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Norris Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

TVA's first lake: 34,000 clear acres of stripers, smallmouth and houseboat coves.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
13 cfs
Air / High
94 / 95 F
Wind
ESE 1 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03535000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Norris Lake locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. The river is running 13 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 1 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 95. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 98 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from BULLRUN CREEK NEAR HALLS CROSSROADS, TN.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03535000.

18283813 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp94 F
High / Low95 / 70 F
WindESE 1-4 mph
Pressure1014.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset07:09 / 19:59
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 95/70 F, wind 4 mph, rain 2%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

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: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

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
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 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, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 93 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 93 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 91 F, wind to 4 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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

Striper: 2/day (check seasonal). Smallmouth 18-inch on portions. Confirm with TWRA.

Access

Norris Dam SP, Anderson County Park, Stardust and Sequoyah marinas among many.

About this water

34,200 acres on the Clinch/Powell rivers, five TN counties. TVA's first dam, 1936.

Fishing Norris Lake: the full guide

The original

Norris was TVA's first dam (1936) and remains its clear-water flagship: stripers follow shad and herring through 200-ft channels (downlines in summer, freelines in the creeks come fall), smallmouth work the endless gravel, and walleye: the lake's original claim: still run the rivers each spring. Summer water clarity turns night fishing into the percentage play.

Striper depth charts

Norris stripers live by the thermocline: 30-45 ft in early summer, 60-plus by August, always over the old river channels. Downlined shad and herring, watching the graph for the bait clouds: the guide fleet's rhythm since the 1980s. Winter flips them shallow into the creeks: freeline season.

The clean-water dividend

TVA's first lake stays among its clearest: smallmouth on every gravel bank at dawn, walleye on the deep flats (the lake's founding stock persists), and lake trout: a Tennessee oddity: in the coldest depths. Norris rewards versatility like few southern lakes.

Common questions

Does Norris really hold lake trout?

A remnant stocked population in the deep, cold basin: caught mostly by deep striper anglers in winter. Tennessee's strangest bycatch.

When is the Norris striper bite easiest?

November-February in the creek arms: fish shallow, birds working, freelined baits. Summer is deeper and more technical but just as productive with electronics.

Flat-line summers

Norris' alewife-fed stripers and walleye stack the summer thermocline at 25-45 ft, and the flatline-and-downrigger fleet works the river channels from Sequoyah to the dam at dawn. The lake's famous clarity makes long setbacks mandatory. Fall flips the game shallow: October walleye return to the points at night and the striper schools chase bait to the surface between the islands.

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: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Cherokee Lake23 miClinch River28 miDouglas Lake36 miWatts Bar Lake49 miTellico River52 miLake Cumberland66 mi
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