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Nickajack Lake Fishing Report

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

Nickajack Reservoir: a 10,370-acre TVA mainstem pool on the Tennessee River below Chattanooga, riverine above and cove-lined toward the dam.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
75 / 75 F
Wind
E 4 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.

Nickajack Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 75. 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

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

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.

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.

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 75 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 temp75 F
High / Low75 / 45 F
WindE 4-5 mph
Pressure1021.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:55 / 17:57
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 Nickajack Lake this week

The best day on Nickajack 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
9:18 AM-11:18 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM
Minor period
3:40 AM-4:40 AM
Sun
06:55 to 17:57
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 Nickajack 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.

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.

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.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

When to come: the Nickajack 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
Smallmouth bass
Striped bass
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 Nickajack Lake 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. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 6 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 77 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 Nickajack rules: black bass 5 a day combined; largemouth 15-inch minimum; smallmouth, spotted and Alabama bass no minimum, only one over 16 inches; crappie 15 a day, 10-inch minimum; striped or hybrid bass 2 a day combined, 15-inch minimum; walleye 5, 16-inch minimum; sauger 10, 15-inch minimum; catfish no creel limit at 34 inches or less, one over 34 inches a day. Other species: statewide rules. Tennessee fishing license.

Access

TWRA names Sullivan's Bend, Rankin Cove (Marion County Park) and the Nickajack Cave embayment as its bass stocking sites; crappie coves it lists include Browns Lake, Bennett Lake, Marion Park and Mullens Cove. TVA operates the reservoir.

About this water

A 10,370-acre TVA reservoir on the Tennessee River below Chattanooga, impounded in 1967; Nickajack Dam is in New Hope, Marion County, Tennessee.

Fishing Nickajack Lake: the full guide

A riverine TVA pool

TWRA describes Nickajack as a mainstem Tennessee River impoundment created in 1967 and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, covering 10,370 acres with 192 miles of shoreline at full summer pool. Nickajack Dam is in New Hope, and much of the reservoir borders Chattanooga. The upper two-thirds is mostly riverine, lined with riprap on both sides; the lower end has more coves and slack water, along with laydowns, stumps, bluffs and aquatic vegetation.

Bass and the Chickamauga tailwater

TWRA says largemouth catch rates have historically been high compared with other Tennessee reservoirs, and in 2015 it began stocking Florida largemouth fingerlings at Sullivan's Bend, Rankin Cove (Marion County Park) and the Nickajack Cave embayment. Smallmouth, some of trophy size, are caught near the headwaters in the Chickamauga Dam tailwater. Spotted bass numbers have declined over ten years of surveys, and TWRA has found invasive Alabama bass genes in fish from the upper reservoir.

Stripers, sauger and the rest

Nickajack is not stocked with striped bass; TWRA attributes its fishery to fish passing down from stocked reservoirs upstream, and a 2017 creel survey found anglers catching 0.78 striped bass per hour. Sauger are not stocked either, and none turned up in that survey. TWRA rates crappie fair to good, bluegill excellent and redear good reservoir-wide, and lists blue, channel and flathead catfish, with the headwaters below Chickamauga Dam the most productive catfish water. White bass run up to the dam and into North and South Chickamauga creeks from March.

Common questions

Is Nickajack stocked with striped bass?

No. TWRA says stripers there come from stocked reservoirs upstream such as Chickamauga and Watts Bar; its 2017 creel survey recorded 0.78 striped bass per angler hour.

What are the bass limits on Nickajack?

Five black bass a day combined; largemouth must be 15 inches; smallmouth, spotted and Alabama bass have no minimum, but only one over 16 inches may be kept each day.

Where is the best catfish water?

TWRA calls the headwaters below Chickamauga Dam typically very productive for blue, channel and flathead catfish.

Is fishing good at Nickajack 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

Tims Ford Lake39 miChickamauga Lake45 miWeiss Lake56 miLake Guntersville60 miCarters Lake60 miCenter Hill Lake62 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.0075, -85.6158 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.