Several waters close or change for the season. A wildlife refuge on Chickamauga and two spawning stretches below South Holston Dam close in November, Norris and Watts Bar take a 36-inch striped bass minimum from November 1, Gatlinburg's streams turn catch and release in December, and the walleye runs carry gear limits from January 1. Most Delayed Harvest seasons end with February, and last winter TWRA started its winter trout program in late November.
What to fish for in early November
Tennessee's winter belongs to the reservoirs and the tailwaters below them. Sauger and walleye hold below the TVA and Corps dams and start up the plateau rivers at the end of the quarter, crappie school on the big lakes, the clear lakes give slow, heavy smallmouth, and the cold tailwaters and the winter trout stockings near the cities carry the trout side.
Crappie
Schools tight over deep brush and the old creek channels and bites slowly in the cold, moving up toward the banks in the warm spells late in the quarter.
Where. Stake beds and brush on the old creek channels of Kentucky Lake, Pickwick, Old Hickory and Percy Priest, and the stumps of Reelfoot.
The crappie waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Kentucky Lake (Tennessee) not modeled Best Tue, Nov 10, A+Today's forecast Percy Priest Lake about 64F Best Sun, Nov 8, A+Today's forecast Walleye
Gathers at the heads of the plateau lakes through the cold and starts up the rivers late in the winter, which is why the run water carries its own gear rules from New Year.
Where. The upper Caney Fork above Center Hill, the East Fork of the Obey above Dale Hollow and the Emory above Watts Bar, and the tailwaters below the dams.
Striped Bass
Feeds hard in the cold on the TVA lakes, chasing shad through the open water and into the backs of the creeks.
Where. Open water and the creek arms of Norris, Cherokee and Watts Bar, and the tailwaters below their dams.
The striped bass waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Norris Lake about 64F Best Mon, Nov 16, A+Today's forecast Rainbow Trout
Stocked in the cold tailwaters and, from late in the fall, in the winter program's city lakes and creeks, where the fish hold close to where the truck left them.
Where. The Caney Fork, Clinch, Holston and Hiwassee tailwaters, the Delayed Harvest streams of the east, and the city lakes of the winter program.
Smallmouth Bass
Slow and deep on the clear lakes, holding tight to rock and bluff ends where the bait gathers, and taken on a slowly worked jig or a float-and-fly.
Where. Main-lake points and bluffs on Dale Hollow and Center Hill, and the rocky banks of Norris and Cherokee.
The smallmouth bass waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Dale Hollow Lake about 64F Best Thu, Nov 5, A+Today's forecast
Usual water now is that water's normal for this point in the season: a lake's modeled seasonal curve or a river gauge's long-run average, not this year's reading. The forecast link reads this week's.
What changes soon
The next six weeks of this report's calendar for Tennessee.
- Sun November 15The Hiwassee Refuge on Chickamauga and the Chota unit on Tellico Lake close until the end of February; fishing goes on in the Hiwassee's main channel.
- Tue December 1Gatlinburg's streams and Acorn Lake at Montgomery Bell State Park in Tennessee turn catch and release until March 31.
- Thu 3 and Fri December 4The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission holds its last meeting of the year, the one to watch for next season's fishing regulation proposals.
In the last two weeks
- Sun November 1Two stretches of the South Holston below the dam close to all fishing until January 31, and Clear Creek at Norris until March 31.
- Sun November 1Tennessee puts a 36-inch minimum on striped bass on Norris and Watts Bar.
- Sun November 1Delayed Harvest streams turn catch and release in Georgia, South Carolina and West Virginia, and on Big Soddy Creek in Tennessee; those in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky have been catch and release since October 1.
Every date for Tennessee from November to February (9)
- Sun November 1Delayed Harvest streams turn catch and release in Georgia, South Carolina and West Virginia, and on Big Soddy Creek in Tennessee; those in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky have been catch and release since October 1.
- Sun November 1Tennessee puts a 36-inch minimum on striped bass on Norris and Watts Bar.
- Sun November 1Two stretches of the South Holston below the dam close to all fishing until January 31, and Clear Creek at Norris until March 31.
- Sun November 15The Hiwassee Refuge on Chickamauga and the Chota unit on Tellico Lake close until the end of February; fishing goes on in the Hiwassee's main channel.
- Tue December 1Gatlinburg's streams and Acorn Lake at Montgomery Bell State Park in Tennessee turn catch and release until March 31.
- Thu 3 and Fri December 4The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission holds its last meeting of the year, the one to watch for next season's fishing regulation proposals.
- Fri January 1Tennessee's walleye-run gear limits begin.
- Sun January 31Buffalo Creek's Delayed Harvest season ends, and the two closed stretches of the South Holston reopen.
