Mona's Boat Ramp
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 over the main channel and fan-cast bait rigs across the deep water (25-35 ft). Best after dark in summer.
BAIT OPTION: Cut skipjack on a 7/0 circle with a 3 oz sinker fished tight on bottom in the main channel — the current dilutes turtle pressure, so cut bait works here unlike the small Overton lakes.
Medium-heavy rod, 30-50 lb braid + 40 lb mono shock leader to a 6/0-7/0 circle hook. Tactical setup: live bluegill 4-6" hooked through the upper jaw on a slip-bobber rig with the bobber stopper set so the bait swims 12-18" off bottom over a known brush pile. The bait stays alive + thrashes, which keeps turtles off it. For larger fish, switch to a tightline bottom rig with a chunk of cut skipjack on a 7/0 circle + 3 oz sinker so turtles can't drag it; check in 30 min, reset if stripped. Free-spool the strike, reel-set, no rod sweep.
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.
- water temp in target range+20
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+8
- wind speed+7
- in season+4
- cloud cover+2
Best window: first light
ON THIS WATER (Mona's Boat Ramp): Main-lake access on Percy Priest. The ramp puts you near the main river channel — productive water is the creek-channel ledges and brush piles within a 2-mile run. Heavy boat traffic on weekends.
5 wt sink-tip with a 1/32 oz white marabou jig fished as a fly over marked brush in 12-15 ft.
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 (Mona's Boat Ramp): Main-lake access on Percy Priest. The ramp puts you near the main river channel — productive water is the creek-channel ledges and brush piles within a 2-mile run. Heavy boat traffic on weekends.
Spider-rig small minnows or vertical-jig 1/16 oz hair jigs over marked brush piles. The brush is the whole game; without electronics you're guessing.
BAIT OPTION: Live minnow on a slip-cork set to 12 ft over marked brush. Standard Priest 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+2
- water temp in target range+1
Best window: first light
8 wt and a #6 chartreuse-white Clouser worked along the channel-edge laydowns at first light. Get off the water by 9 AM on weekends; jet-ski traffic kills the bite.
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 channel-edge laydowns at first light. Mid-day summer: 3/8 oz football jig + craw trailer hopped along the 15-25 ft channel ledges.
BAIT OPTION: Live shiner on a small Carolina rig dragged along the channel ledges. Backup 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: 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.
- water temp in target range+16
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+10
- wind speed+7
- 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) | 76.3°F |
|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 100% |
| Dew point (°C) | 21.1°C |
| discharge cfs | -67 cfs |
| gage height ft | 3.36 in |
| Relative humidity (%) | 39% |
| Chance of precipitation (%) | 7% |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.00 in |
| Barometric pressure (mb) | 1,020.0 mb |
| Rain past 24h (in) | 0.48 in |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0.00 in |
| Water temp (°C) | 27.6°C |
| Wind direction | E (86°) |
| Wind (mph) | 3.4 mph |
Reading freshness
Source update lag| Water temp (°C) | 36 min ago usgs |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100°F | 75°F | Unknown | — | 1% | 1,023.5 mb | nws | |
| 98°F | 74°F | Unknown | — | 2% | 1,023.3 mb | nws | |
| 98°F | 74°F | Unknown | — | 2% | 1,019.4 mb | nws | |
| 99°F | 72°F | Unknown | — | 2% | 1,015.1 mb | nws | |
| 97°F | 73°F | Unknown | — | 4% | 1,013.3 mb | nws | |
| 94°F | 72°F | Unknown | — | 12% | 1,012.7 mb | nws | |
| 91°F | 69°F | Unknown | — | 24% | 1,014.0 mb | nws | |
| 84°F | 67°F | Unknown | — | 21% | 1,016.1 mb | nws | |
| 85°F | 62°F | Unknown | — | 13% | 1,014.1 mb | nws | |
| 90°F | 64°F | Unknown | — | 10% | 1,016.9 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
- Anderson Boat Ramp 36.1061, -86.5950 phone map Google OSM
- Boathouse @ Benders Ferry 36.2813, -86.5048 phone map Google OSM
- Bull Run Access 36.3429, -86.4334 phone map Google OSM
- Cages Bend Campground 36.3017, -86.5137 phone map Google OSM
- Cedar Creek Marina 36.2742, -86.5112 phone map Google OSM
- Cedar Creek Park 36.2775, -86.5083 phone map Google OSM
- Cedar Grove Access 36.3401, -86.4466 phone map Google OSM
- Cherokee Boat Dock 36.3360, -86.4304 phone map Google OSM
- Cook Recreation Area 36.1319, -86.5954 phone map Google OSM
- Cripple Children Ramp 36.3039, -86.4743 phone map Google OSM
- Lock 4 Access 36.3374, -86.4762 phone map Google OSM
- Long Branch 36.2837, -86.5023 phone map Google OSM
- Old Hickory Boat Ramp 36.1555, -86.5976 phone map Google OSM
- Seven Points Boat Ramp 36.1317, -86.5651 phone map Google OSM
- Seven Points Rec. Area Campground 36.1308, -86.5746 phone map Google OSM
- Smith Springs Recreation Area 36.0906, -86.6024 phone map Google OSM
- Tyree Access 36.3034, -86.4642 phone map Google OSM
Field reports & historical notes
-
fly south 25 a night of music to kick off our fall of celebration · flysouth
Fetched 10 h ago
-
yeti gobox overview · flysouth
Fetched 10 h ago
-
pumpkin in the hallowed pages of scof · flysouth
Fetched 10 h ago
-
the case for late spring in middle tennessee · flysouth
Fetched 10 h ago
-
skillsets wet wading · flysouth
Fetched 10 h ago
-
summercarp · flysouth
Fetched 10 h ago