWRA@tn.gov and provide us with your contact information.

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Boone Reservoir - 4-24-24

Forecast Contributor – Richard Markland, Region 4 Fisheries Technician

Reservoir Conditions- Reservoir elevation is 1378.75. The water temperature is 65* degrees. Water clarity 5’ visibility.

Bass- Good- Largemouth, Spots and are being caught on small shad like baits, crankbaits, jerk baits, Jigs and soft plastic finesse baits up shallow on rocky banks and bluffs.

Crappie- Good – Crappie are in the creeks/coves, in and around docks pitching and vertical fishing small artificial baits. 5’-10’ - 20’-30’ deep.

Trout- No Report

Striped Bass/Hybrid Bass- Fishing is Fair. Most of the fish are being caught Davis Dock upstream to Bluff City area on Holston side and Sonnys Marina area up to Knob Creek area trolling spoons and Shad.

Center Hill – 5-1-24

Forecast Contributor – Will Schibig, Region III Creel Clerk.

Reservoir Conditions

Reservoir elevation has been steady at 644’. Center Hill Dam hasn’t been generating much, only about 1,500-2,000 cfs per day. Surface water temperatures are warming fast with temperatures maxing at 70-72 degrees. Water clarity has cleared for most of the reservoir, the average visibility is 7-8’. Signs of the shad spawn are being reported by fisherman. Small patches of the shad spawn are being seen around rock and wood on the main channel.

Bass- Fishing is good. The best bite is early on topwater around points and flat banks with chunk rock. When the sun comes up, target shade lines and the backs of creeks with wacky rigs or flukes for largemouth. Smallmouth are being caught around points, channel swings, and gravel banks on topwater or small swimbaits.

Crappie- Fishing is good. Crappie are being caught around wood on main creek channels near deep water. Some crappie are being caught offshore near bait balls as well.

Sunfish- Fishing is good. Some redear are being caught on gravel banks. The sunfish spawn will start soon if some fish haven’t already been on bed. Look for beds on gravel or in the backs of creeks near willow trees.

Chickamauga Reservoir 4-2-24 – 4-2-24

Forecast Contributor – Nathan Rogers, Region III Creel Clerk

The weather was warm throughout the weekend with it being cloudy all-day Saturday. Sunday got up to as warm as 82. The water temps throughout the lake are still climbing with water temperatures in the main river being roughly 3 degrees cooler than creeks/inlets. Visibility in creeks is also much lower than the main river channel. The water level is climbing closer to summer pool being 2 feet from full; the latest depth I recorded is below. For any discharge or lake elevation info, check out the TVA Lake Info App.

Reservoir Conditions

Water Temp:

-                  Upper end of lake (River Channel): 66.7 degrees Fahrenheit

Water Clarity:

-                  Tennessee River (River Channel): 4 feet

-                  Creeks/Inlets: 3 feet

Water Level: 680.95 feet

Water Flow: (as of April 28^th)

-                  Watts Bar Dam: ~ 6415 cfs

-                  Chickamauga Dam: ~ 5650 cfs

Observed Species Information

Bass: Fishing is fair. Many anglers are finding fish in creeks and channels on rocky bluffs/banks throwing finesse techniques such as Dropshot, Texas, Shaky head. Wacky Rigs and Ned seemed to result in more bites. When fishing water with low visibility, throwing brighter colors and baits with flair garnered some bites.

Crappie: Fishing is slow. Crappie are being found in deeper creek channels around lay downs. Rocky banks with shallow submerged structure are also good areas to target. Try throwing Bobby Garland style jigs or live minnows. Trolling creeks is also still a good practice.

Catfish: Fishing is fair. Using live/cut bait on river channel below dam in current.

White Bass: Fishing is fair. Small swimbaits and jigs in current breaks below dam.