- Sun February 28In Tennessee, last day of the Delayed Harvest season on the Hiwassee, the Tellico, Paint Creek, the Doe and Big Soddy Creek.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
Tennessee is reported by its own agency. TWRA's Fishing Reports page carries dated entries water by water from biologists, creel clerks and guides, with water temperatures and dam releases, and its one winter capture with content holds fourteen entries from January 7 to 23, 2026. Only two winter captures exist, so how often it ran is not proven. Dale Hollow, Chickamauga, Cherokee, Douglas, Reelfoot and the South Holston had no entry in January, and no other dated reporter could be found for them.
Where to fish in Tennessee, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
West Tennessee
Kentucky Lake · Pickwick Lake · Lake Barkley · Reelfoot Lake · Mississippi River
The lower lakes of the Tennessee and the Cumberland, Kentucky, Pickwick and Barkley, Reelfoot Lake in the northwest corner, made by the New Madrid earthquakes, and the Mississippi along the western line. Crappie, catfish, bass, and sauger below the dams.
Who reports here. TWRA's report carried a Kentucky Lake entry from Steve McCadams in its January capture and nothing else from this end of the state, and no other dated reporter could be found for the rest of it.
Engine outlook
- Best: Tue, Nov 10, A+12 good hours64F modeled from weather, no gaugebest run 12h
Middle Tennessee
Old Hickory Lake · Cheatham Lake · Percy Priest Lake · Tims Ford Lake · Normandy Lake
The Nashville basin: the Cumberland held back into Old Hickory and Cheatham, Percy Priest on the Stones River, and Tims Ford and Normandy in the hills to the south, with cold tailwaters below them.
Who reports here. The best-covered part of the state in TWRA's report: its January capture held seven entries from these lakes and the tailwater below Center Hill, each dated by the biologist, creel clerk or guide who filed it.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A+12 good hours67F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 12h
The Cumberland Plateau
Dale Hollow Lake · Center Hill Lake · Caney Fork River · Cordell Hull Lake · Watts Bar Lake
The Plateau and its edges: Dale Hollow and Center Hill, clear and deep among limestone hills, the Caney Fork tailwater below Center Hill, and the Tennessee River lakes from Watts Bar down through Chickamauga and Nickajack past Chattanooga.
Who reports here. TWRA's January capture carried entries for Watts Bar and Nickajack but none for the two lakes most people search for, Dale Hollow and Chickamauga, and the other pages about Dale Hollow are undated crowd posts and general advice.
Engine outlook
- Best: Thu, Nov 5, A+11 good hours67F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
East Tennessee
Norris Lake · Cherokee Lake · Douglas Lake · Fort Loudoun Lake · Tellico Lake
The TVA lakes around Knoxville, Norris, Cherokee, Douglas, Fort Loudoun and Tellico, the high lakes of the northeast corner, Boone, South Holston and Watauga, and the cold tailwaters below them, with the trout streams of the Smokies and the Cherokee National Forest above.
Who reports here. TWRA's January capture carried four entries from here, the water below the Norris dam and the Hiwassee among them. Most of the big lakes had none, and no tailwater fly shop could be shown to report in winter.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 16, A+10 good hours67F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
The rules from November to February
What changed this time
- New this season: Big Soddy Creek's Delayed Harvest season now starts on November 1 rather than October 1, and the Piney River is no longer Delayed Harvest water. Tennessee's rules year began on August 1.
- Last winter's trout program put more than 70,000 rainbows of about ten inches into more than 40 places, many of them city lakes, from November 26, seven a day and five in the Community Fishing Program lakes. This winter's program had not been announced by October 19.
- Three access points damaged by Hurricane Helene are due to be finished in December: the Leadvale ramp on upper Douglas, the Blevins Road ramp on the Watauga and the Joe Johnson access on the Nolichucky.
- Pending: the Commission approved new license fees in August, most about 27 to 29 percent higher, with the resident hunting and fishing combination going from $33 to $42. They still need the legislature's Joint Government Operations Committee, and no effective date has been set.
Read on October 19, 2026, from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (its fishing guide and regulations, its trout regulations and regulation exceptions, its reservoir pages and its news releases).
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- Anyone 13 or older needs a Tennessee fishing license, and an annual license runs 365 days from the day it is bought. For residents 16 to 64 the least is the $33 annual hunting and fishing combination, with a $21 trout supplemental for trout, or a day for $6, or $11 with trout. Visitors pay $49 a year ($98 with trout), $20 for three days ($40 with trout) or $30 for ten ($61).
- Reelfoot Lake also takes a Preservation Permit, except for anglers under 16, residents 65 and older, and lifetime or sportsman license holders.
