Watts Bar

[Uncle Bubba]

Going to Watts Bar soon for the 1st time with my son, anyone have any advice on where to go and what's working right now? We have an Airbnb booked in Apollo Shores which is near the Whites Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Hduke86]

Only advice I have would be EXTRA EXTRA careful with all this rain and the river currents. Be ready for muddy water conditions

 

[Crow Terminator]

I think the fish are all spread out right now from not having any current. They've not really been generating on either end of the lake. Ft Loudon dam has been doing a little bit more than Watts Bar dam and from what I've seen, that end of the lake has most of the bait fish in it right now. The lower end is kinda dead. Don't even see the diving ducks or baitfish birds down on that end. I fished the Sandy Bottoms/Hornsby Hollow side of it last week for a couple hours and didn't get a bite nor did I see any schools of shad. Put the boat on the trailer and hopped below Watts Bar dam for a hour or so and caught 5 really quick then went to the house.

 

[Uncle Bubba]

Only advice I have would be EXTRA EXTRA careful with all this rain and the river currents. Be ready for muddy water conditions

Is it a rough place to run in? We usually run KY Lake but are starting to venture into the East TN waters and try them out. We ran Old Hickory in the Fall and it was a mess with trees floating everywhere and had to be super careful.
We were thinking of fishing from Watts Bar Dam up to Kingston City Park and just staying on that side.

 

[Uncle Bubba]

I think the fish are all spread out right now from not having any current. They've not really been generating on either end of the lake. Ft Loudon dam has been doing a little bit more than Watts Bar dam and from what I've seen, that end of the lake has most of the bait fish in it right now. The lower end is kinda dead. Don't even see the diving ducks or baitfish birds down on that end. I fished the Sandy Bottoms/Hornsby Hollow side of it last week for a couple hours and didn't get a bite nor did I see any schools of shad. Put the boat on the trailer and hopped below Watts Bar dam for a hour or so and caught 5 really quick then went to the house.

Thank you sir! Sounds we like we need to stay more North of Apollo Park towards Kingston and try those areas out instead of going South towards the Dam.

 

[Hduke86]

Is it a rough place to run in? We usually run KY Lake but are starting to venture into the East TN waters and try them out. We ran Old Hickory in the Fall and it was a mess with trees floating everywhere and had to be super careful.
We were thinking of fishing from Watts Bar Dam up to Kingston City Park and just staying on that side.

I wouldn't say it's rough but the weather can change that quickly.