Watauga Reservoir
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
- 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, dark olive, red, brown
Guide pick for clear water (fall): natural nymph, olive, smoke
Sight feeders in shallow water. Small and bright beats big and natural except in the clearest spring pools.
Full color matrix for clear water
- barometric trend+12
- pre frontal surge+8
- wind speed+7
- preferred time of day+6
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
Best window: first light
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
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
- 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, white, pink/white
Guide pick for clear water (fall): smoke shad, natural minnow, pearl white
Crappie hunt by flash and vertical profile. Chartreuse and white outproduce naturals in every stain level except gin-clear.
Full color matrix for clear 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
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
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
- wind speed+7
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
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
- wind speed+7
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
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
- wind speed+7
- cloud cover+4
- in season+4
Next 24 hours · weather forecast
Scroll for hourly temperature, wind, and precipitation.
Latest readings
Live telemetry| Air temp (°F) | 56.4°F |
|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 95% |
| Dew point (°C) | 18.9°C |
| Relative humidity (%) | 66% |
| Chance of precipitation (%) | 18% |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.03 in |
| Barometric pressure (mb) | 1,020.5 mb |
| Rain past 24h (in) | 0.11 in |
| Rain past 6h (in) | 0.00 in |
| Wind direction | SE (128°) |
| 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) | 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 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 | 62°F | Unknown | — | 0% | 651.5 mb | nws | |
| 89°F | 66°F | Unknown | — | 4% | 536.8 mb | nws | |
| 87°F | 61°F | Unknown | — | 27% | 524.2 mb | nws | |
| 86°F | 62°F | Unknown | — | 18% | 567.2 mb | nws | |
| 87°F | 61°F | Unknown | — | 22% | 532.1 mb | nws | |
| 86°F | 64°F | Unknown | — | 26% | 667.7 mb | nws | |
| 83°F | 61°F | Unknown | — | 32% | 651.4 mb | nws | |
| 75°F | 59°F | Unknown | — | 29% | 725.8 mb | nws | |
| 75°F | 48°F | Unknown | — | 24% | 1,012.8 mb | nws | |
| 77°F | 51°F | Unknown | — | 19% | 1,014.9 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 |