Tennessee offers up some of the best angling and hunting opportunities you’ll find throughout the United States.
Filled with primetime fishing, the Volunteer State rates among the best in the U.S. when it comes to ripping lips of trophy largemouth bass.
In this article, we cover the best locations for you to target both lots of bass and real lunkers.
Tennessee’s top bass fishing spots are a blend of large reservoirs, small lakes, and slow rivers.
The larger lakes and big river backwaters often have the heavy cover that the monster bass prefer. In contrast, the smaller ponds and lakes often harbor a larger population of midsize largemouths offering plenty of action.
Here’s a look at our favorites.
Chickamauga Lake
Considered one of the quintessential bass fishing spots in America, Chickamauga Lake is home to the Tennessee state record largemouth bass, which weighed a whopping 15.2 pounds.
Over the years, this sprawling reservoir near Chattanooga has been stocked heavily with Florida-strain bass, the largest of the largemouth strains.
Combine those big bass genes with Chickamauga’s sizable population of threadfin and gizzard shad, and you’ve got a hotbed of trophy largemouth bass activity.
These lunker largemouths also share the water with striped bass, bluegill, smallmouth bass and catfish, making Chickamauga Lake a favorite of tournament pros and recreational anglers alike.
This Tennessee River reservoir has a 36,000-acre footprint with 810 miles of shoreline, offering almost endless opportunities for both bank and boat anglers.
While the entire lake yields some excellent fishing, we’ll point you toward a handful of locations that provide the best results for bass anglers.
Starting off from the north end, Aslinger Slough near Highway 60 is a shallow water cut that runs back from the main lake, dead-ending into a series of flats and tree-lined shorelines.
Here, anglers will catch plenty of largemouth bass along the undercut banks. There’s also a substantial population of crappie in the slough.
Just below that, Dry Branch is another cut that boasts a series of docks and a forested shoreline that make for excellent locations to try out your favorite crankbait or spinnerbait.
If the waters on the main lake are windy or choppy, head to the back of the cut past Shahan Lane to find a hidden gem of tree-lined banks and grass beds.
However, if you are looking to get down and dirty with some giant green monsters, there is no place like Sale Creek.
Seated at the entryway of the massive lake, anglers will find several docks on the front end of Sales Creek, near Arcadia Shores.
That’s just the start, because miles of forested shoreline, mud flats, grass beds, and cuts await those who push farther inland.
Anglers who are feeling adventurous can head all the way back to the Hodgetown Branch, where you are likely to catch largemouths in droves among the small creeks that run off of the main channel.
Across the lake, Grasshopper Creek is another popular fishing spot, filled with largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass.
A popular location for shore anglers, you can cast right off the Grasshopper Recreation Area or from boat launches or docks. You can catch a variety of fish species without leaving the land or getting your feet wet.
Other smaller locations surrounding this fishing hole include Cookston Branch and Carp Slough.
Other great bass fishing spots on Chickamauga Lake include the Johnson Slough, Murphy Slough and Eldridge Slough.
Harrison Bay and Booker T. Washington state parks are on Chickamauga Lake.
Surprisingly, largemouths aren’t even the biggest bass at Chickamauga, which also rates among the best striper lakes in Tennessee.
More: Complete Guide to Fishing Chickamauga Lake
Douglas Lake
The serpentine shores of Douglas Lake contain 44 square miles of water with jagged banks, deep holes, various drop-offs, and island chains, making this a primetime location east of Knoxville for anglers looking to rip lips with trophy lunker bass.
With nearly a dozen boat launches across the lake, anglers will have little trouble getting out on the water to work the various cuts and creeks in search of largemouth bass.
One of the best spots on the entire lake for big bass is Muddy Creek.
Muddy Creek is an offshoot on the southeastern portion of the sprawling reservoir that houses a variety of small cuts, points, creeks, and channels that anglers can target. It’s an easy call to try this one when the main lake is choppy or windy.
