Fishing Report For Old Hickory Lake, TN

By Rick Seaman

January 22, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Old Hickory Lake Fishing Video
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Fishing Report Old Hickory Lake, TN

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Old Hickory Lake, TN

Largemouth Bass

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

Tournament anglers report that fishing for bass at Old Hickory Lake is still as good as always. To win events here, it typically takes at least a 3-pound average, and big fish honors generally takes over 5 pounds. Square bill crankbaits, and spinnerbaits are very popular here, especially on gentle sloping banks, and around any shallow cover. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency reports that some of the best areas for largemouth bass are in Little Cedar Creek, Spring Creek, Misty Cove, Drakes Creek and Shutes Branch.

Black Crappie - White Crappie

Uncle Buck's Panfish Creatures Curly Tail Minnow Rigged

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Crappie fishing continues to be good in Old Hickory Lake. Anglers report catching both black and white crappie, with whites accounting for the majority of fish caught. Little Cedar Creek, Spring Creek, Misty Cove and Barton Creek, Bledsoe Creek, Spencer Creek and Station Camp Creek, Drakes Creek and Shutes Branch are some of the most productive areas according to the TWRA. Spring is the premiere time to be on the water as crappie move into shallow coves to spawn. Docks, brush, wood and deep vegetation are a good place to cast small crappie jigs or live minnows. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal.

Striped Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Old Hickory Lake maintains its long-standing reputation as a great striper fishery with reports of fish in the 50-pound range caught with some consistency. The TWRA reports that stripers tend to stay in the area between the Cordell Hull Dam to the mouth of the Caney Fork River. Being successful at fishing for stripers is a matter of 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. Swimbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, spoons, live bait and cut bait are all effective here.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass, warmouth, white bass, yellow bass, striped bass, hybrid striped bass, paddlefish and sauger at Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee.

Old Hickory Lake is a 23,000-acre reservoir with 440 miles of shoreline. It is best known for fantastic largemouth bass fishing. Submerged brush, boat docks, and rocky shorelines, provide a great environment for bass. Crappie, stripers, walleye and various other species invite anglers to this fishing paradise.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Fishing Boat Rentals

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Marinas

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Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

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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".