{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "generated": "2026-04-28",
  "lake": {
    "name": "Watts Bar Lake",
    "type": "Tennessee River main-stem reservoir",
    "surface_acres": 39090,
    "shoreline_miles": 722,
    "length_miles": 72,
    "winter_min_pool_ft": 735,
    "summer_pool_ft": [740, 741],
    "drawdown_ft": [5, 6],
    "completed_year": 1942,
    "regulatory": "Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA)"
  },
  "species": [
    {
      "id": "largemouth",
      "name": "Largemouth Bass",
      "slug": "largemouth",
      "summary": "Largemouth bass are the headline species on Watts Bar. TWRA reports higher-than-average recent spring electrofishing catch rates and an angler-survey average bass over 2.5 pounds. Florida largemouth stocking began in 2015 in Piney embayment at Rhea Springs, Big Springs in Meigs County, and Caney Creek.",
      "spawn_temp_f": [68, 72],
      "spawn_months": ["March", "April", "May"],
      "best_zones": ["mid-lake", "spring-city", "rockwood"],
      "tldr": "Mid-lake is the safest default. Cover water shallow at dawn with a bladed jig or spinnerbait, then move to brush, docks, and first breaks in 8-18 ft as the day warms.",
      "key_lures": ["bladed jig", "spinnerbait", "Texas-rig worm", "deep crank", "jig", "topwater"],
      "stocking_sites": ["Piney embayment / Rhea Springs", "Big Springs (Meigs)", "Caney Creek"]
    },
    {
      "id": "smallmouth",
      "name": "Smallmouth Bass",
      "slug": "smallmouth",
      "summary": "TWRA says the mid to lower portions of the reservoir provide the best smallmouth opportunities, with the Fort Loudoun tailwater another productive area. Spawning happens March-April around 59-60°F. KVD called Watts Bar a 'highland reservoir feel' lake.",
      "spawn_temp_f": [59, 60],
      "spawn_months": ["March", "April"],
      "best_zones": ["lower-lake-dam", "rockwood", "upper-riverine"],
      "tldr": "Lower-mid rocky points with deep water access. If TVA is moving water, get to Fort Loudoun tailwater or a current-affected lower-lake wall. Jerkbait or finesse swimbait first; jig or drop-shot when fish stop roaming.",
      "key_lures": ["jerkbait", "finesse swimbait", "drop-shot", "tube", "Ned rig", "float-n-fly", "hair jig"]
    },
    {
      "id": "spotted-bass",
      "name": "Spotted Bass",
      "slug": "spotted-bass",
      "summary": "Spotted-bass catch rates on Watts Bar have declined to nearly non-existent in historically occupied areas. Best remaining opportunities are in upper reaches of tributaries with clean rocky habitat. Alabama bass are confirmed in White's Creek embayment as a threat to native smallmouth and spotted bass.",
      "spawn_temp_f": null,
      "spawn_months": ["March", "April"],
      "best_zones": ["upper-riverine"],
      "tldr": "Treat as a bonus fish. Run upper tributary rock with the cleanest water available, fish small with shaky head or Ned rig. If you're not getting quick feedback, switch back to largemouth or smallmouth.",
      "key_lures": ["shaky head", "Ned rig", "drop-shot", "small swimbait", "underspin"],
      "warning": "Alabama bass invasion in White's Creek — not a primary destination."
    },
    {
      "id": "crappie",
      "name": "Crappie",
      "slug": "crappie",
      "summary": "Watts Bar supports both black and white crappie in roughly even numbers. TWRA notes spawning success has been inconsistent due to delayed fills and sudden pool changes; black and blacknose crappie have been stocked to augment spawns. Strong recent reports come from White's Creek brush piles and humps.",
      "spawn_temp_f": [60, 68],
      "spawn_months": ["March", "April", "May"],
      "best_zones": ["mid-lake", "spring-city", "rockwood"],
      "tldr": "Spring: backs of creeks, bays, and sloughs off larger arms. Postspawn through fall: deep docks and offshore brush at 10-20 ft. Summer night: bluff-light patterns. White's Creek brush at ~14 ft is a known recent pattern.",
      "key_lures": ["jig + minnow", "small paddle-tail", "tube", "underspin", "spider rig"],
      "warning": "Pool-level changes can crash a crappie spawn — check TVA before trusting last week's pattern."
    },
    {
      "id": "striped-bass",
      "name": "Striped Bass",
      "slug": "striped-bass",
      "summary": "Striped bass are stocked annually and have been since 1964 — a year-round fishery. TWRA's best official locations are mid-lake to upper reservoir around Fort Loudoun and Melton Hill, plus Kingston in spring/summer. In fall, Rockwood and White's Creek waters are good starting areas in 10-20 ft.",
      "spawn_temp_f": null,
      "spawn_months": ["spring upstream movement"],
      "best_zones": ["kingston", "upper-riverine", "rockwood"],
      "tldr": "Spring/early summer: graph the main channel and tributary intersections from Kingston upward, fish live shad on planer boards. If TVA is pulling current, shift to tailwater. In a low-water spring, pivot to catfish or white bass — don't force stripers.",
      "key_lures": ["live shad", "umbrella rig", "swimbait", "jig", "spoon"],
      "summer_note": "Habitat constrained by temp/oxygen — fish move to tributary-arm refuge water with cooler hypolimnetic inflows."