Chickamauga - 4-24-24

Forecast Contributor – Billy Wheat, Follow on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/riprapfishingadventures and www.riprapfishing.net

Chickamauga is in a full rotation from spawn to prespawn to post to shad spawn to bluegill spawn! The water level is 681 and the temperatures are 70-72 degrees. The Senko is hot! The swimbait is hot! The ole flipping stick with plastics is hot!

Douglas Lake 5-2-24

Forecast Contributor Brad Burkhart –  Follow on Facebook

The spawn is upon us. These are the days can be awesome or awful. I have a two-step approach that will hopefully get you more good than bad.

Pre spawn. Now this is relative to the areas you’re in. Prespawn bass can be staging on steep rocky banks, or they can be 200yds offshore on a long bar….

You have to consider where you are and fish accordingly.

Steep banks? It’s hard to beat a spinner bait or Jerk bait….

Long offshore stuff? Nothing beats a Carolina rig Step two Spawn. It’s actually easy, run as many pockets or bays that are protected and facing north as you can with a wacky rigged Senko or trick worm.

Good luck everyone.

And God Bless!

Brad Burkhart

Killer Bass Pro Guide Service

@bradburkhartprofishing

Hiwassee River below Appalachia Powerhouse – 4-25-24

Forecast Contributor- Tic Smith/Southeastern Anglers Guide Service

Water Temperature – 60-65 Water Clarity – clear Water Level – TVA is filling the reservoirs upstream so there is very little generation during the day. These are the best conditions for wade fishing.

Hatches- There are several different hatches occurring daily. Blue Wing Olives, Hendricksons and caddis are the predominant ones. These can be imitated with parachutes, emerger patterns sand a standard elk hair caddis.

Nymphs – pheasant tails with or without beads #16 to #18. Hares Ear and prince nymphs in sizes 12 to14 are good choices. Small streamers produce in the faster water. It’s hard to beat wooly buggers #6 to #10 Fishing is very good right now and will continue to be in the coming weeks.

Kentucky Lake 5-2-24

By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer (stevemc@charter.net)

MAY FISHING SCENE HEATS UP FOR VARIETY OF ANGLERS

Catfish are on the prowl. Bluegill and shellcracker are spawning and on the beds. Bass activity has held up well too. Crappie are in post-spawn phase but still biting. Once May arrives the fishing scene heats up across Kentucky Lake for a wide variety of fishermen. Just about everyone can find a species or technique that fits their fancy.

After a strange spring full of windy weather, the fishing scene has stabilized somewhat as to lake levels and overall fishing conditions. Dodging a few thunderstorms at times is part of warm days in May but it’s usually a brief inconvenience. Lake levels this week were staying around normal summer pool elevation of 359.  Watercolor is clear. Surface temps have warmed to the 70–73-degree range and will likely rise another degree or two at midday.

Bluegill and shellcracker are hitting good. Bluegill are bedding and the bite should hold up throughout May and into early June. The next full moon phase arrives May 23 which should signal a surge in spawning activity. The full moon back in the third week of April really kick started the powerful panfish bite a bit early and it has held up well. Most are using crickets, but wax worms and red worms have been producing too.

Catfish are up on shallow shorelines and on the prowl. Several bluegill anglers casting toward shallow shorelines have tied into them this week as they fish light tackle. Watch for the bite to be on for the next couple of weeks as the fish seek out rocky banks and crevices for spawning. Rip rap shorelines and levees will be good spots as well.

Although crappie are now in their post-spawn phase some decent stringers are still coming in. Anglers are having to make several stops to accumulate decent stringers, but it hasn’t been bad. Most of the crappie are coming from 9 to 14 feet but a few have already pulled back deeper and suspended in the 14 foot and deeper range.

Bass have been relating to weed beds and just outside of buck brush shorelines. A few have been taken in some deeper bushes, but most are just a bit off shorelines moving up in the early morning and late afternoon lowlight conditions. Tossing a Texas rigged green pumpkin pepper colored craw or lizard has worked well. Spinnerbaits and some floating worms are producing too as have some topwater jerk baits.

