muskie in Tennessee?

[jrbaker90]

How far west does the muskie go in tn found alot of lake with them in east but not much in middle thanks

[randy10357]

I am fairly sure muskies are only in east Tennessee and only found as far west as Collins River near Mcminnville and Woods Reservoir.

[fishfindergeneral]

Center Hill has a good Muskie population. That's as far middle as they come.

[jad2t]

I've heard of them being in the deeper parts of the Calfkiller River but don't know for sure

[tkwalker]

Center Hill has a good Muskie population. That's as far middle as they come.


The head of the Center Hill lake has the Muskies ... Rock Island, Collins , Rocky and the Caney .... Mainly the Rocky and Collins ...

Now, Dale Hollow has a fair share of the Muskies in the lake proper .... (Note: Muskies are natural spawn they haven't been stocked in over 40 years in Tennessee) .. I haven't been back to Lilly Dale Camp Ground in about 30 years ... But an old Gentleman by the name of Mr.Reagan ran the General Store there. He had over 40 Musky trophy's on the wall ... We sat for hours listening to fish stories from the Old Fisherman . His Son was also working with him .... I doubt if the older Reagan is still living but if you ever want to know about Muskies this would be a good project just to see if the old store is still in business and talk to his son who is probably my age now ... ... Also about 20 years ago a neighbor stopped by with a nice Musky from the same area ...

I do remember this though... He (Mr. Reagan) said the best time to go Musky Fishing is when you had to break the ice at the boat ramp to launch your boat ... And he would never use an outboard over 3 HP for trolling ... And what I remembered last is what I used when I was Striper Guiding and I found it to be the truth ... "When it is not fit for man nor beast to be on the water, is the best time to catch a Trophy Fish" .... <'TK>< :)

[hillbilly]

E.C. Reagan is alive and well. He is in his 80's now, but still fishes dale hollow a lot.

[white95v6]

i have also hear of them in woods reservoir.

[Alphahawk]

I don't know what range they have but at one time Laurel Hill lake had them..and if you could see the pics from when they poisoned the lake there were hundreds of trophy size fish lining the banks. Laurel Hill gets pretty warm in the Summer but has a depth of 46 feet. But evidently they were thriving there. That lake is at the edge of Middle TN as you are really getting close to being in West TN. I don't know anything about the fish...always thought they had to have cold water to make it...but Laurel Hill had them for a number of years. I was told that the reason they got rid of them there was because they were eating everything else.


Regards

[jrbaker90]

I am in west tn and been want to go fishing for muskie and I don't want to drive along ways to go thanks

[tkwalker]

E.C. Reagan is alive and well. He is in his 80's now, but still fishes dale hollow a lot.

Ray, Thanks for the info .... Is the general Store still in Business ??? <'TK>< :)

[fishfindergeneral]

I guide Dale Hollow for muskies and the best time starts in November thru early March although they can be caught all year round. I also know a that guides Center Hill and they are in the whole lake. The last stocking in Dale took place in the mid 50's. It is the only naturally sustaining Muskie fishery in the south. In Center Hill they head deep during summer months which makes them difficult to catch. The only real way to catch them in either lake is trolling.

[fishfindergeneral]

Here is a picture of what would have been the state record muskie we caught and released in Dale hollow. http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr36/FishFinderGeneral/IMG_0549.jpg

[Alphahawk]

That is one nice Muskie! I no longer have the equipment to go after fish in that size range. Having never tasted one..as I know in today's world those fish are released...but it is my understanding they are fine eating and that is what caused their demise across the USA.


Regards

[hillbilly]

Ray, Thanks for the info .... Is the general Store still in Business ??? <'TK>< :)

TK, the store is in business,but has different owners. The new owners do have some of his muskies on the wall.

[bd-]

I am in west tn and been want to go fishing for muskie and I don't want to drive along ways to go thanks

There are some in Kentucky as far west as Barren River Lake as well. I'm not sure where you're at in West TN but Kentucky might wind up being a little bit closer for you. You'll have to buy an extra license but it'll pay for itself if you save gas money too.

bd

[jrbaker90]

I am in tipton co kentucky isn't that far alot closer than east tn thanks

[robhal11]

I have caught and mostly broke off several in all the upper Caney, Rocky, Calfkiller(had big one on at calfkiller and caney intersection lost it thought I was hung up, duh) and on the Collins(lot of fiesty smallmouth on there too). I wish had more time to fish for them, but it is a 1-1/2 hour drive from the house(gas).