Burgess Falls

85 excellent scored 40 min ago how is this scored?
Bass 85
Catfish 73
Water: River
Location: Putnam
Target: Smallmouth Bass, Sunfish, Walleye, Catfish
Nearest Access: Burgess Falls (36.03530,-85.59280)
Sun: 6:25 AM – 6:48 PM (CDT)

What to throw right now

Fly anglers
HATCH-MODE FLY SETUP: 6 wt rod with floating line, 9 ft 3X-4X tippet. Hatch-on smallmouth on rivers eat dries you'd throw at trout: #10-12 Stimulator or Chubby Chernobyl, often with a #14 rust-color Hare's Ear dropper. On lake smallmouth, a #4 Game Changer (perch finish) twitched along rocky banks at first light covers more water. Cross-current + dead-drift on rivers, twitch-and-pause on lakes.

ON THIS WATER (Burgess Falls): Falling Water River below a 130 ft cascade. The plunge pool at the base is the prime water; downstream is short pocket water and shallow gravel runs before the river slows toward Center Hill backwater.

Fish the seam where the falls' whitewater meets the slack on river-right at the head of the plunge pool — smallmouth stack there for oxygen all summer. Downstream, every plunge-pool tailout is worth one quartering swing with a Clouser before moving on.

6 wt rod, floating line, 9 ft 3X tippet for streamers / 4X-5X for dries. Standard rig: weighted #4 olive/white Clouser or #6 rust crayfish, cast quartering upstream into the head of a current seam, mend hard upstream, then strip-strip-strip as the fly tumbles past you. Pro move: tight-line nymph a #8 rust crayfish (Pat's Rubber Legs) through pocket water with no indicator, feeling for the tick. Strikes on a swung fly come on the dangle; let the fly hang in the seam for 3-5 seconds before recasting.
Spinning / casting anglers
HATCH-MODE SPIN SETUP: medium-light spinning combo, 8 lb braid + 6 lb fluoro leader. River: 1/16 oz brown jig + 2" smoke craw trailer ticked along bottom seams, smallies hammer it during the hatch as they key on emerging caddis nymphs. Lake: tiny 1/16 oz hair jig under a slip-bobber rig drifted along rocky shorelines. Surface action: 1/8 oz Yellow Magic popper twitched dead-slow with 5-second pauses.

ON THIS WATER (Burgess Falls): Falling Water River below a 130 ft cascade. The plunge pool at the base is the prime water; downstream is short pocket water and shallow gravel runs before the river slows toward Center Hill backwater.

Cast a 1/4 oz brown jig into the foam line at the head of the plunge pool and let it sink before the first hop. Below the pool: walk the shoreline downstream and pitch a 1/16 oz hair jig into each pocket between boulders — one or two casts each, then move.

BAIT OPTION: Live crayfish or a chunk of nightcrawler on a #4 light-wire hook with one BB shot, drifted from the head of the plunge pool back through the slack. Outproduces lures right after a rain when the river is stained.

Medium 6'6" rod, 8 lb braid + 6 lb fluoro leader. 3/8 oz football jig + rust craw trailer hopped along bottom seams; the strike comes between hops on slack line. Wade upstream of pocket water + fan-cast each likely lie. For trophy fish at sunset: floating Rapala #5 in silver twitched dead-slow across the tail-out of a pool with long pauses, bigger fish smash on the second twitch after a 5-second pause.

Per-species breakdown & tactics

Pick a fish, then Fly, Spin, or Colors. Your last pick is remembered.

Best window: after dark

Stunt approach: 9 wt sinking line, 30 lb fluoro to a 6" meat-fly with chicken-liver scent. Cast across-current into a known scour hole + let it sink to bottom, then strip 6" at a time with long pauses. Not common in TN; treat as exploratory.

Not a practical fly target most days. Heavy Clouser dredged deep is the novelty play.

In a few hours

Fly
10%
Lure
53%
Bait
35%
Hatch: 83% (BWO (fall)) Peak hatch. Surface bite is on now.
Why this score
  • barometric trend+10
  • pre frontal surge+8
  • in season+4
  • wind speed+4
  • flow band+3
  • cloud cover+2

Next 24 hours · weather forecast

Scroll for hourly temperature, wind, and precipitation.

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Latest readings

Live telemetry
Air temp (°F) 67.4°F
Cloud cover (%) 100%
Dew point (°C) 21.7°C
discharge cfs 23 cfs
gage height ft 4.28 in
Relative humidity (%) 56%
Chance of precipitation (%) 5%
Precipitation (in) 0.00 in
Barometric pressure (mb) 1,020.0 mb
Rain past 24h (in) 0.71 in
Rain past 6h (in) 0.00 in
Wind direction ESE (118°)
Wind (mph) 3.3 mph

Reading freshness

Source update lag
Barometric pressure (mb) 0 min ago openmeteo
Wind (mph) 0 min ago openmeteo
Cloud cover (%) 0 min ago openmeteo
Air temp (°F) 0 min ago openmeteo
Rain past 24h (in) 2753.1 h ago openmeteo stale
Rain past 6h (in) 0 min ago nws

Hatch matcher · this month

Active aquatic insect emergences & suggested imitations.

