Fishing Report For Melton Hill Lake. PA

By Rick Seaman

May 8, 2025

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Fishing Report Melton Hill Lake, TN

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Melton Hill Lake, TN

Black Crappie - White Crappie

Current Report: Good To Very Good
Outlook: Very Good To Excellent

Crappie fishing continues to be good here at Melton Hill Lake. Limits of 15 have been easy to come by all winter. The area around Bull Run Park to the back of the Fowler Branch, the Bearden Creek bays, the Walker Branch, the McKoy Branch and up the Clinch River are all good areas to fish now while the crappie are shallow. Spring is always the best time to be on the water as crappie move shallow to spawn. Expect to find crappie in 3 to 6 feet of water. Docks, brush, wood and deep vegetation are a good place to cast small crappie jigs or live minnows. Once the spawn is over, and the hot Summer sun warms the shallows, crappie retreat to depths of 10 to 15 feet or deeper. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal. Successful anglers are using fish finders and forward facing sonar in Summer and Winter to locate schools of crappie, which tend to stack vertically around cover.

Muskie

Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon with a curly tail grub

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good

Melton Hill Lake was home to the state record musky, well over 40 pounds. And, there are plenty of others well on their way to topping that. Big muskies are being caught on large, flashy baits, particularly if they make noise. Locals report using heavy braided line with strong, steel leaders. Look for muskie to be shallow, in rocky areas, with brush. Muskie spawn in Spring, but are most active in Summer and early Fall, when the water is warmer. Local guides are a good option for first-time muskie anglers.

Striped Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good

We are just finishing up the prime time to catch big striped bass. As Summer approaches, the surface water warms, and drives the stripers to deeper, cooler water. Once they move out of the shallows, successful anglers fishing for stripers are locating schools of bait, and wolf packs of stripers are likely to be nearby. Fish finders are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Live shad are the best way to catch a big striper, especially in Winter and early Spring. Swimbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, spoons and cut bait are all effective here as well, especially when trolling.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, blue catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass, warmouth, white bass, striped bass, hybrid striped bass, muskie, paddlefish and sauger at Melton Hill Lake in Tennessee.

Fishing Video

Melton Hill Lake is a 5,700-acre reservoir with over 170 miles of shoreline. Musky, striped bass and crappie are the predominant angler favorites here, but the lake also has plenty of bass, catfish, walleye, sauger, sunfish, white bass and other species.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

Click here for boat ramps available at this lake.

Fishing License

Click here for a Tennessee Fishing License.

Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".