Primarily sand, silt, and clay bottoms, the shores of this creek are devoid of much of the vegetation that largemouth bass prefer to inhabit.
However, the southern shoreline of the creek is the exception and is heavily populated with bass, particularly in the back half.
Anglers have a variety of locations to target here, such as Chambers Branch, Patterson Branch, and Sandy Ridge Branch, to hook into largemouth bass.
Farther south, Perry Branch is another hidden gem anglers won’t want to miss. Here you’ll discover a series of small islands and cuts that make for a largemouth bass paradise.
At this writing, the local Gator Point Marina is closed, but make an effort to reach this branch when the water is down a bit and you’ll find a series of sandy beach-lined islands and ragged coves that rival something out of the Caribbean.
Instead of sipping beverages on the beaches, you’ll be hooking into smallmouth, largemouth, striped and spotted bass throughout this incredible series of cuts and channels.
Finally, the Silva Branch at the reservoir’s southwest corner is an often overlooked hotspot where anglers can access just about every type of favorite largemouth bass habitat in one location.
From silt and grass flats to tree-lined undercut banks, this branch is full of locations you can target in search of bass.
You can launch straight from Mountain Cove and fish your way through the branch without ever being more than 10 minutes from the dock.
Douglas Lake is also one of a few spots on this bass list to also make our list of Tennessee’s best crappie fishing lakes.
Dale Hollow Lake
Consistency is critical, and Dale Hollow Lake is one of the best places to consistently find large bass of all species.
With over 27,000 acres of water and 620 miles of prime fishing shoreline, this sizable reservoir in northern Tennessee that straddles the border with Kentucky is an excellent location for largemouth and smallmouth bass.
Dale Hollow is home to the world record smallmouth bass, an 11-pound, 15-ounce giant caught back in 1955. Not surprisingly, this fish also is the Tennessee state record smallie. It’s also the Kentucky state record since the lake sits in both states.
The lake also features unusual geographic features that make it a unique location for anglers to target various species.
On the Tennessee side of the lake, Colson Creek, just south of Willow Grove, is a splendid location to start. The boat docks of the Willow Grove Marina give anglers structure to target as long as you aren’t impeding boat traffic.
Motor up to the back end of the creek, which boasts sandy shoals and grass beds where anglers can target bass during the spring spawning season.
Farther south, Keene Bend gives you plenty of shoreline inside a relatively sheltered bay, full of all offshoots where the pickings are plenty.
Holly Creek on the northern end of this bay forks into sand shorelines and a boat launch on the southern branch, while Stillhouse Creek offers a secluded wooded shoreline for anglers to try their soft plastic and spinnerbait game.
If you aren’t looking to travel far from the dock, Horse Creek is a short boat ride away from its namesake marina and offers a secluded shoreline filled with vegetation that harbors big bass year-round.
Just so you know, there are some giant muskies swimming around in here that might take a liking to your bass lure.
Center Hill Lake
This 18,220-acre reservoir is heavily populated with largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass smack dab in the center of Tennessee, a little over an hour east of Nashville.
One of the few locations where anglers can hammer largemouths year around, Center Hill Lake is also an excellent location for anyone looking to turn their fishing expedition into a camping trip.
Your go-to hotspot for largemouth bass should be Eagle Creek. About a mile north of the Highway 70 bridge, this offshoot snakes to the west and dead ends in a series of grass beds and wooded shorelines.
Full of undercut banks and overhanging tree limbs, finding a better place than Eagle Creek to kayak or cast for largemouth anywhere in Tennessee is tough.
Britch Creek/Quarry Hollow is just south of Highway 70 and offers another solid fishing hole.
This forked cut provides anglers with plenty of shallow water and tree-lined banks that are easy to cruise in search of lunkers. If you’re going to work a soft plastic at Center Hill Lake, this is your go-to spot.
