Fishing Report For Watauga Lake, TN

By Rick Seaman

February 10, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Watauga Lake Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
Today's Weather & Forecast
Fishing Boat Rentals
Marinas
Boat Launch Ramps
Fishing License
Map
Contact Info

Fishing Report Watauga Lake, TN

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Watauga Lake, TN

Smallmouth Bass

Current Report: Good To Very Good
Outlook: Very Good

Watauga Lake is widely-known as an exceptional smallmouth bass fishery. Topwater, jerkbaits and mid-range crankbaits are catching some real nice smallies when they are shallow. In Winter, the fishing is often exceptionally good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days. For smallmouth, focus on the main body of the lake, on the lower end. When the bit slows down, locals report catching smallies on tube baits, fished on light line.

Walleye

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

Considered by many to be the best walleye lake in the state, Watauga Lake is consistently delivering a lot of walleye well over 5 pounds. Around May, the best fishing is during the last hour of the day, until midnight. When walleye are in 12' to 25' of water a blade bait or a swimbait is a good way to locate the fish. Fan cast and cover lots of water. Once you locate a school, a drop-shot rig with minnow-shaped plastics is a good way to work the school. Locals report spoons, deep-diving crankbaits, and worm harness spinners are also catching walleye while trolling.

Lake Trout

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Very Good

Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish or small trout are good choices. Other choices include nightcrawlers or Berkeley Power Crawlers, fished on drop-shot rigs. Flashy spoons can be fished at any depth, either jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve. For big lakers, use larger baits. Lakers prefer deeper, colder water and often hang out below the thermocline. You may have to troll at depths from 40' to 150'. Electronics are a great tool for locating the proper depth.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass, warmouth and white bass at Watauga Lake in Tennessee.

Watauga Lake is a 6,400-acre reservoir, with over 100 miles of shoreline, that annually makes the Bassmaster Top 100 bass lakes in the USA. Smallmouth bass, trout and walleye are the favored species here, but the lake also boasts largemouth, spotted and white bass, plus crappie and numerous sunfish, including bluegill.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Fishing Boat Rentals

Click here for fishing boat rentals available at this lake.

Click here for marinas available at this lake.

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".