Cane Hollow Recreation Area
What to throw right now
Per-species breakdown & tactics
Pick a fish, then Fly, Spin, or Colors. Your last pick is remembered.
Best window: first light
ON THIS WATER (Cane Hollow Recreation Area): Arm of Center Hill Lake (deep highland reservoir). Steep rocky banks, bluff walls dropping into 30-50 ft water, drowned timber in the back of the creek arm, and gravel/chunk-rock points where the arm meets the main channel.
Sink-tip + 1/32 oz white marabou jig over the drowned timber in the back of the creek arm. Count to depth (usually 8-12 ft suspended over deeper water), microscopic strips.
5 wt rod with floating line, 9 ft 5X tippet to a #8 Crappie Candy or 1/32 oz marabou jig. Spring spawn (55-68°F water): dap or short-cast under dock corners + into brush; let the fly fall 2-4 ft then twitch once. The fall does the work. Summer + winter: switch to a sink-tip or full intermediate line, count down to the brush depth (8-12 ft), then microscopic 2" strips. Crappie eat lightly, set on any line stop, no rod sweep.
Flies: Crappie Candy #8, Marabou Jig 1/32 oz
Chartreuse marabou jig or small Clouser under an indicator. Count down to the school depth.
In a few hours
ON THIS WATER (Cane Hollow Recreation Area): Arm of Center Hill Lake (deep highland reservoir). Steep rocky banks, bluff walls dropping into 30-50 ft water, drowned timber in the back of the creek arm, and gravel/chunk-rock points where the arm meets the main channel.
Vertical-jig a 1/16 oz hair jig directly above marked brush in 12-18 ft. Spring spawn: shoot a 1/32 oz curly-tail grub far under any overhanging structure in the back of the arm.
BAIT OPTION: Live minnow on a slip-cork set to 12 ft over marked brush. Standard Center Hill crappie approach.
Ultralight 6'6" rod, 4-6 lb mono OR 8 lb braid + 6 lb fluoro leader. Spring: 'shoot' a 1/32 oz curly-tail grub far under docks by bow-and-arrow casting the rod tip + flicking the lure. Let it fall on slack line; strike on the drop. Summer: vertical-jig a 1/16 oz hair jig directly above marked brush piles; 6" lifts, 3-second pauses. Minnow on a slip-bobber set 6" above the brush is the bail-out when the bite is light.
Lures: 1/32 oz curly grub (white/chartreuse), 1/16 oz hair jig, Minnow under slip-bobber
Chartreuse jig tipped with minnow, vertical over brush. Slow fall triggers the eat.
In a few hours
- Chartreuse Highest visibility in green-stained water. First pick for walleye, sauger, and crappie when stain sets in.
- Orange / flame red Sauger and walleye locate by sight even in stain. Bright contrast beats natural finishes head to head.
Engine pick right now: chartreuse, white, pink/white
Guide pick for stained water (fall): chartreuse, pink / white, electric chicken
Crappie hunt by flash and vertical profile. Chartreuse and white outproduce naturals in every stain level except gin-clear.
Full color matrix for stained water
- Crappie bite shuts down hard during post-frontal high-pressure days; commit to spring + fall windows where you can.
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+10
- wind speed+7
- in season+4
- cloud cover+3
- wind on preferred bank+2
Best window: first light
8 wt and a #4 popper worked along the drowned timber in the back of the creek arm at first light. Switch to a #6 chartreuse-white Clouser fished sub-surface along the gravel-to-mud transition mid-day.
8 wt rod, integrated intermediate or floating line, 8 ft of 16-20 lb fluoro tapered down (4X butt to 0X bite). #4 deer-hair frog or #4 popper on calm warm mornings; #6 Clouser in chartreuse/white or olive Game Changer on overcast days or deeper. Cast tight to cover (overhung wood, dock corners, weed edges), let the popper sit 4-6 seconds, then a sharp pop. For sub-surface: cast across to the bank, let the streamer fall, then 2-3 ft strips with hard pauses. Strip-set hard; bass jaws are bony and you need the line tight to drive the hook.