Fall Creek is your final stop. A mile south of the highway bridge and a bit of a ride from any boat launch, it’s worth the trip due to its diverse fish population.
Here, you can catch anything from flathead and channel catfish to largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth bass, all inside this westward-winding creek.
Your best bet in locating largemouth bass in this twisting offshoot is the very back of Fall Creek, where the grass beds meet several points, and the water narrows into a thin channel.
Edgar Evins State Park is at the north end of this big reservoir.
Holston River
To the east of Knoxville, parts of the Holston River are home to various game fish, from trout higher up in the South Fork to smallmouth bass and then catfish and more bass as it slows and warms.
The largemouth population here is sizeable, but the true beauty of this fishing hole is its versatility.
Splitting into three branches, anglers can access the heavily forested shoreline near the Jumping Moses Shoal and Goose Neck Shoals and a small cut to the west of Boyd Island.
This three-pronged fishing paradise features a launch, Rankin Bridge, near its center, making it easy for anglers to access any location.
The northernmost location, the upper branch of the Holston River, features several excellent locations where anglers targeting largemouth bass can fish.
Just south of the French Broad Shoals, a heavily wooded creek runs to the west of Boyd Island. With a boat launch on the northern end and a bridge to the south, this creek has plenty of overhanging trees and brush lining the banks.
The small island near the creek’s center is surrounded by several downed trees, offering anglers plenty of structure to target with spinnerbaits and soft plastics.
In the main channel, the western shoreline of Boyd Island is lined with brush and trees, offering shade and cover out of the current.
Closer to the split, the bridge and several sandy points offer anglers several options where the fish may be hunting or staying out of the current.
Farther down the eastern branch, anglers will find miles of forested shoreline on both sides of Pickel Island. Try working along the western shoreline of this branch with spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and soft plastics.
Due to the often strong current in the main channel, it’s recommended that anglers stay away from topwater lures and select times when the current is slower.
Targeting the small coves and downed trees that dot the bank is an excellent idea, as they offer cover for hungry lunkers.
Goose Neck Shoals to the west is the best location of the three to hammer largemouths. Offering a forested shoreline and an offshoot creek with islands, the forested and sandy shoreline blend is rich with baitfish and bass.
The premier spot for anglers to consistently catch largemouth bass here is the mouth and upper stretch of the creek that separates Dickinson Island from the mainland. With several sandbars, downed trees, and an L-shaped cut, this is a bass hotbed that anglers won’t want to miss.
Tims Ford Lake
Southeast of Lynchburg, and about an hour and a half from either Nashville or Chattanooga, Tims Ford Lake offers a sprawling snake-like body of water lined with lunker bass.
Anglers will have little trouble finding a honey hole full of these voracious predators between the forested islands, creeks, coves, and offshoots.
With Tims Ford State Park on its shores, this lake is popular with tourists and anglers alike.
The lake’s southwestern end has a massive dam and two separate boat launches that allow you to get out on the water.
The large Wiseman Branch just to the east of these boat launches boasts catches of white bass and smallmouth bass, while a little further east, Wiseman Bend boasts a solid record of producing giant largemouths.
The southern shoreline here offers plenty of coves and shoals ripe for the picking.
Kitchens Creek starts around Leatherwood Island and runs south, with miles of forested shoreline cut with creeks and coves.
With no docks lining the uninhabited shores, anglers can work the brush piles, overhanging trees, and sandy points of Kitchens Creek to hook into some trophy-sized largemouths. Catch reports prove that this area has a history of producing big bass.
A bit north, the Coles Branch is another popular spot with four different launches nearby on the western split.
Aside from the smallmouth and spotted bass recorded here, anglers have also caught sizable largemouths from both sides of the split. The left side of the fork runs deep into the shore, with cuts jutting off into the forest.
To the northwest, the large Cooper Branch runs northward with miles of forested shoreline, cuts, and docks.
