Center Hill – 8-7-24

Forecast Contributor – Will Schibig, Region III Creel Clerk.

Reservoir Conditions-

Center Hill Dam is generating, on average, 2,300 cfs per day. Water levels are stable at 640’. Surface water temperatures remain high, from 85-87 degrees reservoir wide. Water clarity is 4-7’ reservoir wide. Baitfish are close to the surface, 5-15’ down in the channel. Please practice good fish care during warm water conditions.

Bass- Fishing is good. Anglers are getting a bit of a shallow bite flipping the channel swing walls in the backs of major creek arms in 5-10 FOW. Anglers on the main lake are getting bit dragging bottom contact baits like Ned rigs, jigs, or shaky heads in 14-16 FOW around chunk rock banks. Gravel rounds in the same depth range with the same baits are producing as well.

Walleye- Fishing is good. Trolling worm harness rigs or crankbaits around offshore structure or just off gravel banks is producing fish in 18-25 FOW.

Catfish- Fishing is good. Catfish are still being caught in open water either suspended 10-15’ down or off a gravel bottom in 20-25 FOW. Worms has been the best bait.

Chickamauga Reservoir July 26th – July 29th, 2024

Forecast Contributor – Nathan Rogers, Region III Creel Clerk

The weather has been cloudy and rainy most of the weekend with thunderstorms hitting nearly every afternoon. This has caused water temps to cool slightly throughout the lake. Current has begun to increase due to the influx of rain in the area. The water levels are about half a foot above normal full pool; 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:

Tennessee River (Middle Section): 81.7 degrees Fahrenheit

Tennessee River (Lower Section): 83.3 degrees Fahrenheit

Water Clarity:

Tennessee River (River Channel): 3 feet

Creeks/Inlets: 2 feet

Water Level: 682.15 feet

Water Flow: (as of July 29th)

Watts Bar Dam: ~ 46200 cfs

Chickamauga Dam: ~ 47540 cfs

Observed Species Information

Bass: Fishing is fair. Anglers seemed to get more bites fishing humps/ledges off of main river and creek channels. The most successful technique observed was fishing deeper flats and humps (15-20 feet) adjacent to main channel with deep diving crankbaits and swimbaits. Many anglers are also finding success on laydowns and flats throwing spinnerbaits, chatter baits and also finesse techniques (Wacky, Texas, and Dropshot). Topwater bites are picking up over shallow grass flats as well. Live bait is the most successful method observed to catch larger fish.

Chickamauga – 8-7-24

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

Chickamauga is crazy right now! High water and current can make an unbelievable day. The shell beds and bluff breaks are awesome with a handful of baits from a Chatterbait to a Glide! The grass beds are fire as they pull to the edges to feed. The deep bite is a Minner or a blade bait! The big worm is definitely something to keep in hand. Remember stay light in the grass and heavy on the shell beds!

Douglas Lake 8-7-24

Forecast Contributor Brad Burkhart –  Follow on Facebook

Good morning, everyone. Hope all is well. It’s HOT I mean it ain’t middle of September hot, but we are well on our way. With that being said, don’t think I’m crazy but the bass are starting to move back somewhat shallow. I’ve had good success targeting bluffs and they’re a specific reason. The distance needed to move shallow from deep back and forth is shorter than those bass that are living at the end of a break on the main channel.

Early morning try topwater and glide baits, mid-day focus on the wood with a shakey head or big worm. And lye afternoon stick to a big walking topwater like a spook around the ends of laydowns with shade. Watch your electronics, the bait will tell you the zone you need to target.

Good luck. God bless.

Message me to book a trip.

Brad Burkhart

@bradburkhartprofishing

Fall Creek Falls 8-7-24.

Forecast Contributor Casey Haston – FCF boat dock staff.

Lake Conditions – Fishing is still fair despite the hot weather. Fishing early morning and late evening, as well as cloudy/drizzly days seems to get the best results.

As the day heats up you may do better finding shaded areas to try. Surface water temperature is 84°-87°F and water clarity is about 3ft near the Boat Dock.

