Take a look below to see our featured smallmouth bass fishing destinations in Tennessee.
Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga is the 4th largest city in Tennessee. This city is located at the transition between the ridge-and-valley portion of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. The scenery is beautiful in Chattanooga with mountains and ridges surrounding the city.
Fishing is also very good in this area with the Tennessee River, Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake. Anglers target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, huge catfish, striped bass, crappie and bluegill.
Dale Hollow Lake
Dale Hollow Lake is a beautiful lake located on the Kentucky / Tennessee border. The lake is surrounded by beautiful scenery and miles of shoreline. It is a wonderful tourism area with plenty of accommodations, houseboats, warm weather, tons of water and some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the country.
Dale Hollow Lake is home of the world record smallmouth bass that weighed 11 pounds and 15 ounces. Largemouth bass, crappie, muskellunge, walleye, catfish, gar, and trout are also available. The majority of the fishermen come here for the world class smallmouth bass fishery.
Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake is one of the world’s largest man-made lakes. The lake covers 2,380 miles of shoreline and 160,000 acres of water. Kentucky Lake is a very popular vacation destination. Whether you’re coming here for a fishing getaway or a family vacation, there is something to do for everyone.
Kentucky Lake is known for its tremendous crappie fishery. Spring and fall are the best times to plan a trip for the crappie fishing. During the spawn, 1 – 1.5 pound crappie are considered common. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are also plentiful on Kentucky Lake. There are more largemouth than smallmouth in the lake, but if you target the rocky areas, you can usually find some smallmouth bass. If you time the spawn right in the spring, you can experience some awesome fishing for largemouth bass with 30 to 50 fish days being possible. Get away from the crowds and find the pattern and you will catch more fish. Other species that are available are white bass, sunfish, sauger, catfish and striped bass.
Pickwick Lake & Wilson Lake
Pickwick & Wilson Lakes are very popular for fishing and boating. This area is known as one of the better fishing destinations in the country for multiple species of fish. Whether you come here to enjoy the outdoors, go boating or go fishing, you have a lot of water to explore here.
Pickwick Lake and Wilson Lake offer some tremendous fishing opportunities for a variety of different fish species. This area has definitely gained in popularity over the years due to its excellent fishing throughout the year. Whether you’re looking for numbers, big fish or a variety of fish, it’s all here. It is known for its awesome smallmouth bass fishing, but there is a lot more here than just smallies. It’s one of the better fishing vacation destinations in the south.
