About Knoxville, Tennessee
Real Estate Guide

Fishermen agree East Tennessee the place to be

Fishermen usually don't agree on much. Ask bass fishermen the best time to fish and one says winter, the next says spring. Talk to crappie fishermen about where to go and one says a creek, the other says a big cove. Some fly fishermen like native brook trout, others like the stocked waters below TVA dams.

But one thing most fishermen agree on is if you want to fish, you want to be in East Tennessee.

In East Tennessee you can find the wild brook trout in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the crappie in dozens of creeks that feed the big TVA reservoirs and bass just about everywhere.

Striped bass? East Tennessee has them. Sauger? East Tennessee has them. Walley, musky and great big catfish? East Tennessee has all those, too.

There is world-class rainbow and brown trout fishing on the Clinch, Hiwassee and South Holston rivers. If you like flat water, seven lakes are within a 45-minute drive of downtown Knoxville, each offering something a little different.

Crappie fishermen love Douglas Lake, and bass fishermen swear by Watts Bar Lake. Smallmouth and spotted bass are the draw at Norris Lake, and Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes share common water and some uncommonly good largemouth and white bass fishing.

Melton Hill is home to a fledgling musky fishery that is getting attention from all over the Eastern United States. Once home to the state record striped bass, Melton Hill Lake boasts one of the most popular winter fisheries in the state at Bull Run Steam Plant.

Cherokee is like a sampler platter with striped bass to spare and crappie and largemouth in good numbers. Residents pay $28 for an annual fishing license, and nonresidents can fish for 10 days for $50. One- and three-day permits also are available.

A fishermen with a boat and some time can find what he's looking for and never drive more than an hour.

Cherokee Lake
Located amid rolling farmland, this 30,300-acre reservoir boasts good fishing for a variety of species. Striped bass abound near the dam in summer months. In the spring, stripers run upstream to the John Sevier Steam Plant discharge. Jigs and crankbaits take largemouth bass from rock outcroppings during the winter. Crappie fishing is excellent in the large creek embayments.

Douglas Lake
Nourished by three rivers, this 30,400-acre reservoir is the premiere crappie lake in East Tennessee and is considered statewide to be second only to West Tennessee's Reelfoot Lake. Despite an average annual drawdown of 48 feet, fertile creek hollows and an ample supply of stump beds provide hot crappie fishing year-round. Bass fishing is best in spring. Although a fisherman can catch a few 8-pounders, the lake is overpopulated with largemouth so there is no minimum size limit.

Norris Lake
The first reservoir constructed by TVA, this impoundment of the Powell and Clinch rivers was completed in 1936, creating a lake of 34,200 acres. The annual fluctuation can exceed 45 feet. In the winter, Norris is popular with smallmouth bass fishermen. Striped bass exceeding 50 pounds lurk in the lake, making fall and spring runs far into the headwaters. The lower half of the lake is best for winter and summer striped bass fishing. Walleye are stocked annually.

Fort Loudoun
Tellico lakes Near Knoxville, these two reservoirs are joined by a canal near their respective dams. Tellico is a deeper, clear-water reservoir fed by the Tellico and Little Tennessee rivers. The French Broad and Holston rivers supply warmer, more turbid water to Fort Loudoun. Every spring, several huge largemouth bass are caught on Tellico, most of them falling prey to spinners or crankbaits. Bat, Clear and Island creeks provide excellent pre-spawn bass fishing. On Fort Loudoun, white bass and crappie are caught in the springtime in Little Turkey, Sinking and Ish creeks and near Louisville Point Park. Cat fishing is excellent in Fort Loudoun.

Watts Bar Lake
Probably the best lake in East Tennessee, 38,000-acre Watts Bar has the best of just about everything. Largemouth and smallmouth are the big draws, with the April-June period providing the peak fishing for largemouth and October-December being best for smallmouth. Although the lake is subject to the same summer doldrums that plague other Tennessee reservoirs, nighttime bass fishing in July and August ranks with the best in the state. Crappie fishing in the spring is also very good on Watts Bar, as is the sauger fishing. October and November are the best times for striped bass, but big stripers are caught year-round. In August and September, white bass fishing is second to none in the state.