Some boats are already pulling out and hitting secondary humps and sloping sandbars as the post-spawn bass slowly pull away from the banks. With higher surface temperatures more bass will continue to filter back out toward deeper water. On the humps and deeper sandbars anglers are tossing Carolina rigged craws and worms plus big deep diving crankbaits, Texas rigged worms and some swimbaits or even twister tail grubs fished on lead heads.

A few nice smallmouth have been taken this spring by anglers backing off the banks and targeting deeper water. May across Kentucky Lake offers great fishing for several different species.

Nickajack Lake - 4-17-24

Forecast Contributor Ethan Castle – Whitwell High School Bass Team

Water temps have been reaching in the 70 and 72 degrees range these past few days. The majority of the bass are pulling up on beds and some post spawners but there are still a few pre-spawners. If you are going to sight fish any white craw Texas rigged has worked for me or a pink trick worm. I have still been catching a bunch on grass lines in the 7 foot or less range leading into spawning flats. Mainly throwing a Chatterbait in a shad color and on the days that the water gets dirty I will switch to a chartreuse and white with a gold blade. On the tougher days I have been throwing a Texas rigged craw with a 1/4 oz weight in a blue craw color and fishing really slow.

Norris Lake - 4-30-24

Forecast Contributor Paul Shaw – TWRA Creel Clerk

Water conditions are clear throughout the reservoir with the exception of creeks stained by locally heavy rainfall events.

Water temperature: 65 degrees, surface, in the channels with some protected creeks approaching 70 on sunny days.

Water elevation: 1,014.4 feet above sea level. Steady with minor fluctuations.

Smallmouth bass are in the middle of a spawn, with some already having spawned out. They’re being caught on the moderately sloped banks where whiter-colored gravel is seen; 5 to 15 feet deep (bottom depth). Post spawn fish are moving to deeper water on the bluffs and broken rock banks. Those anglers fishing for walleye with plugs or shad/alewife cast to the banks at night are getting more smallmouth than walleye.

Largemouth bass are pre-spawn with a few exceptions (fish don’t read our “rules”). Early mornings are seeing some good topwater action on buzz baits, jerk baits, and topwater plugs. Crankbaits and assorted jerk baits are taking the bulk of these. Catches have not been as numerous as smallmouth. Expect to see these fish roaming the shallows as the month progresses and the water warms toward the spawning season.

Walleye are hitting well at night, in the dark of the moon, along shorelines on the lower end. Alewife or shad, snagged under lights and cast to the banks, as well as Redfins, Shad Raps, and similar lures are catching some the same way. Some of these fish are approaching and exceeding the 20-inch size. The headwater spawn is over, with a few stragglers being caught upriver.

Shellcrackers (redear sunfish) are hitting in the shallows where there are button bush or willow shrubs. They’re also being caught where there are the abundant, yellow flowers along the shoreline by those fishing with red worms (better than nightcrawlers for these fish), small minnows, and wax worms. Small spinners worked along the bottom can be effective.

Striped bass have been hitting well, especially at night, in the Loyston to Hickory Star section and in the channel near Point 19. The upper end of the larger creek embayments have had some catches: Cove Creek, Big Creek, and Davis Creek.

Normandy Lake - 4-18-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Jake Davis – Follow on Facebook

Normandy is producing some good fish and is about to get a lot better as TVA pulls the water down.  Current water levels are at 875.13 and headed up to 875.75 by Sunday morning. This will pit lots of floating trash and logs in the water, please use caution.  Crankbaits, Texas Rigs or Tightline Jigs have been our go to.  We found several really nice bass using Crankbaits at the end of points in 4 to 10 feet of water.