Flies: Clouser Minnow #6 (chartreuse/white), Frog Popper #4
Olive wooly bugger or black game changer. Dark silhouette first, drop to rust nymph if refusals.
In a few hours
Texas-rigged worm pitched into the drowned timber in the back of the arm. Summer: 3/8 oz football jig + craw trailer hopped along the 15-25 ft ledges where the arm meets the main lake channel.
Medium-heavy 7' rod, 20 lb braid + 12-15 lb fluoro leader (or straight 12 lb fluoro on a baitcaster). Texas-rigged 7" watermelon-red worm with a 3/16 oz tungsten weight + 4/0 EWG hook is the all-conditions standard. For active fish: 1/2 oz spinnerbait slow-rolled along points + drop-offs. For deep summer suspended fish: 3/8 oz football jig + craw trailer hopped along 12-18 ft ledges. Post-front shutdown: switch to a weightless wacky-rigged 5" Senko in green pumpkin, work it dead-slow next to cover.
Lures: Texas-rigged worm (watermelon red flake), 1/2 oz spinnerbait (white/chartreuse), 3" soft jerkbait (smoke shad), 3/8 oz football jig + craw trailer (deep summer)
Black and blue jig or chartreuse spinnerbait tight to cover. Stained fish hold on wood and rock edges.
In a few hours
- Chartreuse Highest visibility in green-stained water. First pick for walleye, sauger, and crappie when stain sets in.
- Orange / flame red Sauger and walleye locate by sight even in stain. Bright contrast beats natural finishes head to head.
Engine pick right now: watermelon, chartreuse/white, shad
Guide pick for stained water (fall): black / blue jig, chartreuse / white spinnerbait
Bass see red and green well and chase high-contrast silhouettes in stain. Black and blue reads as a shad or bluegill profile when detail drops out.
Full color matrix for stained water
- Topwater commits hardest in the first 90 minutes after sunrise on calm warm mornings, see /learn/technique/topwater-bass.
- Bluebird high-pressure days after a cold front kill the topwater bite; switch to slow soft plastics in deeper cover.
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+10
- wind speed+7
- in season+4
- cloud cover+3
- wind on preferred bank+2
Best window: morning
ON THIS WATER (Cane Hollow Recreation Area): Arm of Center Hill Lake (deep highland reservoir). Steep rocky banks, bluff walls dropping into 30-50 ft water, drowned timber in the back of the creek arm, and gravel/chunk-rock points where the arm meets the main channel.
9 wt with an intermediate line, #4 olive Game Changer twitched along the bluff walls at first light. Smallmouth on Center Hill suspend at 10-15 ft along the rock faces; let the fly drop along the wall on slack line before stripping.
8 wt rod, integrated intermediate or floating line, 8 ft of 16-20 lb fluoro tapered down (4X butt to 0X bite). #4 deer-hair frog or #4 popper on calm warm mornings; #6 Clouser in chartreuse/white or olive Game Changer on overcast days or deeper. Cast tight to cover (overhung wood, dock corners, weed edges), let the popper sit 4-6 seconds, then a sharp pop. For sub-surface: cast across to the bank, let the streamer fall, then 2-3 ft strips with hard pauses. Strip-set hard; bass jaws are bony and you need the line tight to drive the hook.
Flies: Clouser Minnow #6 (chartreuse/white), Frog Popper #4
Olive wooly bugger or black game changer. Dark silhouette first, drop to rust nymph if refusals.
In a few hours
ON THIS WATER (Cane Hollow Recreation Area): Arm of Center Hill Lake (deep highland reservoir). Steep rocky banks, bluff walls dropping into 30-50 ft water, drowned timber in the back of the creek arm, and gravel/chunk-rock points where the arm meets the main channel.
