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Norris Lake Fishing Report

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

Norris Reservoir: TVA's first reservoir, 34,200 acres on the Clinch and Powell rivers, stocked every year with striped bass, crappie and walleye.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
545 cfs
Air / High
72 / 72 F
Wind
E 2 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03528000, 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.

Norris Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The main inflow is running 545 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 2 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 72. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:39 PM-12:39 AM: 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.

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 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 from CLINCH RIVER ABOVE TAZEWELL, TN (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03528000.

6881,1971,706545 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp72 F
High / Low72 / 38 F
WindE 2-4 mph
Pressure1022.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:49 / 18:49
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 Norris Lake this week

The best day on Norris 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
10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:39 PM-12:39 AM
Minor period
4:32 AM-5:32 AM
Sun
07:49 to 18:49
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 5 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Norris 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.

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.

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.

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 Norris 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
Striped bass
Crappie
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 Norris 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 74 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 4 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

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

Tennessee fishing license. TWRA Norris rules (dam to the Hwy 25E bridge on the Clinch arm and to Gap Creek on the Powell arm): largemouth and smallmouth 5 a day combined; largemouth 14-in. minimum; smallmouth June 1-Oct. 15 one a day, 18-in. minimum, Oct. 16-May 31 15-in. minimum; spotted bass no limits; striped bass April 1-Oct. 31 two a day, 15 in., Nov. 1-March 31 one a day, 36 in.; walleye and sauger 5 a day, 15 in.; crappie 10 a day, 10 in.

Access

TWRA's Norris page links an interactive map and a fish attractor page covering the brush piles, stake beds, smallmouth spawning benches and reef balls it has built.

About this water

34,200 acres on the Clinch and Powell rivers in East Tennessee; TVA's first reservoir, dam closed in 1936.

Fishing Norris Lake: the full guide

TVA's first

TWRA notes that Norris was the first reservoir built by the Tennessee Valley Authority: closing the dam in 1936 impounded the Clinch and Powell rivers and flooded 34,200 acres. Flood control and power generation come first, yearly level swings can exceed 45 feet, and TWRA describes the lake as one of the least fertile in the region, with about 800 miles of eroded shoreline.

Striped bass and walleye

Norris produced a 49.5-pound state-record striped bass in April 1978 and receives about 103,000 striped bass fingerlings a year. TWRA stocks about 240,000 walleye annually, mostly Lake Erie strain, and has added a river strain (Rockcastle) to build stronger spring spawning runs; most walleye pressure comes during those spring runs.

Bass and crappie

Smallmouth bass are the lake's best-known black bass, best from November to April; largemouth are the second most abundant. Spotted bass were once common but have declined, and TWRA encourages anglers to keep them. Crappie reproduce poorly here, so about 103,000 are stocked each year; TWRA points to the backs of Big Sycamore, Davis and Big creeks.

Common questions

What are the striped bass rules on Norris?

From April 1 to October 31, two a day with a 15-inch minimum; from November 1 to March 31, one a day with a 36-inch minimum.

When is smallmouth fishing best?

TWRA says November to April. From June 1 to October 15 the limit drops to one smallmouth a day, 18 inches or longer.

Is Norris stocked?

Yes. TWRA stocks about 103,000 striped bass fingerlings, about 103,000 crappie and about 240,000 walleye a year.

Is fishing good at Norris 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

Clinch River13 miCherokee Lake23 miDouglas Lake36 miWatts Bar Lake49 miLaurel River Lake49 miTellico River52 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03528000 β€” CLINCH RIVER ABOVE TAZEWELL, TN (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.3035, -83.8825 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.