Walleye can be caught trolling crankbaits or drifting minnows/crawler harnesses on flats and in the river.  I’m being told the springtime Crappie are doing good, you can catch them around brush in the river and standing timber. Keep an eye on the habitat that TWRA and TN Bass Nation put out the last couple years Water temperatures range from 63 to 68 degrees.  Please wear your life vest all the time while on the water. Capt. Jake 615-613-2382 or msbassguide@comcast.net

Percy Priest – 5-2-24

Forecast Contributor Brian Carper - briancarper.com - Follow on Facebook

The last seven days the fishing has picked up! The bass have been biting well on swimbaits in 1 to 6 feet of water in addition to Alabama rigs and crankbaits. The water temperature is now 69 to 74° and will be on the rise with the warm temperatures moving in. The lake is now at summer pool with normal clarity. The upper end of the lake and mid-lake have been the most productive for us. Coves and pockets with boulder rocks and wood have been the ticket. We also had a shad spawn that is pushing a lot of the fish in the backs of coves and pockets. As the water warms up the next couple weeks, we will start seeing schools of bass move out on the points and ledges.

For more information or Book your trip today at www.briancarper.com

Pickwick - 4-16-24

Forecast Contributor Tyler Finley – Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tyler.finley.750

The fish are finally spawning! Fish are being caught right now in creeks around structure in 2-5ft of water. Yellow creek and Waterloo have been putting out some quality fish. These will be caught on a shakey head and jig. When going into a creek look for shallow structure and flip as close as possible to it. This bite will last for a few weeks.

South Holston River - 3-26-24

Forecast Contributor Jimmy Cheers – https://www.mtnsportsltd.com/fly-fishing.htm

Tailwater Condition

Water temperature is holding around 48 degrees throughout the day.  Water is gin clear.  Not much generation this week, TVA is forecasting three to four hours of generation throughout the day.  The upper section, from Emmit Bridge to Big Springs Boat Ramp, is producing the best fishing.

Trout Fishing

Numbers can be caught on fly tackle with smaller flies.  Smaller flies that are working are midges, Blue Wing Olive, and scud patterns in the size 18 to 20 range.

Tims Ford - 4-17-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Jake Davis – Follow on Facebook

There is no better time than now to go fishing in Tennessee! The weather is great fish are biting! Our best fish came on Ned Rigs and ½ ounce Tightline Green Tequila Jig this week work around brush piles in 2 to 12 feet of water.   Overall numbers are great at 20-40 fish per day and quality improved this past week as well.  Presentations were Ned Rig, 4-inch Grub, Texas Rigged and Carolina rigged soft plastics, Tightline Mussel Crawler jigs tipped with Twin Tail grub.   Stripe and rock fish are on river channel bends with bucktail jigs, swimbaits and live bait. I’ve been told by reliable sources that walleye and stripe are being caught below Woods Dam from the bank.  

Please use caution as the lake levels are rising and falling with the rains as the TVA tries to hold the lake at or near the guide curve, there is lots of floating objects.  Current lake level is 884.11 with a forecasted level remain close to 885.65 over the weekend.  Water temps between 63 and 68 degrees on most of the lake.  Best ramps are Tims Ford Marina, Bass Club at Winchester City Park, State Park, Lost Creek, Turkey Creek and Devils Step at Fairview.     Please wear your life vest all the time while on the water and watch for floating logs.  Capt. Jake 615-613-2382 or msbassguide@comcast.net

Watts Bar - 4-24-24

Forecast Contributor – Billy Wheat, Follow on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/riprapfishingadventures and www.riprapfishing.net

Watts Bar is steady at 739 and water temperatures are 69-72 and climbing. The swimbait bite is on fire. The wood is definitely good for pitching plastics or a jig. The grass is great for a fluke or a trick worm. Watch for shad activity and make sure to have some topwater ready!