Ten automatic feeders are in use as well, they go off twice a day, currently at 6:00am and 7:30pm. The feeders may also be good place to try your luck!

Largemouth Bass:  Fishing is slow to fair, again for bass you might have better luck early or late in the day. The topwater bite is definitely better during those times!

Some bass have been caught on weightless plastic worms, finesse worms, speed craws, also Ned rigs. Live bait like minnows is always a good option!

Bluegill and Redear Sunfish:  Fishing for bluegill is actually pretty good, still catching some nice bluegill! Redear bite is kind of slow but still a few being caught.

Bluegill are mostly being caught on crickets and red worms, redear seem to like night crawlers or red worms better. Some bluegill being caught near the feeders early and late in the day, maybe find the shade or deeper water as the day heats up!

Catfish:  Fishing is good! There has been some really nice catfish caught on various baits like chicken liver, hot dogs, worms, crickets, stink bait and live minnows.

The feeders are a good place to try but catfish have been caught near the dam, the cabins and several different areas!

Crappie:  Fishing is slow for the crappie but there have been a few caught on live minnows, sometimes Bobby Garlands, or a small grub. Deeper underwater

structures, docks, or sunken treetops might be good places to try.

Hiwassee River below Appalachia Powerhouse – 6-27-24

Forecast Contributor- Tic Smith/Southeastern Anglers Guide Service

NOTE- Mr. Smith will be guiding in KY until October and will not be able to provide Hiwassee reports until then.

River Conditions

Water temp- 60 to 72 degrees

Water clarity – clear

Water level – flows vary from 0 to 2 generators (Go to TVA.com to check flow schedules) This tailwater schedule is posted after 6pm the previous day. Click on Lake Levels then Apalachia to view info.

River Conditions- The water temps are rising to lethal levels during periods of 0 generation. The heat wave and lack of rain have combined to make the fishing very difficult. When the water is running, it is cold enough for the trout but when the generators are at 0, the temps are shutting the trout down. Fishing is not good now.

Hatches – a few Sulphurs and Isonychias

Terrestrials, such as hoppers and ants are good flies to throw. Wooly buggers in sizes 6 to 10 are always productive. Olive on sunny days and black on cloudy ones are a good rule to go by. Larger streamers are productive when 2 generators are running.

Kentucky Lake 8-8-24

By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer ([email protected])

CATFISH/WHITE BASS BITE DEPENDENT ON CURRENT

Decent stringers of catfish continue to show up in the creel of mid-summer anglers. Scattered sightings of surface schooling white bass have also been reported but the activity has been inconsistent. Despite hot weather a few anglers are still hitting the lake in the early morning and logging a few hours of fishing but throwing in the towel when a stubborn sun takes over and calls the shots.

Kentucky Lake’s elevation continues to fall slowly and is pretty much on schedule for TVA’s winter drawdown that began July 1. Lake levels this week were in the 357.4 range at Kentucky Dam, which is down a few inches from last week. Surface temperatures reflect the warm weather and are hanging around the 89-to-92-degree range. Some brief periods of cool weather offered a short reprieve from the hot and humid dog days of summer, but the honeymoon was short as August is living up to its hot reputation.

Current out on the main Tennessee River channel has a lot of influence on the midsummer catfish bite. There have been a few decent reports from successful anglers whenever the flow was stimulating the shad schools to move about. Other days a downright sluggish bite was the norm as a lack of current turns off the aggressive bite as balls of baitfish just don’t meander about when stagnant water takes over.

Lately TVA has been pushing some water through Kentucky Dam at a rate of 28,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and that is enough to produce a decent bite and put ole’ whiskers on the prowl. However, when current fades away so does the bite. Catfish have been taken in the 40-to-50-foot depth range. Some even deeper at times. Watching the sonar screen and monitoring the depths and locations of schooling shad helps locate the catfish, which are usually laying right there with them. Experienced anglers have learned to pinpoint the whereabouts of larger fish too, adjusting their bait and depth presentation right in the face of finicky fish.

