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 – 4-24-24

Forecast Contributor – Will Schibig, Region III Creel Clerk.

Reservoir Conditions- Water levels have been steady at 644’. Center Hill Dam is slowing down on generating, with 1,000-3,000 cfs being generated on average per day. Water temperatures were real warm last week (66-69) before the mini-cold front, now the surface temperatures are more 61-66 degrees. Water clarity is starting to clear with visibility being 7-10’ on the upper end. The dingy water in the mid lake seems to be moving through, but the mid-lower end will still have patches of the 3-5’ dingy water. The waters around Rock Island are murkier, 3-5’ visibility. This week is almost a full moon, so any fish who haven’t spawned yet will be moving up to do so this week.

Bass- Fishing is good. Bass can be caught near shallow structure with finesse tactics like flukes, wacky rigs, Neko rigs, and shaky heads. Most bass seem to be post spawn at this point and are feeding near the bank. Smallmouth can be caught on main lake banks with topwater or swimbaits in 5-15 FOW. There are still some buck bass guarding beds.

Crappie- Fishing is good. Crappie are being caught in spawning and post spawn stages. Most fish are being caught on main creek banks with flooded timber. Minnows and jigs around these trees are producing good fish. Anglers are also catching post spawn fish schooled up around bait off the bank.

Walleye- Fishing is good. Anglers are catching good quality walleye around the Rock Island portion of the river jigging the bottom and trolling crankbaits. The bite seems to be more quality than quantity with most anglers only catching 1-3 fish per day, but all good fish.

Chickamauga Reservoir 4-22-24 – 4-24-24

Forecast Contributor – Nathan Rogers, Region III Creel Clerk

The weather was cooler throughout the weekend warming up after Monday morning. 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 3 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): 61.7 degrees Fahrenheit

-                  Hiwassee River: 69.1 degrees Fahrenheit

Water Clarity:

-                  Tennessee River (River Channel): 4 feet

-                  Creeks/Inlets: 2.5 feet

-                  Hiwassee River: 3.5 feet

Water Level: 680.8 feet

Water Flow: (as of April 24^th)

-                  Watts Bar Dam: ~ 6350 cfs

-                  Chickamauga Dam: ~ 10880 cfs

-                  Ocoee#1 Dam: ~ 720 cfs

-                  Apalachia: ~ 770 cfs

Observed Species Information

Bass: Fishing is getting better. Many anglers are finding fish in creeks and channels on drop-offs throwing finesse techniques such as dropshot, Texas, Shaky head, Damiki, and other soft plastic rigs. Some still target with live bait and attract some bits as well. When fishing water with low visibility, throwing brighter colors and baits with flair garnered some bites.

Crappie: Fishing is fair. Crappie are still being found in creeks in shallow water but also found in deeper channels as well. Rocky banks with shallow submerged structure are where most anglers are finding fish. Try throwing Bobby Garland style jigs or live minnows. Trolling creeks is also still a good practice.

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!

Cordell Hull Report 3-28-24

Forecast Contributor – Brandon Dowdy – Southern Woods and Waters https://swwtv.com/

Crappie- Fish have started moving up shallow and into the creeks that feed the main river channel. Stake beds produced a few fish over the past week, as well as brush piles in shallow water and sunny banks in the late mornings have been great. A small float with a 1/32oz jig in Monkey Milk has worked well in 3-8ft of water.

Bass- Fish are stacking up along the main river on bluffs and rock outcrops. A natural-colored swim jig or stick bait would be a good choice, as they have been feeding aggressively. While most fish are still in 10-12ft of water, plenty of Bass can be caught up shallow right now as well.

White Bass- Schools were found spotted all along the river feeding on shad. Any spinner, such as a rooster tail will put fish in the boat. Anywhere the bait is at, White Bass have been nearby in big numbers. A few have even been caught while bank fishing in shallow water in the past few days.

Catfish- Eating sized fish have been found in good numbers throughout the lake. Cut shad has been most effective recently and a few larger fish have been caught on live bluegill. Some large schools have already been caught in shallow coves feeding on live minnows.

Douglas Lake 4-18-24

Forecast Contributor Brad Burkhart –  Follow on Facebook

Hello all, thank goodness it’s April, that means one thing…. throw a spinner bait.

Fishing a spinner bait is a dynamic way to catch and find fish this time of year. I target the secondary point that have a decent slope like a 45 degree with rock. If I’m catching mostly bucks and already spawned out females, then I know they’re in a post spawn deal. But if they are fat females then I follow it up with a wacky rigged Senko and continue on deeper into the pocket or creek.

The lower end of the lake is fishing really good. I start around shady grove and work my way down the lake.

