Share your catch
US

Douglas Lake Fishing Report

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

Douglas Reservoir on the French Broad: TWRA calls it the best crappie reservoir in East Tennessee.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
71 / 71 F
Wind
NNE 2 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.

Douglas Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 2 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 71. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:37 PM-12:37 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

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.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

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 largemouth bass 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 temp71 F
High / Low71 / 40 F
WindNNE 2-3 mph
Pressure1022.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:47 / 18:47
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 Douglas Lake this week

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

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” excellent at 5/5, 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
10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:37 PM-12:37 AM
Minor period
4:30 AM-5:30 AM
Sun
07:47 to 18:47
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

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.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

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.

When to come: the Douglas 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
White bass
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
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 Douglas 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. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

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

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 6 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 rules for Douglas (from Douglas Dam to ENKA Dam on the Nolichucky and the Highway 321 bridges on the Pigeon and French Broad): black bass 5 a day, only 1 largemouth or smallmouth over 16 in. from June 1 to Sept 30, no length limit Oct 1–May 31; crappie 15, 10 in.; catfish only 1 over 34 in.; white, striped and hybrid bass 15; walleye and sauger 5 combined, walleye 15 in., only 1 sauger over 16 in.; muskellunge 1, 36 in. Statewide rules cover other species.

Access

TWRA's Region 4 office (423-587-7037) covers the reservoir. TVA lists Douglas Dam at 850 Powerhouse Way, Dandridge.

About this water

Douglas Reservoir, a TVA impoundment of the French Broad River in East Tennessee: 30,600 acres (TWRA) or about 28,420 acres (TVA).

Fishing Douglas Lake: the full guide

A fertile TVA reservoir

TWRA describes Douglas as a fertile Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir with 555 miles of shoreline and 30,600 acres, draining 4,541 square miles, the largest drainage of the tributary reservoirs. TVA's own figures are 513 miles of shoreline and about 28,420 acres of water surface. The dam stands on the French Broad River; TVA says work began in February 1942 and was finished in 12 months and 17 days, and the reservoir reaches 43 miles upriver toward the Great Smoky Mountains.

Crappie, bass and the spring runs

TWRA calls Douglas the best crappie reservoir in East Tennessee, with white crappie the predominant species, and says it has one of the best largemouth bass fisheries in the region thanks to strong reproduction and growth. Sauger, walleye and white bass make late-winter spawning runs up the French Broad. For crappie, TWRA points to Flat, Muddy and McGuire creeks; for the sauger and walleye run, to the river from Point 18 to Rankin Bridge; and for white bass, to the Leadvale area.

Water levels and summer oxygen

TWRA says the reservoir can drop 60 feet from its summer elevation of 1,000 feet to a winter elevation of 940 feet, and can rise 15 to 20 feet in a day or two after heavy rain. TVA gives a variation of about 44 feet in a year of average rainfall. Low dissolved oxygen is common in summer, so TWRA advises fishing the lower end of the lake at depths of less than 10 feet until fall.

Common questions

How far does Douglas drop in winter?

TWRA says it can fall 60 feet, from 1,000 feet in summer to 940 feet in winter; TVA puts the swing at about 44 feet in a year of average rainfall.

When is the crappie fishing best?

TWRA's tips give February through early May, fishing points and brush or trolling small flies tipped with minnows, with Flat, Muddy and McGuire creeks as good areas.

What is the bass size rule on Douglas?

Five bass a day all year. From June 1 to September 30 only one largemouth or smallmouth over 16 inches may be kept per day; from October 1 to May 31 there is no length limit.

Is fishing good at Douglas 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

Cherokee Lake21 miNorris Lake36 miClinch River42 miTellico River54 miNantahala River54 miDavidson River62 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.9926, -83.3754 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 6, 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 6, 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.