1/4 oz spotted-rock pattern jerkbait twitched parallel to the bluff walls at first light — the classic Center Hill smallmouth presentation. Mid-day: drop a 3/8 oz drop-shot finesse worm along the chunk-rock points in 20-30 ft.
BAIT OPTION: Live shiner or 4" creek chub on a small Carolina rig dragged along the chunk-rock points. Works year-round but shines in summer when artificial bite slows.
Medium-heavy 7' rod, 20 lb braid + 12-15 lb fluoro leader (or straight 12 lb fluoro on a baitcaster). Texas-rigged 7" watermelon-red worm with a 3/16 oz tungsten weight + 4/0 EWG hook is the all-conditions standard. For active fish: 1/2 oz spinnerbait slow-rolled along points + drop-offs. For deep summer suspended fish: 3/8 oz football jig + craw trailer hopped along 12-18 ft ledges. Post-front shutdown: switch to a weightless wacky-rigged 5" Senko in green pumpkin, work it dead-slow next to cover.
Lures: 1/16 oz brown jig + 2" smoke craw trailer (bottom-tick presentation), Texas-rigged worm (watermelon red flake), 1/2 oz spinnerbait (white/chartreuse), 3" soft jerkbait (smoke shad), 3/8 oz football jig + craw trailer (deep summer)
Black and blue jig or chartreuse spinnerbait tight to cover. Stained fish hold on wood and rock edges.
In a few hours
- Chartreuse Highest visibility in green-stained water. First pick for walleye, sauger, and crappie when stain sets in.
- Orange / flame red Sauger and walleye locate by sight even in stain. Bright contrast beats natural finishes head to head.
Engine pick right now: watermelon, chartreuse/white, shad
Guide pick for stained water (fall): black / blue jig, chartreuse / white spinnerbait
Bass see red and green well and chase high-contrast silhouettes in stain. Black and blue reads as a shad or bluegill profile when detail drops out.
Full color matrix for stained water
- Topwater commits hardest in the first 90 minutes after sunrise on calm warm mornings, see /learn/technique/topwater-bass.
- Bluebird high-pressure days after a cold front kill the topwater bite; switch to slow soft plastics in deeper cover.
- preferred time of day+15
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+10
- wind speed+7
- in season+4
- cloud cover+3
- wind on preferred bank+2
Best window: first light
Niche on Center Hill — walleye are deep open-water fish. If you try, target the river-channel ledges at the mouth of the arm with a 9 wt fast-sink and a weighted chartreuse Clouser counted to 25-30 ft.
Lake walleye on a fly is a niche game. 9 wt with a fast-sink 350-450 grain integrated head; 6 ft 20 lb fluoro to a heavily-weighted Clouser or articulated baitfish pattern in chartreuse-over-white. Troll-fish from a kayak or skiff over 20-30 ft ledges at 0.8-1.2 mph using the wind for drift. Or jig vertically with the heaviest fly your rod can handle, count down to bottom, then 6" lifts. Productive but slow versus spinning gear; treat it as a fun-with-friends approach, not your meat-and-potatoes.
Niche on fly. Heavy chartreuse Clouser trolled along 20 to 30 ft ledges.
In a few hours
Bottom-bouncer with a nightcrawler harness trolled along the 20-30 ft contours at the mouth of the arm at 1.0-1.5 mph. Pre-spawn (March-April): vertical-jig a 3/8 oz hair jig over the mid-arm humps at dusk.
BAIT OPTION: Nightcrawler harness on a bottom-bouncer is the standard. Need a graph for productive water; without one you're searching blind.
Bait-casting or medium-heavy spinning combo with a graph. Bottom-bouncer (1.5-2 oz) on a 3-way swivel + 4-6 ft snell to a slow-death hook tipped with a half-nightcrawler. Troll along the 20-30 ft contour at 1.0-1.5 mph; the bottom-bouncer ticks rocks while the harness floats just above. Watch the rod tip for the soft pull-back-then-load that's a walleye eating. Set with a sweeping rod lift, not a hookset jerk.
