[43,100 acres]
This lake is fishing a little tougher than usual, but even so, it ranks as one of the best fisheries on the planet where you can land a trophy largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass on three consecutive casts. And monster limits are still being brought to the weigh-in stage. A March event here saw a 28-7 limit take the top spot, with a 26-pound limit falling to second. And the big bass of this particular event only tipped the scales at 6-13, so there are a lot of really solid fish swimming in livewells.
[160,300 acres]
She’s baaaaack! It’s been a minute since this behemoth on the Tennessee River made the rankings. Asian carp did quite a number on this lake, negatively affecting the bass fishing. However, that issue is now under control and the bass are responding, putting Kentucky Lake back on the pedestal where she traditionally sat as one of the best bass fisheries in the nation. A March event here included four limits over 20 pounds, the biggest weighing 24-2. Big bass of that derby was 7-13. A Bassmaster College Series event held in April was won with an average of 21 pounds per day. And, although most events are won with largemouth, there is a nice population of smallies here, as well.
[27,700 acres]
This historic fishery (the world-record smallmouth was caught here) has become a gold standard in the Volunteer State the past three years. After not making the rankings for nearly half a decade, this fishery has been climbing toward the top since 2022 on the strength of its largemouth population. Sure, smallies still swim here with reckless abandon and are big, but the green fish are winning big-bass checks. A March tournament took 22-12 to win, but the top nine anglers all had over 20 pounds.
[30,600 acres]
When we polled this state’s fisheries biologists as to the best bass fishing lakes in their state, this fishery was their top choice. That’s interesting, because they have some incredible bass fisheries … and because Douglas didn’t make the rankings last year. That said, research shows this fishery is certainly holding its own. In an April event, 20.43 pounds took the top spot … but the next five highest weights were all in the 16-pound range. Big fish of the derby was a tad over 5 pounds. Expectations when visiting this fishery should be a 3.5-pound average bass, but there are a ton of these better-than-average fish swimming around.
[36,240 acres]
This may be the most frustrating lake to fish within these rankings. When it’s good, it’s sooooo good. During an April event held here, a 29-7 limit was weighed. However, the median weight of a March event held here was just 11 pounds. So, know that when you launch on this Tennessee River impoundment, you will likely be a hero or a zero … there are very few opportunities in between.