Waters · Lakes · TN · Tue, Aug 18

How's the bite at Watts Bar Lake today? Biting — get there by six.

Worth a cast.

Built from solunar, pressure, level, wind. This water has no live gauge for every reading — see the sources below.

6/10
Biting

Today's bite windows

12 AM6 AMNoon6 PM11 PM
Major
5:01 AM–7:01 AM
Moon underfoot
Minor
12:44 PM–1:44 PM
Moonrise
Major
5:24 PM–7:24 PM
Moon overhead
Minor
10:58 PM–11:58 PM
Moonset

Sunrise 7:00 AM · sunset 8:24 PM · tomorrow's first major 5:48 AM–7:48 AM · windows on every water

Solunar · computed updated 4:24 AM

Conditions right now

Water level
740.8ft
+0.03 ft in 24h
NOAA NWPS WBOT1 updated 3:00 AM
Pressure
30.02inHg
rising · +2 hPa/12h
NOAA KMMI updated 3:55 AM
Wind
0mph N
NOAA KMMI updated 3:55 AM
Moon
36% waxing
Solunar · computed updated 4:24 AM

What this means

Largemouth bass, Crappie, Catfish
This gauge reports level but no water temperature, so depth calls stay open. Read the windows and the pressure trend instead.

Watts Bar Lake water level today

740.8 ft up 0.03 ft in 24 hours

That sits 53% of the way up the band it has held over the last 8 days, between 740.48 and 741.08 ft. Over the week it is down0.18ft.

08-10 740.48–741.08 ft 08-18
NOAA NWPS WBOT1 updated 3:00 AM

The week ahead

Wed 6 Biting
Thu 6 Biting
Fri 6 Biting
Sat 6 Biting
Sun 5 Picky
Mon 6 Biting
Tue 6 Biting

Forecast days carry solunar and the wind outlook. Pressure and gauge movement land the morning of.

Before you go

A Tennessee fishing license covers this water — $33 a year for residents. TWRA sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What it costs, and who is exempt →

Nearby waters today

Questions people ask about Watts Bar Lake

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Watts Bar Lake.

Is it worth fishing Watts Bar Lake today?
6 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 5:01 AM–7:01 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.
What time should you fish Watts Bar Lake?
Today's major windows run 5:01 AM–7:01 AM and 5:24 PM–7:24 PM, with minor windows at 12:44 PM–1:44 PM and 10:58 PM–11:58 PM. Sunrise is 7:00 AM and sunset 8:24 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.
What is the water temperature at Watts Bar Lake?
No gauge on Watts Bar Lake measures water temperature. US reservoir gauges report height, not temperature — so rather than estimate it, this page leaves it out and leans on the windows and the pressure trend instead.
What is the water level at Watts Bar Lake right now?
740.8 ft, read at 3:00 AM from NOAA NWPS station WBOT1. Over 24 hours it is up 0.03 ft.
Can you eat the fish you catch in Watts Bar Lake?
That is a health question and it belongs with the state, not with us. TN publishes fish consumption advisories through its health or environmental agency, and those are the ones that count. We give no eating advice.
Do you need a licence to fish Watts Bar Lake?
Yes. A Tennessee fishing license covers this water, required from age 13. TWRA sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What a Tennessee license costs, and who is exempt

Where these numbers come from

The Tennessee River above Watts Bar Dam, read by the Tennessee Valley Authority and republished by NOAA. This is the pool above the wall, not the tailwater below it. No temperature sensor at the gauge.

No one types these in by hand. If a source goes quiet, the page says so instead of showing you yesterday.