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Boone Lake Fishing Report

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

The Tri-Cities' comeback lake: refilled, restocked and fishing better every season.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
388 cfs
Air / High
94 / 94 F
Wind
NNW 2 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03486000, 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.

Boone Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The river is running 388 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 2 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 94. 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 94 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 from WATAUGA RIVER AT ELIZABETHTON, TN.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03486000.

5398191,099388 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp94 F
High / Low94 / 69 F
WindNNW 2-4 mph
Pressure1014.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset07:03 / 19:53
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, 94/69 F, wind 5 mph, rain 6%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Boone Lake: 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 Boone Lake 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 Boone Lake 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 94 F, wind to 8 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 92 F, wind to 6 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 92 F, wind to 5 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Hybrid/striper combined limits; TWRA trout rules in tailwaters. Confirm with TWRA.

Access

Boone Dam, Devault Bridge, Pickens Bridge ramps; bank access at TVA lands.

About this water

4,400 acres on the Watauga/S.F. Holston, Sullivan/Washington counties, TN: refilled 2022, rebounding fast.

Fishing Boone Lake: the full guide

After the drawdown

Boone spent years drawn down for dam repairs and refilled in 2022: flooded young growth kick-started the bass and crappie, and TWRA restocking is compounding. Hybrids and stripers ply the river channels again. Comeback lakes reward early adopters: Boone is one now.

The refill effect

Boone's 2014-2022 drawdown grew a decade of shoreline brush: the refill flooded it into nursery habitat. Bass and crappie year-classes since are strong: fish the flooded wood lines while they last: this is a lake on the upswing curve.

River-arm rhythm

The Watauga and South Fork Holston arms bring cold tailwater influence: stripers and hybrids push up them in summer, trout wash in below the dams, and the confluence zones fish year-round. TVA generation schedules choreograph the whole dance.

Comeback water

Boone spent years drawn down for dam repairs and refilled into a rejuvenated fishery: flooded regrowth vegetation now rings the banks, and the bass and crappie year-classes that grew up in it are reaching quality size. Skip jigs under the docks of the Watauga arm, throw bladed jigs along the new grass lines, and expect improving results annually: the lake is mid-recovery and trending up.

Common questions

Is Boone fully back after the dam repair?

Levels yes (2022); the fishery is arguably better than before: flooded regrowth plus restocking created a boom cycle still cresting.

Did the Boone drawdown hurt the fishery long-term?

The opposite: exposed banks grew vegetation that flooded on refill, boosting spawns. TWRA surveys show strong young classes: Boone's next five years look better than its last fifteen.

Is fishing good at Boone Lake 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

Watauga River8 miWatauga Lake14 miSouth Holston Lake17 miDouglas Lake63 miCherokee Lake63 miLake Hickory68 mi
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