Nightcrawlers, cut bait, chicken livers and a host of commercial baits have paid dividends. Unfortunately, the old tried and true bait that is no longer available for most fishermen are catalpa worms.

Scattered reports of surface feeding frenzies from schooling white bass are coming in from across the reservoir. August is usually prime time for these aggressive feeders that tear up the surface once they corral a school of shad and push them over shallow sandbars. Found mostly near the main Tennessee River channel banks that rise up to shallow sandbars, white bass bust the surface on a calm day as they ambush schools of threadfin and gizzard shad. It is indeed one of fishing’s finest hours to be in the midst of a white bass jump, commonly referred to as stripes. These aggressive gamefish put up a fight. Average size is usually in the ¾ to 1-pound range, but they often grow bigger. They all fight.

About the best approach is to cruise the edges of the river channel, keeping a sharp eye out for surface activity. In the mouth of some of the large bays that empty into the main channel are likely spots.

Some bass fishermen are still working the main lake ledges tossing mostly Texas rigged worms, Carolina rigs, swim baits and huge deep diving crankbaits.

Summer crappie have been showing up too but in low numbers. Most successful anglers credit their catches to deep structure in the 18-to-25-foot depth range while using live minnows for bait.

Nickajack Lake – 7-25-24

Forecast Contributor Ethan Castle – Whitwell High School Bass Team

Fishing has been good for the most part and has not slowed down. Water temps have been ranging in the mid to high 80s. The fish seem to be biting in a bunch of different ways lately. I have still been staying offshore for the most part doing a lot of graphing trying to find big schools in 18 to 20 feet of water throwing a big crankbait in chartreuse blue back for the most part, on the slower days you can throw a big worm in plum or June bug and a big football jig in a blue craw color. There are a few good mats of grass starting to show up in the river that you can throw a frog on in the mornings and evenings especially if they have some current flowing.

Normandy Lake – 7-25-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Jake Davis – Follow on Facebook

Normandy produces some good fish and especially in the morning and late evening hours.   Current water levels are at 874.08 and headed down to 873.98 by Sunday morning. Crankbaits, Texas Rigs or Tightline Jigs have been our go to.  We found several really nice bass using shaky heads at the end of points in 10 to 15 feet of water. Walleye can be caught trolling crankbaits or drifting minnows/crawler harnesses on flats and in the river.   Keep an eye on the habitat that TWRA and TN Bass Nation put out the last couple years Water temperatures range from 85 to 88 degrees. For more information call Jake Davis at 615.613.2382 Please wear your life vest all the time while on the water.   Capt. Jake 615-613-2382 or [email protected]

Percy Priest – 8-8-24

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

Although the fishing has still been a grind the bass have been a little more aggressive with the cooler temperatures last week. Continued patterns with crankbaits and plastic worms fished on 3/16oz shaky head has been the most productive. Color patterns in red or green pumpkin have been successful. Bass have been concentrating in 6 to 20 feet of water on points, humps and ledges near the main channel. The water temperature has been staying in the mid-80s and ending in the upper 80s by the end of the day.

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

Pickwick – 7-22-24

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

With water temperatures in the mid 90’s fish are looking for cooler more oxygenated water. Both deep ledges and grass have been a factor recently. Ledges from Waterloo to the state park have been best (15-25ft). The closer to the main lake the ledge is the better. When fishing a ledge use a jig, Carolina rig, big worm and swimbait. Most of the grass is up past the trace in 5-10ft. When fishing grass use a Chatterbait and swimbait. You will have to fish a lot of grass to get bit but when you find one there will be more with it.

Tims Ford – 7-25-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Jake Davis – Follow on Facebook

What a swing on area lakes.  The weather pattern over the last week has really helped out.  Fresh water from the rains and the lake temperatures have dropped 5 to 7 degrees. If this weather conditions hold this might be the best August for fishing we’ve seen in several years.  We found some nice fish active early in the mornings and late evenings.  Our best fish came on 3/8 Shaky Head with a Magnum Trick worm and ½ ounce Tightline Green Tequila Jig this week work around brush piles in 8 to 15 feet of water.