When the water is high in the lake, this branch is unparalleled in its richness of bass.
Patrolling the multiple cuts and docks while casting spinnerbaits and crankbaits is a solid option for everyday angling.
Anglers should consider switching to topwater when the water levels are in flux. Particularly in the northern two cuts towards the back of Cooper Branch, anglers can toss topwater lures next to brush piles and reeds to connect with photo-worthy largemouths.
For a change of pace, the cool waters of the Elk River below Tims Ford Dam can be very good for trout fishing.
Normandy Lake
Southeast of Murfreesboro, Normandy Lake is a hotbed of largemouth bass action. With over half a dozen boat launches, anglers are always just a short boat ride away from elite-level bass fishing holes.
On the lake’s western edge, Boyd Branch offers plenty of coves, points, and forested shorelines where anglers can find green feeding machines lurking.
Normandy Dam at the southern end of this branch provides little in the way of fishing but has boat launches for a quick ride into the cuts to the north.
Another launch off of Roberts Ridge Road puts anglers directly into one of the best cuts on this side of the lake.
Crankbaits and spinnerbaits thrive here, standing out against the pristine blue-green waters of Normandy Lake.
To the east, Riley Creek runs north, lined with coves and several significant cuts.
Old Cave Spring is one of the first cuts and is relatively uninhabited. Aside from a single dock on the southern side of the cut, look to the tree-lined shore and sandbars to provide excellent fishing.
The very back of Old Cave Spring features fallen trees, sandy points, and shallow shoals, perfect for running a topwater lure.
Martin Spring is the next cut into the creek and offers much of the same, with more sandbars that anglers can anchor up against and work the coves.
Blue Spring is the northernmost cut lined with docks, dead-ending into Cathery Ridge Road.
The eastern portion of this dead end has plenty of submerged trees and features a small creek, a big draw for largemouth bass during spawning, and a great spot to target when water levels are high.
The Davidson Branch runs parallel to Lindell Bell Road, and when the main lake is rough, this is an angler’s go-to spot for catching largemouths in quieter water.
With multiple small coves, anglers who try this branch will have little trouble finding and catching hungry bass. Particularly at the creek’s upper end, anglers will discover overhanging trees and brush that harbor baitfish and the bass that hunt them.
The Eoff Branch above the Lyndell Bell Road crossing has two split cuts with overhanging trees and brush anglers can target.
The closest boat launch to this is Barton Spring, making the Eoff Branch one of the farthest boat rides for anglers on Normandy Lake.
Montgomery Bell State Park
Montgomery Bell State Park offers three smaller lakes that collectively offer primetime largemouth fishing holes less than an hour west of Nashville.
Lake Woodhaven, Creech Hollow Lake, and Acorn Lake each offer shore fishing. Two of the lakes have boat launches for anglers looking to get out on the water.
Lake Woodhaven is the largest and southernmost body of water and has a significant largemouth bass population.
With a boat launch on its northern end, this 50-acre lake offers plenty of wooded shoreline and several small coves to target.
However, with two fishing piers on the eastern shoreline, anglers don’t need a boat to catch bass in Lake Woodhaven.
This lake is best angled during the spring and fall months. The shallow coves and grass beds are ripe with baitfish and bass during the spawning season, and bass move back into shallower water as the weather cools in the late season.
Creech Hollow Lake has a large main body on the western side that forks to the east, both channels dead-ending in grass beds and trees.
There’s a sizeable population of largemouth bass in this central lake but no official boat launch. Anglers with trailered boats will need to launch on one of the other lakes here, while shore anglers and hand-launch boats rule the day at Creech Hollow Lake.
Acorn Lake, the northernmost of the trio, has a boat launch that allows anglers to access the three main arms that snake off the main body of water.
With a large conference center and inn on its southern shore, anglers looking for a bit more solitude are best served to work the northern shoreline or two cuts running to the sides of the large structure.
