Just a question, from a new guy to the board

Hi, I have lived in MA my whole life, and after having a rough year losing my closest family members, I'm ready to settle down and do what I want to do, where I want to do it. I read the city-data website, and made a bunch of categories of things I was looking for in a city to relocate to, and in and around Maryville TN, seems to be what I'm looking for.
My favorite hobby is fresh-water fishing (I'm happy catching most anything, size and species are not important), prefer toothy fish (pickeral, Pike), but love catching Bass too. In MA, fishing doesn't pick up until April or so, and is pretty much done late September. I was looking for a state, with better weather, close to year-round fishing, and golfing.
Sorry for the long-winded question, guess I'm really just wondering if I can fish and golf year-round , mostly looking at east TN, and what types of fish are best bets for constant action?
Thank u all very much in advance
Dave

[Travis C.]

IF you are in Maryville both Melton Hill and Norris Lakes have muskies with Melton having some moster state record quality fish. Norris is roughly an 1hr 20min almost due north, Melton Hill is roughly an hour or less kind of due NW near Oak Ridge. Watts Bar Res is about a 1hr 15min west and what it lacks in toothy it more than makes up for in striped bass. You may be familiar with them from MA. These are the landlocked version and they get anywhere from 1lb to over 60lbs here in TN.

There are tons of trout in the mountains any which way you want to fish for them. Lakes wise almost all the indian named lakes around you has trout, bass and catfish. Almost everywhere in the parks stream wise will go from native TN brook trout in the headwaters to bows to browns to smallies as it moves downhill.

There are lots of panfish, bass, catfish and various others in all the lakes attached to the TN river.

Fishing is year round here. There is always something biting. We also have on some rivers thermal plants that keep the water around 70 or so maybe higher during the dead of winter for a pretty good area downstream. Alot of the tailrace trout streams the water doesn't change a whole lot temp wise so they can be fished year round too because they won't freeze over like the freestones or free flowing ones will.

As far as golf....

I haven't played over there in years but you have lots of options from simple to club courses. Depending on how hardcore you are its only 5 1/2hs to Augusta or maybe a little further to Hilton Head and the SC coast. It would make for a nice weekend get-a-way for golf.

Our winters aren't really winters in TN. Over where you are looking near Maryville it will seem more like it to you but still nothing close to MA. Here in Middle Tn we will have some days during the dead of winter in the 60's or some in the low single digits. Weather in TN changes constantly.

If you include the proximity to the coast and GA with whats around here you can play golf if not year round it will be pretty close to it.

Thank you very much Travis. Still mending some issues here at home, in MA, then hope to go to the Knoxville area on my last vaca week in November, really want a place where the water isnt frozen from Nov-Mar, and as far as golfing, im horrible, I like the small courses. U really gave me the answers I was hoping to hear. I was told to look at middle TN (Nashville metro), looking for a small city/town to relocate to, 25-50 thousand people at the most, and thought knoxville metro (east part of state), looked like a better pace of life for me. Im just passed middle aged, want the low cost, easier, more relaxing way of life, stress in MA is tough (and most freshwater fishing is horrible). Thank u

[Travis C.]

I practically grew up over in Sevierville and miss it dearly. My kids are too little to pull away from grandparents that are 9 miles from me in opposite directions. The wife is already all in on it and she's from southern Cal.

You can go catch a football game there Maryville College on Saturdays in the fall. It's definitely not the Big Orange across the way in Knoxville but it is Div III and that town comes alive for home games. The school has been there forever pre-1900's.

Not to slight any other areas of TN but in my opinion the hospitality and over all genuiness of the population as a whole goes with the contour of our state. In east tn it's at the highest as is the mtns then it drops but levels off towards middle with a good mix of both then as it head towards memphis continues downward. I am not saying there's not both in any of the areas but this is just from my experiences in the different parts of TN.

[Fisherman242]

I received my degree from UT and lived in Knoxville off and on for about 10 years. Perhaps I'll retire there. Having been in Middle Tennessee for the last 33 years I may be a little behing the curve but Knoxville was a paradise for a golfer and fisherman (I did both). There's many courses in the area and you can find one, public or private, that you'll like. The fishing is super! Rivers and lakes abound and you can target just about anything from trout to gar. I always liked bass best and the rivers are great there. The folks in East Tennessee are like all Tennesseans, friendly and hospitable. There's all the major college sports and UT usually fields great teams even if they are a little down right now. You won't have any problem keeping busy! In short, sometimes I wish I'd never left town when I graduated. Good luck, keep what you want to eat and toss the rest back!

[bd-]

I'm going to disagree a little bit. I live near Nashville now, I lived in Chattanooga for a while before that, I lived in Knoxville for 3 years while I went to UT, and when I was a kid we lived in Olive Branch, Mississippi, which is not far from Memphis.

