Manson Pike Trailhead
What to throw right now
Per-species breakdown & tactics
Pick a fish, then Fly, Spin, or Colors. Your last pick is remembered.
Best window: after dark
Not a practical fly target most days. Heavy Clouser dredged deep is the novelty play.
In a few hours
Anchor or sit at the heads of the deepest holes you can find from the bank, fan-cast bait rigs at dusk.
BAIT OPTION: Chicken liver in a mesh bag or a chunk of cut shad on a #2 circle hook with a 1 oz egg sinker. Fish tight on bottom of the deepest hole within walking distance of the parking lot.
Heavy spinning or baitcasting combo, 50 lb braid + 30 lb fluoro leader. For drifting: 7/0 circle hook on a 3-way swivel with a 2-3 oz sinker; bait the hook with cut skipjack (largest available, palm-sized chunks for trophy fish). Drift broadside across the channel edge or anchor upstream of a creek mouth and let the bait sit. Post-rain flush is the trigger; first 24 hours after a 1"+ rainfall puts big fish on submerged wood.
Lures: Cut skipjack on 7/0 circle hook, Cut shad on 6/0 circle hook, Stink bait on treble (channel only)
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, bloody
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
- barometric trend+10
- pre frontal surge+8
- in season+4
- wind speed+4
- flow band+3
- cloud cover+2
Best window: first light
Stealth approach. 6 wt and a #6 olive Clouser cast tight to any laydown or undercut bank, before the trail gets busy. These fish see lures every day; downsize and slow down.
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
Weightless wacky-rigged 4" Senko in green pumpkin worked dead-slow next to any visible cover. Pressured-fish patterns only — anything moving fast gets ignored.
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.
- pre frontal surge+10
- barometric trend+10
- in season+4
- wind speed+4
- flow band+3
- cloud cover+2
Best window: morning
ON THIS WATER (Manson Pike Trailhead): Urban Stones River Greenway access in Murfreesboro. Small holes, sandy bottom, light overhead canopy, and constant pedestrian traffic. First light or last light before the trail gets busy — pressured fish are spooky during peak day-use.
3-4 wt + #16 black ant or #14 yellow Stimulator drifted along the shaded edges. Easiest first-fish water in the Greenway system.
3-4 wt short rod (7'6"-8'6"), 9 ft 5X tippet to a #14 yellow Stimulator or #16 black ant. Cast across-current 8-15 ft above the target water; mend immediately so the fly drifts dead. Tail-outs and riffle-pool transitions hold the best fish; rock bass especially love the soft slot below the riffle. Last light is the high-percentage window; trout-style hatch matching matters less than just having a buggy silhouette in the seam.
Flies: Yellow Stimulator #14, Black Ant #16, Small Beetle #14
Small chartreuse bugger or soft hackle under an indicator. Twitchy strips.
In a few hours
ON THIS WATER (Manson Pike Trailhead): Urban Stones River Greenway access in Murfreesboro. Small holes, sandy bottom, light overhead canopy, and constant pedestrian traffic. First light or last light before the trail gets busy — pressured fish are spooky during peak day-use.
Ultralight + 1/32 oz black jig or small Beetle Spin retrieved slow along the shaded edges.
BAIT OPTION: Red worm or cricket on a #8 long-shank under a small bobber set 2 ft deep. The standard kid-fishing approach on the Stones Greenway.
Ultralight 5'-6' rod, 4 lb mono. Cast a 1/32 oz inline spinner (silver or black) up + across, retrieve just fast enough to spin the blade. Land it at the head of the riffle and let the current swing it through. Beetle Spin works the same way for sunfish; smaller is better. For rock bass specifically: a 1/16 oz brown jig with a small craw trailer ticked along bottom outproduces moving lures.
Lures: Red Squirmy worm #12 OR olive damsel nymph #12 under a tiny pencil bobber, 1/32 oz inline spinner, small Beetle Spin
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: yellow, black, natural
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+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.
Latest readings
Live telemetry| Air temp (°F) | 69.7°F |
|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 100% |
| Dew point (°C) | 21.1°C |
| discharge cfs | 28 cfs |
| gage height ft | 2.16 in |
| Relative humidity (%) | 48% |
| Chance of precipitation (%) | 5% |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.01 in |
| Barometric pressure (mb) | 1,019.6 mb |
| Rain past 24h (in) | 0.74 in |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0.00 in |
| Wind direction | E (100°) |
| Wind (mph) | 2.5 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97°F | 74°F | Unknown | — | 1% | 1,023.4 mb | nws | |
| 100°F | 73°F | Unknown | — | 2% | 1,023.5 mb | nws | |
| 99°F | 73°F | Unknown | — | 1% | 1,019.6 mb | nws | |
| 99°F | 71°F | Unknown | — | 3% | 1,015.2 mb | nws | |
| 98°F | 70°F | Unknown | — | 5% | 1,013.7 mb | nws | |
| 96°F | 72°F | Unknown | — | 12% | 1,013.0 mb | nws | |
| 92°F | 69°F | Unknown | — | 23% | 1,013.9 mb | nws | |
| 84°F | 62°F | Unknown | — | 21% | 1,015.9 mb | nws | |
| 84°F | 56°F | Unknown | — | 14% | 1,013.8 mb | nws | |
| 88°F | 58°F | Unknown | — | 11% | 1,016.5 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 |
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