    },
    {
      "id": "catfish",
      "name": "Catfish (Blue, Channel, Flathead)",
      "slug": "catfish",
      "summary": "All three species are present; most harvested are blue catfish, with channel second. No commercial fishing is allowed on Watts Bar (unlike neighboring Chickamauga), so the catfish fishery stays positive year-round. Spring drift in the river channel; summer through winter drift mid-lake to Fort Loudoun.",
      "spawn_temp_f": null,
      "spawn_months": ["June"],
      "best_zones": ["upper-riverine", "kingston", "mid-lake"],
      "tldr": "Drift main-river channel edges with fresh cut shad until you find a productive depth band. If light, slow the drift or anchor on an outside bend. June: add rocky-bank stops for spawning fish.",
      "key_lures": ["fresh cut shad", "skipjack", "chicken/shrimp combo bait", "catalpa worms in June"],
      "advisory_note": "Catfish from the Watts Bar Dam-to-Fort Loudoun stretch are on the TDEC do-not-eat list. See /safety/."
    },
    {
      "id": "bluegill",
      "name": "Bluegill & Shellcracker (Redear)",
      "slug": "bluegill",
      "summary": "TWRA describes bluegill as a good quantity fishery — more quantity than quality — with prolific spawning that can occur up to three times in a year. Redear are present but Watts Bar is not a standout shellcracker destination compared with downstream Chickamauga.",
      "spawn_temp_f": [70, 78],
      "spawn_months": ["April", "May", "June"],
      "best_zones": ["mid-lake", "spring-city", "kingston"],
      "tldr": "Late April through early June: side-polarized search for shell/gravel bedding colonies in 5-10 ft. If not bedding, fish the deepest shady dock or bank in the same creek. Around mayflies, move fast with small topwater or fly tackle.",
      "key_lures": ["worms under float", "crickets", "small jigs", "fly tackle on mayflies"]
    }
  ],
  "monthly_recommendations": [
    { "month": "January", "primary": ["smallmouth", "striped-bass", "catfish"], "water_temp_f": [40, 48], "where": "Lower lake, dam wall, deep mid-lake points, Fort Loudoun tailwater" },
    { "month": "February", "primary": ["smallmouth", "largemouth", "crappie"], "water_temp_f": [42, 52], "where": "Steep banks, deep points, staging brush in big creeks" },
    { "month": "March", "primary": ["smallmouth", "largemouth", "crappie"], "water_temp_f": [50, 60], "where": "Rocky primary points, secondary points, big creek channel swings" },
    { "month": "April", "primary": ["largemouth", "crappie", "smallmouth"], "water_temp_f": [58, 68], "where": "Creek backs, shallow cover, docks, gravel/shell beds" },
    { "month": "May", "primary": ["largemouth", "smallmouth", "bluegill"], "water_temp_f": [65, 75], "where": "Shad-spawn banks, grass edges, isolated milfoil/hydrilla" },
    { "month": "June", "primary": ["largemouth", "striped-bass", "catfish"], "water_temp_f": [72, 80], "where": "Dam wall when generating, docks/brush when not, river-channel drifts for cats" },
    { "month": "July", "primary": ["largemouth", "bluegill", "striped-bass", "catfish"], "water_temp_f": [78, 86], "where": "Dawn shad-spawn, daytime shade, tributary refuge for stripers, night fishing" },
    { "month": "August", "primary": ["catfish", "largemouth (night)", "crappie (lights)"], "water_temp_f": [80, 86], "where": "Main-river drifts, night docks and bluffs, deep brush" },
    { "month": "September", "primary": ["largemouth", "white bass", "crappie"], "water_temp_f": [72, 80], "where": "Backs of creeks, grass edges, bait migrations" },
    { "month": "October", "primary": ["largemouth", "smallmouth", "striped-bass"], "water_temp_f": [62, 72], "where": "Main-channel grass bends, rocky points, Rockwood/White's Creek for stripers" },
    { "month": "November", "primary": ["smallmouth", "largemouth", "striped-bass"], "water_temp_f": [52, 62], "where": "Wind-blown rocky points with deep access, lower lake" },
    { "month": "December", "primary": ["smallmouth", "striped-bass", "catfish"], "water_temp_f": [42, 52], "where": "Lower lake, tailwater, deep mid-lake structure" }
  ],
  "current_drivers": {
    "no_current": "Fish suspend, scatter, or lock to shade/cover. Largemouth on docks/brush; crappie on fixed cover.",
    "light_current": "Fish set up on subtle edges. Smallmouth, largemouth, catfish, stripers on point tips, channel swings, dam corners, river-channel drifts.",
    "heavy_generation": "Fish pin to current breaks, walls, eddies, first cover on the seam. Smallmouth, stripers, cats, current largemouth on dam wall, riprap, ledges, bluff ends. Live bait, drift, swimbait, drop-shot."
  }
}