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 lives, 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 4-25-24

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

BLUEGILL/REDEAR BITE UNDERWAY…. CATFISH ON THE WAY

When a full moon in April coincides with warming surface temperatures and rising lake levels the battle with bluegill and shellcracker begins. That’s what’s been happening the last week, or two along shallow pockets and shorelines of Kentucky Lake where weed beds attracted early spawning panfish in big numbers.

Actually, the third week of April is a bit early for active spawning phases to kick in for bluegill but the redear sunfish (shellcracker) are known to kick off the race a bite early. Despite the continuation of unruly winds and some chilly mornings the bite has been good and seemed to improve by midday once the sun warmed things up.

Working well have been meal or wax worms plus red worms. It has been so cold as of late most bait shops had not even begun to stock crickets when the early bite began. That’s all changed now. All systems are on go for the popular panfish who begin active spawning phases in late April (depending on weather and surface temps) and often do well through late May and into early June at times.

Anglers should have some good fishing in the weeks ahead as these aggressive panfish really turn on and provide a thrill to anglers of all ages. It’s a great time to introduce anyone to fishing but especially youngsters wetting a hook for the first time. From gravel banks to pockets off the main lake where weeds mix with various shoreline habitat is where you’ll find their crater shaped beds. The fish fan out little “pie-plate” shaped craters where they deposit eggs. The dark olive drab-colored ones are the males; females will display a pale-yellow appearance. Grab some terminal tackle and head to the lake. The show is underway. Disappearing bobbers never go out of style!

Kentucky Lake’s elevation reached summer pool ahead of schedule this spring and was 359.2 at midweek. Water color is clear. Surface temps are in the 66-to-68-degree range. Normal summer pool level is 359 so the reservoir is not only early (May 1 is TVA’s target date for summer pool elevation) but a bit above normal at present.

Crappie across Kentucky Lake are entering their post spawn phase and have started to scatter a bit for most anglers, but decent stringers are still coming in. Around the Paris Landing sector most of the crappie have been taken in the 9-to-13-foot depth range. Not a lot of fish have moved up to shallow shoreline structure or shallow spawning spots. Seems the clear water has kept a lot of fish spawning out away from shoreline structure. Up Big Sandy there were several fish taken in 2-to-5-foot depths the last couple of weeks. Seems the upper Big Sandy basin always has some crappie moving up to shallow venues earlier that the rest of the region. Odds are it warms quicker plus is known for dingy watercolor at times.

Cat fishermen are armed and loaded, waiting on ole’ whiskers to move up to the rocky banks and begin spawning phases. That’s about to hit high gear as once surface temps reach the low 70’s they really go on the prowl. Best get the nightcrawler bucket and heavy catfish poles ready. They’re on the threshold.

Bass fishermen have been banging away at the banks and fan casting weed beds with spinnerbaits, Texas rigged craws and worms, floating worms, jig and pig combos and some topwater at times. Other patterns have boats backing off the banks and targeting humps and shell bed sand bars in their quest for smallmouth.

Watch for more shoreline activity to kick in for most all species as rising water levels coincide with rising surface temperatures in the days and weeks ahead. Some great fishing opportunities await you here as the spring transition continues and warmer days enter the picture.

Lake Halford 3-16-24

Forecast Contributor – Andy Porter, East Hickman fishing coach.

Reservoir Conditions- 3/16 Air Temp 65 degrees.  Water temp 58 degrees.  Sunny, light wind

Water Clarity:  Excellent

Bass- Fair- Bass scattered.  Very few fish holding in shallow water.  Most fish are in the 10’ range with a few in the 15-20’ range.  Catching fish on hard baits and plastics.  Fish should be moving up soon.

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.

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 – 4-25-24

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

Another transitional week on Percy Priest with cooler temperatures! The fish were on fire last week but have recently been fickle with the cooler nights. The water temperature ranges from 62 to 66° at summer pool and normal water clarity. Many bass are being caught and two to four feet of water on soft plastics, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and topwater lures throughout the entire lake. Many of the females have backed off and are recovering from the spawn. The backs of pockets and coves near the main channel have been productive around boulder rocks and isolated wood.

After this weekend and a few days next week with warmer temperatures the post spawn bite out deeper should become more consistent. Fishing in 4 to 8ft of water should be productive. As for the crappie... they continue to be inconsistent as well. A few stragglers are still on the bank while the majority have moved out, but yet to start schooling and becoming aggressive. Live bait fished in brush piles 10 to 15ft in addition to casting 1/16oz jigs has been successful. Shad pattern in addition to red and chartreuse Crappie Magnets have been productive.

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