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Center Hill Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Center Hill Lake: an 18,220-acre Corps reservoir on the Caney Fork where TWRA manages smallmouth, walleye and stocked crappie.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
76 / 76 F
Wind
NE 3 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Center Hill Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 3 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 76. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:18 AM-11:18 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Smallmouth bassGood

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

WalleyeGood

Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 76 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Tennessee requires a fishing licence from age 13, from $33.00 for residents. What a Tennessee licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing crappie here? Check the size and bag limits with TWRA before you keep anything. The season dates for Tennessee, read off the agency, are on the Tennessee seasons page.

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.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp76 F
High / Low76 / 37 F
WindNE 3-5 mph
Pressure1021.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:56 / 17:56
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Center Hill Lake this week

The best day on Center Hill Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:18 AM-11:18 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM
Minor period
3:40 AM-4:40 AM
Sun
06:56 to 17:56
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

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.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

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
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Muskellunge
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at excellent. High of 78 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

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

Regulations

TWRA, Center Hill Reservoir: black bass 5 a day in combination; largemouth 15-inch minimum; smallmouth 18-inch minimum; spotted bass no length limit; crappie 15 a day, 10-inch minimum; walleye 5 a day, 16-inch minimum; muskellunge 1 a day, 50-inch minimum; catfish no limit at 34 inches or less, 1 over 34 inches a day; closed to paddlefish. From January 1 to April 30, on the Caney Fork from the Rock Island State Park ramp up to Great Falls Dam, anglers may use only one single-point hook or one single-hook lure and no more than three rods or poles.

Access

Edgar Evins State Park (6,338 acres) is on the lake and keeps lifejacket loaner stations at its boat ramps; it has no designated swimming area. The Corps of Engineers operates the reservoir.

About this water

18,220 acres on the Caney Fork River, Tennessee; Center Hill Dam completed in 1948 and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Fishing Center Hill Lake: the full guide

The reservoir

TWRA says Center Hill Dam was completed on the Caney Fork River in 1948, creating an 18,220-acre reservoir in DeKalb, Putnam, Warren and White counties that the Corps of Engineers operates. Rocky shorelines and steep ridges define it, and McMinnville, Smithville and Cookeville are the nearby towns.

Smallmouth and night fishing

TWRA expects favorable smallmouth fishing: its spring electrofishing found above-average density and several years of good spawns, and it compares the rocky points and bluffs to Dale Hollow, which it calls the famed smallmouth bass capital. Once the water reaches the 80s, TWRA says most anglers switch to night fishing with spinnerbaits, jigs and soft plastics.

Walleye and crappie stocking

TWRA stocks walleye fingerlings every year and reports a major spawning run in mid-March in the Blue Hole area of the Caney Fork near Rock Island State Park; harvested walleye averaged 2.75 pounds in recent creel surveys. Black and black-nose crappie have been stocked since 1990, the state's first crappie project of its kind, and harvested black crappie averaged nearly a pound.

Other fish

Spotted bass are common, but TWRA reports below-average catch rates; Center Hill long held the state record spotted bass of 5 pounds 8 ounces. Channel and flathead catfish are present, and a few muskellunge are reported each year, mostly in the upper Caney Fork near Rock Island State Park.

Common questions

Why do anglers fish Center Hill at night?

TWRA says that once the water reaches the 80s most bass anglers switch to night fishing, which lasts through August.

Is Center Hill stocked?

Yes. TWRA stocks walleye fingerlings every year and has stocked black and black-nose crappie since 1990.

What is the smallmouth size limit?

18 inches, within a 5-fish daily black bass limit (TWRA).

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: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Caney Fork River18 miDale Hollow Lake45 miPercy Priest Lake48 miChickamauga Lake52 miTims Ford Lake57 miOld Hickory Lake59 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.9055, -85.6822 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.