Watts Bar 4-16-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Wallace Sitzes – Follow on Facebook

I fished for multiple species each day for the past week, and it was like a different lake every day.  The big bass were gorging on shad around shallow rock piles, but then the gar started spawning hard and pushed everything off into deeper water. My regular big bass spots are still holding fish, but a lot of smaller ones so I know this heat wave has sent a lot of them into pre- spawn and spawning.  They are holding on semi deep structure around 8 - 15 feet and will work the shad until they get pushed deeper and the bass tend to fallow them out to the edge of the channel.  Luckily, they don't seem to be ranging far from their normal feeding spots.  I use side imaging and look for baitfish being busted apart or corralled up.  You will see holes or half-moon shapes in the schools of baitfish and that will be your bass.  These fish seem to be pretty hungry even in the heat of the day so don't be afraid to fish lures fast and aggressively.  

When I'm crappie fishing, I've been finding a lot of clusters of them still roaming around with seemingly no real pattern or depth preference. They have been changing their mind a lot though.  I pulled about 40 crappie in one tree and then only a fish or two the next couple days in the same spot. You can hop spot to spot and pull a couple off each tree but what I look for is a bunch of dinner plate sized shadows with my side imaging and try not to run the structure over especially if it’s in less than 20 feet of water.  If I can I try to stay at least a boat length away from my target and cast a 1/8 oz jig or use a minnow with a slip float. They usually bite very fast and once they shut down just go ahead and move on.  I've also tried to find structure that doesn't have really big fish around them.  I'm not sure if it's striper or catfish but once they move in the crappie shut down completely. 

The catfish and striper can just about always be targeted here throughout the year but if you are planning a trip just for them, I would definitely wait until we get some more water flow.  Once that water starts cranking, they will stack up on the edge of the channel in about 40+ feet of water and be much easier to catch. 

If you aren't picky and just want to catch fish, The white bass are schooling up and following the baitfish around. They are easy to spot with sonar. They look almost like a ball of crappie but will be packed tighter together and have less definition.  Early morning and just before sundown you might find them busting bait on the surface.   Look for birds diving and a lot of splashing on the surface. They will eat just about anything but love white jigs, small spoons and minnows. I wouldn't suggest anchoring up or using multiple rods because sometimes the striper are mixed in with them and if you hook one on light tackle, you're probably going to have to chase it down to prevent getting spooled.

Remember to take plenty of drinks with you in this heat even if you only plan on being out for a little bit.  I towed an older gentleman in yesterday that was nearly on the brink of death because his engine broke down and his short morning trip turned into a 12-hour trip. 

Wilbur Tailwater - 4-24-24

Forecast Contributor – Richard Markland, Region 4 Fisheries Technician

Tailwater Conditions- Tailwaters elevation 1585.75. Avg discharge is 240 cfm. The water temperature is 40-45* on the upper end of the tailwater. Water clarity is clear top to bottom. The fishing conditions change throughout the length of the tailwaters with flow rates and temperature.

Trout- Fishing is good. The most productive areas are Wilbur Dam downstream to Hunter area, not a lot of big fish but if you are looking for numbers the upper end is the place to be. Trout are being caught using Rapalas, Night crawler, Rooster tails, Small Flies, Streamers.

Woods Reservoir 4-4-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Jake Davis – Follow on Facebook

Not much change on Woods Reservoir, Old Grass lines and Brush have been the name of the game, Bass and Crappie all can be found along grass edges and on deeper cover. Best numbers are still coming on a shaky head rigged finesse bait.   We found our better fish in 1 to 5 foot of water using Texas Rigged D-Bombs from Missile Baits and Tightline Mussel Crawler jigs tipped with Twin Tail grubs, soft plastics, and A-Rigs. Some fish are starting to cruse the shallows feeding for the spring.  Drifting or trolling with spider rigs for Crappie is picking up some nice slabs but you have to weed through the short fish. Water temperatures range from 63 and 66 degrees. 

Please wear your life vest all the time while on the water… Give me a call to book your trip, Late Spring and Summer fishing can be lots of fun on Woods. Capt. Jake 615-613-2382 or msbassguide@comcast.net