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Lake Nottely Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The quiet TVA highlander: Nottely's mountain arms grow stripers and spots below Blairsville with the chain's least traffic.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
91 / 92 F
Wind
NNE 5 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Nottely serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 92. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Hybrid striped bassGood

Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 95 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp91 F
High / Low92 / 69 F
WindNNE 5-8 mph
Pressure1015.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 13%
Sunrise / Sunset07:11 / 19:58
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 92/69 F, wind 5 mph, rain 13%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Nottely: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: Jun-Sep

Stocked white bass x striper cross. Open-water shad chasers; birds and busting bait give them away. Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Lake Nottely calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Hybrid striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Nottely today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 90 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 91 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 89 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Georgia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Georgia license. Striper 2/day over 22 typical: check GADNR mountain rules. TVA drawdown affects ramps.

Access

Canal Lake, Deaverstown, Poteete Creek ramps (level-dependent).

About this water

4,180 TVA acres, Union County, GA. The chain's quiet striper water.

Fishing Lake Nottely: the full guide

Blue Ridge's quiet corner

Nottely winds 4,100 TVA acres through Union County's folds: the mountain chain's quiet member: clear striper water, spotted-and-largemouth structure, and the drawdown rhythm the highlands share: with a fraction of Chatuge's or Lanier-shadow traffic.

Stripers in the hills

The lineside program stacks the river channel (downlined herring at 25-45 feet summer, freelines at dawn), winter gulls mark the schools mid-lake, and spring pushes fish up the Nottely River arm: mountain striper fishing with parking spaces.

The bass ladder

Spots dominate the rocky points (drop shots and jerkbaits in the clarity), largemouth work the coves' brush, and the winter jerkbait bite on the bluff banks quietly matches the famous lakes'. Crappie in the planted brush and bream on the flats fill the family ledger.

Union County practicalities

Ramps ladder the arms (Canal Lake, Deaverstown): winter drawdowns (20-plus feet) stretch launches: check TVA levels: and Blairsville's mountain-town services anchor trips. Vogel State Park's ridges frame the drive: the quiet is the amenity.

Common questions

Does Nottely hold big stripers?

Twenty-plus-pound fish ride the channel: herring downlines in summer, gull-play in winter. The quiet water grows them patient.

When should I fish Nottely?

Winter jerkbaits and gull-chasing for the connoisseur: summer dawns for the freeline show. Check drawdown levels before towing.

Is there a tailwater below Nottely Dam?

TVA's releases feed the Nottely River toward the Hiwassee: a modest trout-stocked reach fishes below the dam in cool months. Check generation before wading: the mountain tailwater rules apply in miniature.

Is fishing good at Lake Nottely right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Lake Chatuge14 miChatuge Lake14 miBlue Ridge Lake16 miToccoa River18 miLake Burton27 miNantahala River30 mi
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