Lures: Bottom-bouncer + nightcrawler harness (chartreuse spinner), 3/8 oz long jighead + 4" swimbait (smoke), #7 jointed shad-rap troll along 20-30 ft contour
Bottom-bouncer plus chartreuse crawler harness along contour. Slow troll 1.0 to 1.5 mph.
In a few hours
- Chartreuse Highest visibility in green-stained water. First pick for walleye, sauger, and crappie when stain sets in.
- Orange / flame red Sauger and walleye locate by sight even in stain. Bright contrast beats natural finishes head to head.
Engine pick right now: chartreuse, purple, shad
Guide pick for stained water (fall): chartreuse, orange, fire tiger
Walleye eyes gather light. They feed low-light and see chartreuse and orange deeper than any other colors.
Full color matrix for stained water
- Lake walleye scatter in summer; without electronics you're searching blind. A graph + structure-aware troll is the difference between zero and double-digits.
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+8
- wind speed+7
- in season+4
- cloud cover+3
- wind on preferred bank+2
Next 24 hours · weather forecast
Scroll for hourly temperature, wind, and precipitation.
Latest readings
Live telemetry| Air temp (°F) | 68.4°F |
|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 100% |
| Dew point (°C) | 21.1°C |
| Relative humidity (%) | 51% |
| Chance of precipitation (%) | 5% |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.01 in |
| Barometric pressure (mb) | 1,019.9 mb |
| Rain past 24h (in) | 0.73 in |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0.00 in |
| Wind direction | ESE (103°) |
| Wind (mph) | 3.0 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.
Tailwater staple; year-round on Caney Fork
Weeks 14-39 (Apr-Sep) on Caney Fork tailwater; matches South Holston schedule per shop consensus + thermal profile.
Cool overcast afternoons
Next few hours · best species
Prime windows for active feeding over the next 12 hours (CDT).
7-day forecast
Composite spot scores over the coming week.
10-day weather & pressure outlook
Extended NWS meteorological outlook.
| Day | High | Low | Wind | Cloud | Rain % | Pressure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95°F | 70°F | Unknown | — | 0% | 1,024.3 mb | nws | |
| 98°F | 72°F | Unknown | — | 3% | 1,023.6 mb | nws | |
| 98°F | 71°F | Unknown | — | 2% | 1,019.8 mb | nws | |
| 97°F | 70°F | Unknown | — | 4% | 1,015.4 mb | nws | |
| 96°F | 67°F | Unknown | — | 6% | 1,014.1 mb | nws | |
| 94°F | 69°F | Unknown | — | 15% | 1,013.4 mb | nws | |
| 89°F | 68°F | Unknown | — | 24% | 1,014.2 mb | nws | |
| 81°F | 59°F | Unknown | — | 21% | 1,016.1 mb | nws | |
| 83°F | 54°F | Unknown | — | 13% | 1,013.9 mb | nws | |
| 87°F | 56°F | Unknown | — | 11% | 1,016.4 mb | openmeteo |
Trends · 7 days
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)
| Species | Rule |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Field reports & historical notes
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Caney Fork River Fishing Report - Week of January 26, 2026 · cfoutdoors
Fetched 2 d ago
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Caney Fork River Fishing Report - Week of January 12, 2026 · cfoutdoors
Fetched 2 d ago
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Caney Fork River Fishing Report - Week of January 5, 2026 · cfoutdoors
Fetched 2 d ago
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Caney Fork River Fishing Report - Week of February 2, 2026 · cfoutdoors
Fetched 2 d ago
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Caney Fork River Fishing Report - Week of February 2, 2026 · cfoutdoors
Fetched 9 d ago
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Caney Fork River Fishing Report - Week of January 26, 2026 · cfoutdoors
Fetched 9 d ago