Fontana Reservoir (TN portion)
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
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
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
- Natural / shad Disappears correctly in clear water. Invisible for the wrong reason once stain cuts visibility.
- Watermelon red The clear-water bass standard. Red flake reads as craw without spooking pressured fish.
Engine pick right now: watermelon, chartreuse/white, shad
Guide pick for clear water (fall): watermelon red, natural shad, green pumpkin
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 clear 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
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
- wind speed+2
Best window: morning
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
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
- Natural / shad Disappears correctly in clear water. Invisible for the wrong reason once stain cuts visibility.
- Watermelon red The clear-water bass standard. Red flake reads as craw without spooking pressured fish.
Engine pick right now: watermelon, chartreuse/white, shad
Guide pick for clear water (fall): watermelon red, natural shad, green pumpkin
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 clear 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
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
- wind speed+2
Best window: morning
5-6 wt rod, floating or intermediate line, 4X tippet. Cover water, cast to structure (laydowns, weed edges, dock corners) and vary your retrieve until you find what's eating. Sub-surface beats surface 80% of the time on a mixed-species lake. #10 black wooly bugger is the highest-percentage searching fly for an unknown lake.
Flies: Black Wooly Bugger #10, Hare's Ear Nymph #14
Match the hatch by stage. Emerger first, dun second, spinner at last light.
In a few hours
Medium-light spinning combo, 10 lb braid + 8 lb fluoro leader. 1/16 oz curl-tail grub or small spinnerbait on a steady retrieve through cover. Fan-cast around structure; the third or fourth angle usually pulls the fish. Slow your retrieve until you connect.
Lures: Small bead-head nymph (#14-18 Pheasant Tail / Zebra Midge) under a pencil bobber, 1/16 oz jig, small spinnerbait
Small bead-head nymph under a pencil bobber, or olive spinner through seams.
In a few hours
- Natural / shad Disappears correctly in clear water. Invisible for the wrong reason once stain cuts visibility.
- Watermelon red The clear-water bass standard. Red flake reads as craw without spooking pressured fish.
Engine pick right now: black, natural
Guide pick for clear water (fall): olive, sulphur yellow, natural pheasant tail
Trout key on size and drift first, color second. In clear water naturals win. In stain, go dark or bright so the fly reads against the murk.
Full color matrix for clear water
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+8
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
- wind speed+2
Best window: first light
Niche on fly. Heavy chartreuse Clouser trolled along 20 to 30 ft ledges.
In a few hours
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
- Natural / shad Disappears correctly in clear water. Invisible for the wrong reason once stain cuts visibility.
- Watermelon red The clear-water bass standard. Red flake reads as craw without spooking pressured fish.
Engine pick right now: chartreuse, purple, shad
Guide pick for clear water (fall): smoke shad, perch, purple
Walleye eyes gather light. They feed low-light and see chartreuse and orange deeper than any other colors.
Full color matrix for clear 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
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
- wind speed+2
Next 24 hours · weather forecast
Scroll for hourly temperature, wind, and precipitation.
Latest readings
Live telemetry| Air temp (°F) | 62.3°F |
|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 81% |
| Dew point (°C) | 18.9°C |
| Relative humidity (%) | 81% |
| Chance of precipitation (%) | 14% |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.01 in |
| Barometric pressure (mb) | 1,019.5 mb |
| Rain past 24h (in) | 0.18 in |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0.01 in |
| Wind direction | ESE (117°) |
| Wind (mph) | 4.0 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) | 2755.1 h ago openmeteo stale |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0 min ago nws |
Hatch matcher · this month
Active aquatic insect emergences & suggested imitations.
Year-round on TVA tailwaters (Clinch, Holston, Watauga, S Holston)
South Holston signature; weeks 14-39 (Apr-Sep). Bank-to-bank evening hatches; verified RiverRunAngling + AppOutdoors + SoEAnglers.
Weeks 22-39 (late May-Sep); big freestones; Hiwassee + Holston. Shop consensus.
Weeks 36-46 (Sep-early Nov); cool overcast afternoons. Shop consensus.
Next few hours · best species
Prime windows for active feeding over the next 12 hours (EDT).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89°F | 64°F | Unknown | — | 0% | 658.2 mb | nws | |
| 90°F | 66°F | Unknown | — | 1% | 547.8 mb | nws | |
| 91°F | 67°F | Unknown | — | 11% | 524.0 mb | nws | |
| 89°F | 66°F | Unknown | — | 18% | 532.4 mb | nws | |
| 88°F | 65°F | Unknown | — | 23% | 578.9 mb | nws | |
| 87°F | 65°F | Unknown | — | 29% | 634.8 mb | nws | |
| 86°F | 64°F | Unknown | — | 35% | 651.2 mb | nws | |
| 81°F | 63°F | Unknown | — | 29% | 793.1 mb | nws | |
| 83°F | 56°F | Unknown | — | 24% | 1,013.1 mb | nws | |
| 82°F | 56°F | Unknown | — | 20% | 1,014.8 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 |