Fishing Middle Tennessee

Fishing in Middle Tennssee

Fishing & Conservation

Fishermen know how fragile the natural environment is. As an avid fisherman myself, I make a plea to all fisherman, "Please don't leave fishing line and other debris in the wild!" I have seen with my own eyes, an Amercian Coot get tangled up in fishing line under water and drown. Responsible fishermen, remove what they bring to their fishing spots. Stop litter, Reduce, Re-use & Recycle for future fishermen. Keep your boat maintained & leak free. Adopt-A-Cove or volunteer for an Enviro-Clean on your lake!

Fishing Resources

Tennessee Angling Adventures

Tennessee is a great state for fishing! There are many streams, rivers, ponds & lakes to choose from and many adventures to be had on them. We have plenty of fishing guides and clubs to put you on the fish. Check out our FORUM to meet up with fishermen, ask or answer questions and plan a your next fishing adventure. A fishing license is required in Tennessee and can be purchased online , at your favorite tackle shop or many markets around town. There are rules and regulations in Tennessee for management purposes, so be sure to read the 2007 Tennessee Fishing Regulations. The US Army Corps of Engineers delivers fishing reports by lake so you know whats biting where. Nothing beats an early morning fishing adventure, so take a family member or friend and go wet a line!

Wading Mill Creek for smallmouth & red eyes
Caney Fork River Light Tackle & Fly Fishing
Huge Cherokee Bass at J. Percy Priest Lake
Lunker Largemouth on Old Hickory Lake
Giant Striper in the Cumberland River
more to come.......

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Local Fishermen

Center Hill    Cheatham Lake    Cordell Hull
Dale Hollow   J. Percy Priest Old Hickory
Kentucy Lake (South)   Lake Barkley

Tennessee Fishing Reports by Lake

Click on a lake below to get the fishing report from the US Army Corps of Engineers

State Fishing Regulations

State Fishing Records

Mill Creek runs from Nolensville through south Nashville & dumps into the Cumberland River just east of Downtown Nashville. It is fairly shallow in most areas, but does have some deep pools. Access can be tricky in some locations. The Mill Creek Greenway has made it alot easier in that area. I always use a flyrod when I wade this creek. Whatever you method of fishing, Mill Creek has an adventure for you! I like to use small poppers for Red Eyes, Spotted Bass & Bream in the shallow areas. When I approach a deep hole or some good cover, I've been using a Junebug fly. The bass love it. While wading a stretch of Mill Creek near Murfreesboro Road, I come upon some four foot deep water in a bend that was hosting a fallen tree. I laid my Junebug right beside the tree with a roll cast, and immediately hooked into a nice sized smallmouth bass! As it jumped and ran about I could see another, larger smallmouth swimming with it. It had to be over four pounds! It quickly vanished when it saw me. The one I hooked turned out to be 2.5 pounds and is back in the creek. I have seen many species in Mill Creek, including Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass, Red-eyed River Bass, Sunfish, Flathead Catfish, Drum, Gar, Carp, Buffalo and more. Snapping turtles and snakes also frequent this creek, so watch where you step. After it rains, Mill Creek is muddy, swift and dangerous. Do not wade when the water is swif! Sadly, I don't recommend eating any fish from this creek. Warning signs posted.

Wading Mill Creek

Caney Fork River

Caney Fork River makes up Center Hill Lake. A deep. cool & clear lake located east of Nashville off of I-40. From the dam, the river runs northwest towards Carthage and dumps into the Cumberland River. You cross over it five times between mile markers 268 & 245. This section of the river offers many angling adventures. At the dam, I've seen Walleye, Striper, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and White Bass caught. Much of this river is wader friendly. Access can be tricky for those remote locations. Many use the Dam area, Happy Hollow access area and even the rest area parking lot on I-40. Light tackle spinning is one preferred method. Using small sidewinders & other

spinners to entice the trout. I prefer a black & green woolybugger on my flyrod. Sight fishing is your best bet. Look for cover in small pools and cast to manuver your lure to move downstream, passing the cover. I have had much success in many of the streams that feed into the river. You must fish the Caney Fork River, it's fantastic!

Percy Priest Hybrid

J. Percy Priest lake is well known for Cherokee Bass or Hybrid (Striper/White Bass). The state record of 23 lbs 3 oz was caught there by Ray Pelfrey in 1998, below the dam. The key to these strong fighting fish, is knowing where their food is. Find the shad, find the Hybrid. In the Spring you can find fishermen lining the banks as the shad begin to spawn and the hybrid follow them to the shallow waters. There are two methods used during this time. Lure fishing with soft or stick bait lures and bottom fishing with chicken liver. Either way, your in for a fight! In summer, the shad move out to deeper water and the fish follow. Many fisherman catch shad in the river or buy shad when it's available and free float them or shiners, over schools of hybrid this time of year. Either way, once you get to fight an eight pound Cherokee Bass, you're hooked!

9 & 11 lb. Cherokee Bass
J Percy Priest Lake

Lunker Largemouth on Old Hickory Lake

Old Hickory lake produces some huge Largemouth Bass, and summer can be very good when fishing for these lunkers. Try fishing a big black topwater weedless frog in the tops of vegetation in the afternoons & evenings. Use a large jig or plastic worm around thick debris in high sunlight, as these fish will be looking for shade. I always keep a 4" topwater skipping minnow handy for when they are visibly feeding on schooled shad in the morning & late afternoon. Big Largemouth Bass have different feeding habits than the smaller ones and wont be chasing the small shad. Crayfish & crayfish lures often work well, as does free swimming shiners & shad. Send us a picture of your lunker!

7.6 lb Largemouth Bass

38 lb. Striper Rockfish

Giant Striper on The Cumberland River

The monster of game fish species in Tennessee is the Striped Bass, also known as the Rockfish. The state record is 65lbs. caught at Cordell Hull Resevoir on the Cumberland River. That stretch of the river on down to Old Hickory Lake has some huge Stripers. Fishing with live Skipjack or Shad is the best way to hook one of these giant fish. Hooking the bait behind the dorsal fin and above the lateral line will keep the bait alive the longest. Have the right tackle when you hook one, because these fish are strong and put up quite a fight. Getting a guide to put you on them is alot quicker than studying them yourself and trying to catch one.

The Wisdom of fishermen!

Fishing Quotes

"We ask a simple question, And that is all we wish: Are fishermen all liars? Or do only liars fish? "William Sherwood Fox, Silken Lines and Silver Hooks, 1954

"Man can learn a lot from fishing -- when the fish are biting no problem in the world is big enough to be remembered."

Orlando A. Battista

Online Fishing License!

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Books:
Fish of Tennessee

Outdoor Life in TN

It's all true?