Chattanooga, Tennessee
Striper on Fly
Fly fishing for landlocked striped bass in the Tennessee River system and beyond. Stories, tactics, and the pursuit of the next blowup.
Tennessee's World-Class Striper Fisheries
The TVA reservoir system has created some of the finest landlocked striper fishing anywhere in the country — all within reach of Chattanooga.
Chickamauga Lake
Watts Bar
Cherokee Lake
Norris Lake
Dale Hollow
Tennessee River Tailwater
Four Worlds
Stripers live everywhere — and each setting demands a different approach. We fish all four worlds.
Coast
Saltwater striper country. From Maine to the Outer Banks, the original fly fishing frontier for striped bass — surf, sandbars, and migrating fish.
Estuary
Where rivers meet the sea. Tidal marshes, grass flats, and the complex currents that concentrate baitfish and the stripers that follow them.
Inland
Tennessee's world-class landlocked striper fisheries. Chickamauga Lake, Watts Bar, Cherokee, Norris, and Dale Hollow — a reservoir circuit that rivals any fishery in the country.
Tailwater
Below TVA's dams, cold oxygenated water and disoriented baitfish create explosive striper action. The Tennessee River tailwater below Chickamauga Dam is the Southeast's best-kept secret.
Tennessee Season Guide
Striper fishing in Tennessee is a year-round pursuit — the patterns just change with the seasons.
Mar – May
Spring
Pre-spawn stripers feed aggressively on Chickamauga and Watts Bar. Surface action on warm afternoons. Best dry-line fishing of the year.
Jun – Aug
Summer
Fish go deep in the reservoirs. Focus on TVA tailwaters — cool, oxygenated water below Chickamauga Dam keeps fish active all summer.
Sep – Nov
Fall
The blitz season. Stripers push shad to the surface across Norris, Cherokee, and Dale Hollow. The most exciting fly fishing of the year.
Dec – Feb
Winter
Trophy time. The largest fish move slowly and can be found on deep channel ledges. Patience and the right fly can produce the fish of a lifetime.
Latest Stories
East Tennessee's Reservoir Striper Circuit
From Cherokee to Norris to Watts Bar, East Tennessee's TVA reservoir system holds an extraordinary variety of landlocked striper fisheries. Here's a fly angler's guide to the circuit.
Chickamauga Lake: Tennessee's Hidden Striper Gem
Just north of Chattanooga, Chickamauga Lake holds some of the most underrated striper fishing in the Southeast. Here's how to find fish on this sprawling TVA reservoir.
Chasing Stripers on the Tennessee River
The tailwater below Chickamauga Dam is one of the Southeast's best-kept secrets for big striped bass on the fly. Cold, clear, and loaded with bait — this is landlocked striper fishing at its finest.
My First Striper on Fly
There's nothing quite like the moment a striper crushes a well-placed fly on a tight line. My first on the fly rod changed everything about how I chase these fish.