Little TN River below Chilhowee
What to throw right now
Per-species breakdown & tactics
Pick a fish, then Fly, Spin, or Colors. Your last pick is remembered.
Best window: last light
5 wt floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 6X tippet, dry fly first. Identify the stage (cripple, dun, spinner) by what the fish are eating, not what's in the air. Cast 3-4 ft upstream of the target nose with a reach mend so the fly lands ahead of the line. Strip-set on small flies; lifting the rod high pulls the hook before it sets. If you get refusals, downsize one hook size and check the sub-surface stage with a CDC emerger trailing a comparadun.
Flies: Sulphur Comparadun #16, Pheasant Tail Nymph #18, Zebra Midge #20
Match the hatch by stage. Emerger first, dun second, spinner at last light.
In a few hours
Ultralight rod, 4 lb fluoro all the way through. A #00 or #0 Rooster Tail or Joe's Fly is the only way to imitate emergers on spin gear convincingly. Cast across and down, retrieve just fast enough to spin the blade, anything faster looks fake. Walk the bank between casts to cover water; tailwater trout that see the same lure twice won't eat. Add a tiny float 24" above a #16 nymph if the surface bite is off.
Lures: Small bead-head nymph (#14-18 Pheasant Tail / Zebra Midge) under a pencil bobber, 1/16 oz white grub, small Rooster Tail
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.
Best colors right now: sulphur yellow, olive, natural
Good colors 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
- + water temp in target range+22
- + preferred time of day+14
- + barometric trend+6
- + hatch active+5
- + in season+5
- + solunar major window+4
- + wind speed+3
- + cloud cover+2
- + cloud preference+2
- + dissolved oxygen+2
- + new/full moon amplifier+1
Best window: morning
5 wt floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 6X tippet, dry fly first. Identify the stage (cripple, dun, spinner) by what the fish are eating, not what's in the air. Cast 3-4 ft upstream of the target nose with a reach mend so the fly lands ahead of the line. Strip-set on small flies; lifting the rod high pulls the hook before it sets. If you get refusals, downsize one hook size and check the sub-surface stage with a CDC emerger trailing a comparadun.
Flies: Sulphur Comparadun #16, Pheasant Tail Nymph #18, Zebra Midge #20
Match the hatch by stage. Emerger first, dun second, spinner at last light.
In a few hours
Ultralight rod, 4 lb fluoro all the way through. A #00 or #0 Rooster Tail or Joe's Fly is the only way to imitate emergers on spin gear convincingly. Cast across and down, retrieve just fast enough to spin the blade, anything faster looks fake. Walk the bank between casts to cover water; tailwater trout that see the same lure twice won't eat. Add a tiny float 24" above a #16 nymph if the surface bite is off.
Lures: Small bead-head nymph (#14-18 Pheasant Tail / Zebra Midge) under a pencil bobber, 1/16 oz white grub, small Rooster Tail
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.
Best colors right now: sulphur yellow, olive, natural
Good colors 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
- + water temp in target range+22
- + preferred time of day+6
- + barometric trend+6
- + hatch active+5
- + in season+5
- + solunar major window+4
- + wind speed+3
- + cloud cover+2
- + cloud preference+2
- + dissolved oxygen+2
- + new/full moon amplifier+1
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.
Best colors right now: watermelon, chartreuse/white, shad
Good colors 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.
- + preferred time of day+10
- + water temp in target range+7
- + hatch active+5
- + in season+5
- + barometric trend+5
- + solunar major window+4
- + wind speed+3
- + cloud cover+2
- + cloud preference+2
- + dissolved oxygen+2
- + new/full moon amplifier+1
Dam generation & flow schedule
Next 24 hours · weather forecast
Scroll for hourly temperature, wind, and precipitation.
Latest readings
Live telemetry| Air temp (°F) | 70.0°F |
|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 96% |
| Dew point (°C) | 6.1°C |
| Relative humidity (%) | 38% |
| Chance of precipitation (%) | 2% |
| Barometric pressure (mb) | 1,025.8 mb |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0.00 in |
| Wind direction | SE (135°) |
| Wind (mph) | 5.0 mph |
Reading freshness
Source update lag| Barometric pressure (mb) | 6 min ago openmeteo |
|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 6 min ago nws |
| Cloud cover (%) | 6 min ago nws |
| Air temp (°F) | 6 min ago nws |
| Rain past 24h (in) | 3864.1 h ago openmeteo stale |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 5.1 h ago nws |
Hatch matcher · this month
Active aquatic insect emergences & suggested imitations.
Year-round on TVA tailwaters (Clinch, Holston, Watauga, S Holston)
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
NWS forecast where it reaches, Open-Meteo beyond it. Days run midnight to midnight, spot time.
| Day | High | Low | Wind | Cloud | Rain % | Pressure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat Oct 31 | 77°F | 48°F | 4 mph NNE | 80% | 4% | 1,025.7 mb | nws |
| Sun Nov 1 | 67°F | 55°F | 4 mph NE | 95% | 33% | 1,027.7 mb | nws |
| Mon Nov 2 | 76°F | 54°F | 4 mph E | 66% | 20% | 1,025.3 mb | nws |
| Tue Nov 3 | 78°F | 55°F | 5 mph SE | 39% | 1% | 1,020.9 mb | nws |
| Wed Nov 4 | 74°F | 60°F | 6 mph SE | 93% | 60% | 1,014.7 mb | nws |
| Thu Nov 5 | 72°F | 60°F | Calm | 96% | 68% | 1,011.7 mb | nws |
| Fri Nov 6 | 70°F | 57°F | Calm | 76% | 40% | 1,007.1 mb | nws |
| Sat Nov 7 | 68°F | 53°F | Calm | 62% | 10% | 1,010.1 mb | nws |
| Sun Nov 8 | 62°F | 50°F | 7 mph SSW | 64% | 12% | 1,009.3 mb | openmeteo |
| Mon Nov 9 | 53°F | 44°F | 5 mph W | 72% | 17% | 1,009.4 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 |