Share your catch
US

Clinch River Fishing Report

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

The Clinch below Norris Dam: a cold TVA tailwater that TWRA stocks with brook, brown and rainbow trout from March through August.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~47 F est.
Air / High
71 / 71 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.

Clinch River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 3 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 71. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:40 PM-12:40 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Tomorrow: Similar at 72 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 rainbow trout 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.

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp71 F
High / Low71 / 44 F
WindNE 3-4 mph
Pressure1022.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:50 / 18:50
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 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 Clinch River this week

The best day on Clinch River 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, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:40 PM-12:40 AM
Minor period
4:33 AM-5:33 AM
Sun
07:50 to 18:50
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

When to come: the Clinch River 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
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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 Clinch River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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 special trout regulation, Norris Dam to Hwy. 61 bridge including tributaries: 14–20 inch protected length range on all trout; 7 trout a day, only 1 over 20 inches. Clear Creek (Hwy. 441 to the second dam) closed to fishing Nov. 1–Mar. 31.

Access

Norris Dam State Park. Call TVA (1-800-238-2264) for generation schedules before wading.

About this water

The Clinch River tailwater below TVA's Norris Dam, Anderson County, Tennessee; stocked with brook, brown and rainbow trout March–August.

Fishing Clinch River: the full guide

The tailwater below Norris Dam

Tennessee State Parks describes the Clinch River's cold tailwater below Norris Dam as ideal for trout, and TWRA stocks brook, brown and rainbow trout there from March through August under special trout regulations. The September 21, 2026 TWRA stocking report lists the Norris tailwater among the waters stocked most recently. The dam's releases stay extremely cold all year, the park warns, so life jackets are recommended for any time on the water.

Generation decides how you fish

In the park's words, wading is highly productive during non-generation periods, while anglers after larger trout fish from boats when the turbines run. TWRA tells anglers to use caution below dams and to call TVA at 1-800-238-2264 for discharge and generation schedules. No live USGS gauge reports the releases below the dam, so this page shows none.

Special regulations and Clear Creek

From Norris Dam downstream to the Highway 61 bridge, tributaries included, TWRA protects all trout from 14 to 20 inches and allows seven trout a day, only one of them longer than 20 inches. Clear Creek, a tributary in Anderson County, is closed to all fishing from November 1 through March 31 between Highway 441 and the second dam next to the Norris water tower, and bait harvest is banned there.

Norris Dam State Park

Tennessee State Parks lists the cold Clinch among Norris Dam State Park's water features and notes that Clear Creek flows into it near the historic Rice Grist Mill. Park staff remind visitors that trout fishing requires a stamp in addition to the fishing license that everyone 13 and older needs in Tennessee.

Common questions

What size trout can I keep?

Below Norris Dam to the Highway 61 bridge, trout from 14 to 20 inches must go back. You may keep seven a day, and only one may be over 20 inches.

How do I check generation?

TWRA points anglers to TVA's line, 1-800-238-2264, for discharge and generation schedules. Wade only when the turbines are off.

When does TWRA stock the tailwater?

Brook, brown and rainbow trout are stocked from March through August. TWRA's online trout stocking report gives the latest dates.

Is fishing good at Clinch River 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

Norris Lake13 miCherokee Lake34 miWatts Bar Lake37 miDouglas Lake42 miTellico River43 miLaurel River Lake52 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.2156, -84.0821 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 7, 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 7, 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.