Of all of them, I like living in Nashville best. Knoxville and Chattanooga are great places to visit but I just don't think they're better places to live. I wouldn't mind having a vacation cabin somewhere in the far eastern part of TN, maybe around Sevierville or, even better, around Elizabethton (South Holston, Watauga, and mountain blue line creeks galore for wild trout and smallmouth!). But for a place to live, Nashville just seems to have more to offer.

bd

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by saulty666666

Hi, I have lived in MA my whole life, and after having a rough year losing my closest family members, I'm ready to settle down and do what I want to do, where I want to do it. I read the city-data website, and made a bunch of categories of things I was looking for in a city to relocate to, and in and around Maryville TN, seems to be what I'm looking for.
My favorite hobby is fresh-water fishing (I'm happy catching most anything, size and species are not important), prefer toothy fish (pickeral, Pike), but love catching Bass too. In MA, fishing doesn't pick up until April or so, and is pretty much done late September. I was looking for a state, with better weather, close to year-round fishing, and golfing.
Sorry for the long-winded question, guess I'm really just wondering if I can fish and golf year-round , mostly looking at east TN, and what types of fish are best bets for constant action?
Thank u all very much in advance
Dave

Worked for what was arguably the largest employer for the state of Massachusetts...Raytheon...but I never lived there. My time was spent working for them in Saudi Arabia. I made many trips there and love to visit...but during my trips there in the Winter made me decide it was not for me. My passions are golf and fishing...lately have been doing more fishing and no golf due to the fact my last club changed hands and I have not joined a new one. I have never lived in East TN but it is very nice. The Winters will certainly be milder on you but while you may get some golf in during January....February...March..it will mostly be a day or two here and there....be it Middle TN or East TN. But this state is a year round fisheries. I target Crappie from the middle of October through late May. Large Mouth Bass, and Small Mouth are also caught year round....as are many specie of fish. Of course Trout are all year long...goes without saying. I don't have an opinion on Middle versus East TN. I just know TN is a great place for both golfing and fishing. TN is smack dab in the middle of some of the best fishing in the country. As for the golf...we have it all too...just depends on how much you want to spend. Tennessee is a great state...but I must admit I do miss my few trips a year to Legal's...LOL
Regards

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Travis C.

Not to slight any other areas of TN but in my opinion the hospitality and over all genuiness of the population as a whole goes with the contour of our state. In east tn it's at the highest as is the mtns then it drops but levels off towards middle with a good mix of both then as it head towards memphis continues downward. I am not saying there's not both in any of the areas but this is just from my experiences in the different parts of TN.

Don't want you to get the wrong idea. My wording may not reflect correctly what I am trying to say. In my time up there and here in middle TN there are some great people. TN is a great place to live. But is seems the mountains have a calming affect on the liefstyle over there which translates into a lot of laid back friendly people.

Here in middle TN, bd is right on. You can do, go or see just about anything here in Nashville and surrounding area. With the Cumberland River running through the heart of Nashville you can find tributaries and adjoinging lakes full of fish year round. All that is missing is the mountains.

Sorry but I still stand on my Memphis ground.

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Travis C.

Don't want you to get the wrong idea. My wording may not reflect correctly what I am trying to say. In my time up there and here in middle TN there are some great people. TN is a great place to live. But is seems the mountains have a calming affect on the liefstyle over there which translates into a lot of laid back friendly people.

Here in middle TN, bd is right on. You can do, go or see just about anything here in Nashville and surrounding area. With the Cumberland River running through the heart of Nashville you can find tributaries and adjoinging lakes full of fish year round. All that is missing is the mountains.

Sorry but I still stand on my Memphis ground.

Completely understand Travis. I lived in Memphis and West Tn for a few years...I always heard people say "They should have let Arkansas have this part of the sate"....LOL.

Regards

[bd-]

Now, now. Memphis is a fine city to visit. They've got great barbecue joints and some blues clubs with incredible music.

Just bring a gun for the city and don't eat any fish you catch.

bd

[txnative]

Lol

Thanks for all the feedback guys. For decades GA was the state I wanted to finish my second 40 years, But with some relatives not too far away in VA, and all the feedback from city-data, Tennessee, really grabbed my attention. When I saw 45+ degrees for winter highs in most of the towns/cities I looked at, I said, yeah, no more 3 foot snowstorms, and fishing without having to wait 4 months for ice out. Throw in the reputation for Bass fishing, and it kinda sold me. I'm hoping to get down around veteran's day, to check out towns from Nashville area to Chattanooga (no slight to western part of state meant).
Thanks for all the feedback

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by saulty666666

When I saw 45+ degrees for winter highs in most of the towns/cities I looked at, I said, yeah, no more 3 foot snowstorms

Another thing you may not be used to in winters up there especially in middle TN would be the mad dash to the supermarkets at a chance of snow. You can bet all the milk, water, and for whatever reason eggs will be sold out if snow is forecast. Not actually snowing but in the forecast...and your kids if you have any will be out of school for 2-3 days until the forecast shows all clear.

Sounds funny.. but I'm serious.