However, the best fishing is found in the large eastern cut, secluded from the bustle surrounding the conference center. Here, grass beds and overhanging trees create an optimal environment for anglers looking for hungry largemouth bass.
See the Montgomery Bell State Park website for more information.
Marrowbone Lake
Just north of Nashville, Marrowbone Lake is home to two of Tennessee’s most sought-after game fish species.
The wintertime rainbow trout and year-round largemouth bass populations are unparalleled here despite it being an incredibly small body of water.
The northwestern portion of the lake offers a boat launch that anglers can use to navigate the many branches of this lake.
South of Springfield, this lake is uninhabited and often overlooked, making it a remote and underfished location that is a goldmine for bass and trout anglers.
A forested shoreline with plenty of semi-submerged trees, overhangs, and brush surrounds the twisting cuts. There is no shortage of locations where anglers can fish in this small lake.
The two best bass fishing holes on Marrowbone Lake start with the northeastern branch, which deadends into a creek mouth with grass beds and sandbars.
This is the perfect location for anglers to anchor their boat and work the tree-lined shores, brush piles, large downed trees on the northern shore, and sandbars.
An essential technique when fishing in this location is anchoring opposite the sun. This allows anglers to work the transition from shade to light that the tall trees create.
The second location is directly across from the fishing pier and parking lot on the lake’s northern shoreline. This extended thin cut into the southern shoreline is a collection of small divots, overhanging trees, and brush-lined banks.
Working your way through this backwater is a great way to hammer lunkers when the wind is strong on the main lake.
Smaller Tennessee Bass Lakes
Now we want to tell you about several more Tennessee lakes that offer excellent bass fishing, although in much smaller packages.
The following four lakes will never host Bassmaster tournaments and aren’t likely to make every best bass lake listing out there.
What they lack in size or popularity, they do provide some excellent, off-the-beaten-path spots where you are likely to catch loads of modest-sized largemouths.
As a bonus, each of these lakes is a relatively easy drive from Nashville or Memphis.
Crutcher Lake
Unlike many of the best largemouth bass locations we’ve covered so far, Crutcher Lake is not the biggest body of water.
This relatively secluded lake northeast of Nashville boasts dozens of sizable lunkers caught and remains a consistently successful spot for anglers year-round.
The forested shoreline is dotted with fallen trees and brush piles, making it ideal for largemouths. Without a public boat launch, anglers must work the shoreline or use shore-launched kayaks to angle this small lake.
Willow Lake
South of the town of Portland, less than an hour from Nashville, anglers will find a small lake on the edge of suburbia that boasts a significant population of largemouth bass.
This publicly accessible lake is full of grass beds and shallow shoals and can be fished across the entire shoreline except for the private property on the northern bank.
The best location anglers can target is the western side, where overhanging trees and small creeks make for excellent early-season spawning grounds for largemouths.
In addition, the areas around the small island can yield bass and perch.
Portland City Lake
North of Willow Lake, Portland City Lake near the municipal airport is one of the best springtime bass-angling locations among smaller Tennessee lakes.
Thanks to its multiple grass beds, brush piles, and fallen trees, this is a paradise for ambush predators like largemouth bass.
Due to the heavily forested shoreline and surrounding private properties that border the lake, anglers have limited locations to fish from. However, it is still a viable fishing hole for those chasing lunkers.
Whiteville Lake
South of the town of Whiteville, a little over an hour east of Memphis, this small reservoir has a public boat launch and fishing pier, making it an easy-to-access fishing hole with an excellent track record for largemouth bass.
With a dam to the north and miles of forested shoreline to the south, this lake is ideal for beginners and experienced bass anglers alike.
Small coves, overhanging trees, and a handful of undercut banks offer plenty of bass-holding spots.
Anglers might not catch monsters here, but catching 3- to 5-pound largemouth bass all day is possible.
Catch More Bass
Check out our simple guide to the best bass fishing techniques and tips.