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Best blue catfish lakes in Tennessee

7 Tennessee waters hold blue catfish. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Open-water giant of big rivers and reservoirs; follows shad schools and feeds in current year-round.

1. Kentucky Lake — 75 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Sauger, Crappie
2. Chickamauga Lake — 75 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
3. Watts Bar Lake — 100 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
4. Old Hickory Lake — 60 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Sauger, Crappie, Bluegill
5. Fort Loudoun Lake — 75 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
6. J. Percy Priest Lake — 100 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
7. Nickajack Lake — 55 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill

When to fish blue catfish in Tennessee

• Spring 5–25 ft — High water is your friend — fish current seams and flooded flats.
• Summer 10–40 ft — Drift cut bait across channel edges and deep flats.
• Fall 15–45 ft — Blues shadow massive shad schools — find bait on the graph first.
• Winter 20–50 ft — The trophy season: anchor on deep holes packed with wintering shad.

Also in Tennessee: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best striped bass lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes · best brown trout lakes

Blue Catfish elsewhere: Indiana · Ohio · Kentucky · Texas · Kansas · Oklahoma · Missouri · Georgia