- A license from either state is good on Pickwick (Tennessee, Alabama or Mississippi), on the Mississippi River and the backwaters a boat can reach from it (Arkansas and Missouri), on Calderwood Reservoir from a boat (North Carolina), and with Kentucky on Kentucky Lake between the US 79 and US 68 bridges, the Wolf River arm of Dale Hollow and the Big South Fork from Leatherwood Ford to Yamacraw. On the Kentucky waters a bank angler follows the rules of the state whose bank it is. South Holston takes a reservoir license from either state to fish across the line.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- No more than three hooks on a rod or line, except a sabiki rig for shad and herring. Live blueback herring and the other species TWRA bans may not be possessed or carried alive, live skipjack, gizzard and threadfin shad may not leave the Mississippi River or the Barkley, Kentucky and Pickwick reservoirs alive, and no live bait may be released away from the water it came from.
- Bait you catch yourself may be taken with a minnow seine no longer than 10 feet, a cast net of up to 10 feet radius, or traps labeled with your name and address. Most wild minnows are 50 a day and may be used live only in the water they came from.
- The late-winter walleye runs carry gear limits. From January 1 to April 30, on the upper Caney Fork from Rock Island up to Great Falls Dam and on the Emory River from Harriman up to Oakdale, an angler may use only one single-hook lure or bait and no more than three rods; on the East Fork of the Obey above Compton boat ramp the same holds until April 15. From January 1 to April 30, gigging, snagging and bowfishing are closed on the East Fork of the Obey and on the upper Powell and Clinch arms of Norris, where trotlines, limblines and jugs are banned too.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Statewide, black bass are 5 a day in any combination, crappie 15 of at least 10 inches, striped and hybrid striped bass 2 of at least 15, walleye 5 of at least 16, sauger 10 of at least 15, muskellunge 1 of at least 36 and trout 7, with only one catfish over 34 inches a day. Most reservoirs set limits of their own.
- Delayed harvest trout waters are catch and release through the winter, artificial lures only and no bait in your possession: the Hiwassee below Appalachia Powerhouse, the Tellico above North River, Paint Creek and the Doe River in Roan Mountain State Park from October 1 to February 28, Buffalo Creek from October 1 to January 31, Big Soddy Creek from November 1 to February 28, and Acorn Lake at Montgomery Bell State Park from December 1 to March 31.
- Two stretches of the South Holston below the dam, around Hickory Tree Bridge and Weaver Pike, are closed to all fishing from November 1 to January 31, and Clear Creek at Norris from November 1 to March 31. Gatlinburg's streams are catch and release from December 1 to March 31, single-hook flies, spinners and spoons only, and the Tellico and Citico need no permit and are open every day through the last day of February.
- From November 1 to March 31, striped bass on Norris are 1 a day of at least 36 inches, and on Watts Bar only one of the 2 striped and hybrid bass may be a striper, also at least 36 inches. Smallmouth on Norris and Cherokee are 5 a day of at least 15 inches from October 16 to May 31, Douglas has no bass length limit from October 1 to May 31, and Dale Hollow allows two smallmouth a day with a 16-to-21-inch protected length range and no more than four rods an angler.
- On Kentucky Lake crappie are 20 a day of at least 10 inches and sauger 10 of at least 15, and its dewatering areas close to fishing for five days before and during the late waterfowl season. The Hiwassee Refuge on Chickamauga and the Chota unit on Tellico Lake are closed from November 15 to the end of February, though fishing goes on in the Hiwassee's main river channel.
Read on these agency pages: TWRA: Fishing Licenses (license structure and fees), TWRA: Reelfoot Lake, TWRA: Statewide Regulations and Creel and Length Limits, TWRA: Live Bait Regulations, TWRA: Statewide Fishing Regulation Exceptions, TWRA: Watts Bar Reservoir, TWRA: Tennessee Trout Regulations, TWRA: Norris Reservoir, TWRA: Cherokee Reservoir, TWRA: Douglas Reservoir, TWRA: Dale Hollow Reservoir, TWRA: Kentucky Reservoir, TWRA: Chickamauga Reservoir.
The season at a glance
What these months usually do
Each lake's own seasonal curve, the one the engine scores the lake on: what these dates usually do, modeled rather than measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale Hollow Lake | 65F | 55F | 47F | 45F | 47F |
| Norris Lake | 65F | 55F | 48F | 45F | 48F |
| Percy Priest Lake | 65F | 54F | 47F | 45F | 48F |
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Tennesseeat Kentucky Lake (Tennessee) | 9h 41m, Dec 21 | 4:38pm, around Dec 6 | 7:05am, around Jan 6 |
| Middle Tennesseeat Percy Priest Lake | 9h 42m, Dec 21 | 4:33pm, around Dec 6 | 6:59am, around Jan 6 |
| The Cumberland Plateauat Dale Hollow Lake | 9h 39m, Dec 21 | 4:27pm, around Dec 6 | 6:55am, around Jan 6 |
| East Tennesseeat Norris Lake, on Eastern time | 9h 41m, Dec 21 | 5:21pm, around Dec 6 | 7:48am, around Jan 6 |