Share your catch

Center Hill Lake Fishing Report

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

The Highland giant: deep, clear, and home to some of the biggest smallmouth in the South.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Flow
128 cfs
Air / High
101 / 101 F
Wind
NE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03421000, 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.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Center Hill Lake stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The river is running 128 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 101. 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

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

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

Largemouth bassSlow

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.

White bassSlow

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

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 102 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 COLLINS RIVER NEAR MCMINNVILLE, TN.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03421000.

3527691,186128 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp101 F
High / Low101 / 72 F
WindNE 4-5 mph
Pressure1013.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 13%
Sunrise / Sunset06:17 / 19:06
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 · Overcast, 101/72 F, wind 16 mph, rain 13%

Slow. 101 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

Species guide

The species that matter on Center Hill 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.

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.

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.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Center Hill 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
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
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 Center Hill Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 100 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 3 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

Smallmouth: 18-inch minimum on much of the lake (check zones). Walleye 16-inch/5. Confirm with TWRA.

Access

Edgar Evins SP, Hurricane, Floating Mill, Cove Hollow ramps; marinas mid-lake.

About this water

18,220 acres on the Caney Fork, DeKalb/Putnam counties, TN. Corps, impounded 1948.

Fishing Center Hill Lake: the full guide

Dale Hollow's rival

Center Hill argues nightly with Dale Hollow about Tennessee smallmouth supremacy: the same clear highland water, steep bluffs and alewife forage that grow seven-pounders. Add strong walleye, spotted bass on every point and a summer night-fishing culture, and the lake rewards those who fish slow and deep. The Caney Fork trout tailwater below the dam doubles the trip.

Night moves

Summer Center Hill is a night lake: clear water and houseboat glow push the smallmouth bite past sunset: spider jigs and big worms on deep gravel points, 15-30 ft, midnight to dawn. Day trips grind; night trips produce the seven-pound class the lake is famous for.

Walleye, the original tenant

Before the smallmouth fame, Center Hill was stocked as walleye water: they persist on the deep flats and river channels: trolled deep cranks in June, jigged in the winter creeks. A two-story bonus most visitors never target.

Common questions

Why fish Center Hill at night?

Clarity plus summer traffic: the giants feed after the wake settles. The night-fishing culture here rivals any lake in the South: lighted docks, slow jigs, big results.

Center Hill or Dale Hollow?

Same highland quality: Dale Hollow for the record mystique, Center Hill for night fishing and walleye variety. An hour apart: the correct answer is both.

Night spoons and summer suspenders

Center Hill's summer bass suspend over 60-100 ft of water chasing alewives, and the night crowd solves them: submerged lights, spoons, and 10-lb line at 25-40 ft while the lake sleeps. Winter's jerkbait-and-float-n-fly program on the bluff ends completes the deep-clear curriculum: the Highland Rim's classic technical lake.

Is fishing good at Center Hill Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Caney Fork River23 miChickamauga Lake48 miDale Hollow Lake51 miPercy Priest Lake51 miTims Ford Lake53 miNickajack Lake56 mi
Share your catch