Johnsonville WMA lake
What to throw right now
Per-species breakdown & tactics
Pick a fish, then Fly, Spin, or Colors. Your last pick is remembered.
Best window: morning
3-4 wt rod, 9 ft floating line, 6X tippet. Roll-cast a #10 black wooly bugger or #12 olive damsel nymph into the shade under overhanging trees. Bluegill on calm sunny days hold tight to shadow lines; landing the fly within 18" of the shadow edge produces fish, landing it in open sun produces refusals. Let the fly fall 3-4 seconds before stripping; bigger bull bluegill grab on the drop.
Flies: Black Wooly Bugger #10, Olive Damsel Nymph #12, Small Black Beetle #14
Small chartreuse bugger or soft hackle under an indicator. Twitchy strips.
In a few hours
Ultralight 5'-6' rod, 2-4 lb mono. Cast a 1/32 oz black jig or small Beetle Spin into shade. Slow, steady retrieve with the rod tip down. The pro move: rig a small beaded red/brown/orange nymph (size 12) 18" below a tiny pencil bobber + flick into shade; the bobber dips when even sluggish fish nip. This pattern routinely outfishes any moving lure on bright calm days. Verified by user catches at Cane Creek Lake.
Lures: 1/32 oz black jig, small Beetle Spin, Red/brown/orange beaded nymph under bobber
Beetle spin or tiny jig tipped with wax worm. Slow roll past beds.
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: black, dark olive, red, brown
Guide pick for stained water (fall): chartreuse, yellow, pink / white
Sight feeders in shallow water. Small and bright beats big and natural except in the clearest spring pools.
Full color matrix for stained water
- preferred time of day+15
- barometric trend+12
- wind speed+7
- in season+4
- pre frontal surge+4
- cloud cover+2
Best window: after dark
Not a practical fly target most days. Heavy Clouser dredged deep is the novelty play.
In a few hours
Lures: Live bluegill (4-6") on slip-bobber over a brush pile, Chicken liver in a mesh bag (low turtle attraction), Shad-gut dough on a #2 treble (firm bait stays on the hook), Cut skipjack on 7/0 circle (large hook + heavy weight discourages turtles)
Cut bait on bottom rigs. Put scent in the current seam and wait.
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: natural, live
Guide pick for stained water (fall): bloody cut shad, blackened liver, chartreuse dip bait
Catfish hunt by smell first. Color barely matters, contrast and scent do. Dark baits with bloody scent win in stain.
Full color matrix for stained water
- Turtle pressure is heavy on small TN lakes (Cane Creek, Standing Stone, TWRA family lakes, plateau state-park lakes) from May through September, especially after sunset.
- Live bluegill on a slip-float OR chicken liver in mesh outfishes loose cut bait when turtles are active.
- If you commit to cut bait, use the largest possible chunk on a 7/0+ circle hook so turtles can't strip it.
- barometric trend+12
- wind speed+7
- in season+4
- pre frontal surge+4
- cloud cover+2
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
- 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
- wind speed+7
- pre frontal surge+6
- in season+4
- cloud cover+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) | 22.2°C |
| Relative humidity (%) | 50% |
| Chance of precipitation (%) | 4% |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.00 in |
| Barometric pressure (mb) | 1,019.9 mb |
| Rain past 24h (in) | 0.76 in |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0.00 in |
| Wind direction | ENE (65°) |
| Wind (mph) | 3.7 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) | 2777.1 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 tailwaters/lakes
Weeks 10-39 (Mar-Sep) on Stones River + lower Cumberland; long warmwater season.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98°F | 75°F | Unknown | — | 0% | 1,022.9 mb | nws | |
| 98°F | 75°F | Unknown | — | 1% | 1,023.3 mb | nws | |
| 99°F | 74°F | Unknown | — | 1% | 1,019.4 mb | nws | |
| 102°F | 74°F | Unknown | — | 1% | 1,014.5 mb | nws | |
| 100°F | 74°F | Unknown | — | 2% | 1,012.4 mb | nws | |
| 97°F | 73°F | Unknown | — | 9% | 1,012.1 mb | nws | |
| 91°F | 68°F | Unknown | — | 21% | 1,014.0 mb | nws | |
| 86°F | 62°F | Unknown | — | 16% | 1,015.8 mb | nws | |
| 86°F | 57°F | Unknown | — | 12% | 1,014.7 mb | nws | |
| 87°F | 58°F | Unknown | — | 7% | 1,017.4 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 |
Access points & navigation
- Anchor Inn Resort, Inc. 36.0158, -87.9886 phone map Google OSM
- BEAR CREEK 36.1126, -87.9147 phone map Google OSM
- Beaverdam Marina 36.0591, -88.0187 phone map Google OSM
- Birdsong Creek 35.9676, -88.0514 phone map Google OSM
- Birdsong Marina 35.9706, -88.0473 phone map Google OSM
- Boat Ramp 35.9016, -87.9171 phone map Google OSM
- Boat Ramp 35.9371, -87.9189 phone map Google OSM
- Boat Ramp 35.9681, -87.9941 phone map Google OSM
- Boat Ramp 36.1137, -87.9169 phone map Google OSM
- Camden Landing 35.9902, -88.0122 phone map Google OSM
- Clydeton Dock 36.1726, -87.8983 phone map Google OSM
- Cuba Landing Marina 35.8788, -87.9330 phone map Google OSM
- DUCK RIVER MILE 11.5 R 36.0450, -87.8549 phone map Google OSM
- Eva 36.0632, -87.9970 phone map Google OSM
- HURRICANE MILLS 35.9767, -87.7726 phone map Google OSM
- Hallshire 36.0624, -88.0267 phone map Google OSM
- Harmon Creek Resort 36.1595, -87.9405 phone map Google OSM
- Harmon Dock Road 36.1561, -87.9442 phone map Google OSM
- Mason's Dock 36.1746, -87.8925 phone map Google OSM
- Morgan's Creek 35.8357, -87.9773 phone map Google OSM
- NEW JOHNSONVILLE 36.0177, -87.9890 phone map Google OSM
- Nathan Bedford Forest State Park 36.0612, -87.9975 phone map Google OSM
- North Eagle Creek 35.9218, -87.9533 phone map Google OSM
- Pebble Isle Marina 36.0612, -87.9538 phone map Google OSM
- Peckerwood Landing 35.9433, -88.0130 phone map Google OSM
- Pilot Knob 36.0858, -87.9741 phone map Google OSM
- Stirling Road 36.0546, -88.0219 phone map Google OSM