Midge Sizes 18–24
Recommended patterns: Zebra Midge #20, Griffith's Gnat #20, WD-40 #20

Tailwater staple; year-round on Caney Fork

Sulphur Sizes 14–18
Recommended patterns: Sulphur Comparadun #16, Pheasant Tail #16, Yellow Sally

Weeks 14-39 (Apr-Sep) on Caney Fork tailwater; matches South Holston schedule per shop consensus + thermal profile.

BWO (fall) Sizes 20–22
Recommended patterns: RS2 #22, Parachute BWO #20

Cool overcast afternoons

Next few hours · best species

Prime windows for active feeding over the next 12 hours (CDT).

Wed 1:00 PM
Catfish (midday) 84
Wed 2:00 PM
Catfish (midday) 82
Wed 3:00 PM
Catfish (afternoon) 84
Wed 4:00 PM
Catfish (afternoon) 83
Wed 5:00 PM
Catfish (afternoon) 92
Wed 6:00 PM
Catfish (afternoon) 89
Wed 7:00 PM
Catfish (last light) 96
Wed 8:00 PM
Catfish (after dark) 97
Wed 9:00 PM best window today
Catfish (after dark) 98
Wed 10:00 PM
Catfish (after dark) 91
Wed 11:00 PM
Catfish (after dark) 96
Thu 12:00 AM
Catfish (after dark) 97

7-day forecast

Composite spot scores over the coming week.

TREND SPARKLINE (7-DAY BITE SCORE) Score Range: 0 - 100
Wed Sep 16
85 excellent
Wed Sep 16
84 excellent
Wed Sep 16
82 excellent
Wed Sep 16
84 excellent
Wed Sep 16
83 excellent
Wed Sep 16
92 excellent
Wed Sep 16
89 excellent

10-day weather & pressure outlook

Extended NWS meteorological outlook.

Day High Low Wind Cloud Rain % Pressure Source
94°F 70°F Unknown 0% 1,024.3 mb nws
96°F 70°F Unknown 3% 1,023.7 mb nws
96°F 70°F Unknown 3% 1,019.9 mb nws
94°F 69°F Unknown 6% 1,015.6 mb nws
95°F 67°F Unknown 7% 1,014.3 mb nws
92°F 68°F Unknown 16% 1,013.6 mb nws
88°F 67°F Unknown 25% 1,014.3 mb nws
81°F 59°F Unknown 23% 1,016.1 mb nws
82°F 54°F Unknown 15% 1,013.9 mb nws
86°F 57°F Unknown 12% 1,016.4 mb openmeteo

Hover chart points for telemetry details. Gold dot represents latest reading.

Barometric pressure (mb)

Water temperature (°F)

Fishing regulations (TWRA)

Statewide creel and length limits. Confirm the current rule on TWRA before you keep a fish.

These are statewide defaults only. Many waters have their own creel, size, or season rules that override this list. Check the water you are fishing on TWRA before you go.

TWRA fishing regulations · Water-specific exceptions

Statewide defaults (19 rules)
Statewide creel and length limits by species
SpeciesRule
Alligator Gar No harvest allowed. Must be returned to water immediately.
Black Bass (includes Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Alabama And Coosa) No more than 5 black bass per day in any combination may be taken. | None
Catfish Only one (1) catfish over 34 inches may be harvested per day. No harvest limit on catfish less than 34 inches.
Crappie 15 | 10 inches
Lake Trout Only 2 of your 7 total trout may be lake trout. | None
Muskellunge 1 | 36 inches
Paddlefish Paddlefish may be harvested from April 24 through May 31. Daily creel limit is 2 fish per day with no size limit. Culling is prohibited. Exceptions on Center Hill, Cherokee, and Watts Bar reservoirs.
Redear Sunfish (shellcracker) 20 | None
Redear Sunfish Or Shellcracker 20 | None
Region 1 Crappie Exception: Unless Otherwise Noted For Specific Waters. 30 | None
Rock Bass Or Redeye And Shadow Bass 20 | None
Sauger Or Sauger/walleye Hybrids 10 | 15 inches
Shovelnose Sturgeon No harvest allowed. Must be returned to the water immediately.
Skipjack Herring 100 | None
Striped Bass Or Hybrid Striped Bass (any Combination) 2 | 15 inches
Trout (all Trout Species Combined) 7 | None
Walleye 5 | 16 inches
White Bass 15 | None
Yellow Bass, Bluegill, Warmouth, Bream, Bullheads, Pickerel, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, And Nongame Species no limit | None