Overall numbers are holding good with 10 to 20 fish per ½ day and quality is still good this past week as well.  Presentations were Texas Rigged and Carolina rigged soft plastics, Tightline Mussel Crawler jigs tipped with Twin Tail grub…   Don’t pass up the opportunity to flip laydowns especially around deep water.  The current Lake level is 887.54 with a forecasted level dropping due to the lack of rain to 887.45 over the weekend.  Water temps are between 82 to 86 degrees on most of the lake. I will be conducting a TWRA Boater Safety Course with testing the same day on 1 July 2024, please keep your lights on at night, even when sitting still “It’s the Law and it will save your life”.     Always wear your life vest while on the water, watch for floating logs and other boaters.  Capt. Jake 615-613-2382 or [email protected]

Watts Bar – 8-7-24

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

Watts Bar is full and the main channel banks are full of bugs! The Pop-R and jig get bit in the bugs! If you can graph through the catfish and White Bass and be diligent in your methods, you will find some bass through all that mess! And when you do they bite! Electronics have come so far! The grass bite is fun it’s either a shad or bluegill imitation that gets bit! The transition banks can be good with an 8-12 ft crankbait in a bluegill or shad pattern. Find the trees scoping takes over with a glide or Minner!

Watts Bar 7-26-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Wallace Sitzes – Follow on Facebook

With the lack of water flow, high temps and a ton of pleasure boaters on the water it’s my least favorite time of year to fish.  There’s only a couple months out of the year where the fish’s feeding patterns aren’t dictated by water flow.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t go out and slaughter fish though.  They actually become very predictable.

Multiple species of fish are still stacking up on the top of sand bars where the bait gathers.  The time of day is a major factor in being successful right now.  The fish will start gorging somewhere like a cove entrance or bottleneck and then usually slowly migrate out and upriver with the bait even with very little water flow. Entrances to coves where baitfish feed are a great place to start and then just follow the fish.  They will usually head deeper as the sun, boats and birds push the baitfish into the channel and old creek beds. About 5 or 6 pm you’ll find them coming out of those deeper spots and gorging on shad along the sand bars and humps.

For bass I like to target banks or bluffs with a really steep drop off where they can feed on baitfish but stay in cooler water.  I’m finding a lot of small fish around shady banks and docks, but my bigger bass are out away from the bank on single structures like 1 big rock, a point or deep submerged trees.  If the bite is hot, I like a faster bait that mimics a shad, if it’s a slower bite I prefer a slow sinking soft plastic and they usually hit it on the free fall.

The catfishing is really easy right now.  Just find the piles of them on the drop offs and sand bars and drop shad on them. Live or cut bait works.  If you’re not catching a ton of them, I would move and find another spot because they are stacked up and hungry.

White bass are still schooled up pretty good but I’m seeing less of them busting the surface and lower numbers in the schools. There are more big striper mixed in with them now though.

Woods Reservoir 7-25-24

Forecast Contributor Captain Jake Davis – Follow on Facebook

Woods has gone through a major temperature change in the last week… Early last week we actually saw temperatures hit 90 degrees.  As of yesterday, it was 82.5.  Great place to beat the heat.  Early morning and late afternoon/evening is the best. Grass lines and Brush have been the remain your best bet, Bass and Crappie all can be found along grass edges and on deeper brush piles. Best numbers are still coming on a shaky head rigged finesse bait and a Tightline Mussel Crawler Jig in Green Tequila.

We found our better fish in 8 to 15 foot of water using Texas Rigged D-Bombs from Missile Baits and Tightline Mussel Crawler jigs tipped with Twin Tail grubs, soft plastics, and Carolina Rigs. 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 81 to 86 degrees.   Please wear your life vest all the time while on the water… Give me a call to book your trip, summer fishing can be lots of fun on Woods.  Capt. Jake 615-613-2382 or [email protected]