The lake level is headed toward 626 so they may back it down to 1 gen at some point tomorrow or Saturday, unless we get a bunch more rain Friday. However, even one generator will still be a lot of water for shore fishing, though you may find some small fishing spots here and there.
As far as alternative spots that are reasonably close to Cookeville, you could check the Obey River below Dale Hollow. They've been generating fairly steadily but there have been a few small wading windows here and there. If the river is too high you can always fish the small creek below the hatchery. It usually holds a few fish, though I certainly wouldn't drive all the way up there just to fish the hatchery creek.
Pine Creek and Sink Creek near Smithville got stocked last week. Both are very nice streams that occasionally hold over fish, though we got so extremely hot last summer that I would be surprised if any made it through. Flynn's Lick Creek in Jackson County gets stocked next week, but I've never fished it.
The upper Calfkiller does get stocked with trout but won't get stocked until the last week in March.
The lake in Cane Creek Park right there in Cookeville got stocked in January, but fishing crowded city park ponds doesn't do much for me. If you just want to catch a few quick stockers to take home for dinner, you could probably get a few there with a rooster tail or powerbait.
One last place you might want to check out is the lake at Pickett State Park. It's up near Jamestown but that's only about an hour from Cookeville. It's a small lake, but it's a very scenic place and nothing like the park pond in Cookeville. If the park office is open, you can rent a canoe or small jon boat inexpensively. The lake gets stocked from February through August and I have caught some pretty decent sized rainbows out of it. It's a really neat little lake and I wish I got to fish it more. If you do fish there, please let me know how you do since I've been thinking about taking a trip up there myself some weekend soon.
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