Marrowbone Lake in Davidson County is another Family Fishing Lake with a good offering of catfish. The lake is located northwest of Nashville near Joelton and is 60 acres in size. Both blue and channel cats are present.

The amenities at Marrowbone are virtually the same as Laurel Hill. Lake info is available by calling (615) 876-6012.

CUMBERLAND PLATEAU -- REGION III
There may not be quite the variety of catfish waters in Region III as in the western half of the state, but there are some opportunities to catch some really massive fish. Anglers in this area have the chance to hook into huge specimens of blue, flathead and channel catfish. The bulk of the best opportunities are along the Tennessee River system.

The river runs through much of Tennessee as well as the bordering states of Kentucky and Alabama. Huge catfish are caught in all three states all along the river system. A world-class 111-pound blue cat was caught in Alabama in the portion of the river beyond the Nickajack Dam.

The Tennessee River offers anglers a wide range of options. Bank-anglers have plenty of access to the river, tailwaters below major dams and big reservoirs. Boat-anglers have a huge advantage in being able to find channels, dropoffs and other structure to which the catfish relate. The best areas to target are the huge bluff holes located all along the system.

Channel cats will bite on most anything, including cut bait, shrimp, night crawlers, stink baits, liver or live bait. Most seasoned river anglers prefer chunks of cut shad or skipjack for blue cats, while flatheads are primarily targeted with live bait.

Watts Bar Lake is the first reservoir formed along the Tennessee River. Biologist Mike Jolley said this is one of the top spots in the region for catfish. Anglers spent some 50,743 angling hours chasing catfish with an average catch of 1.64 cats per hour. That's a really good average as far as creel data is concerned.

Flatheads were reported with the highest average weight at 5.39 pounds. Blues followed at 3.67 pounds, and channels averaged 2.82 pounds. Big fish of all three species are frequently caught. Rod-and-reel fishing is by far the most popular method, but at certain times of the year, this lake sees a very high contingent of those who like to use "grabbling."

Next along the river system is Chickamauga Reservoir. This huge TVA water covers over 36,000 surface acres. This lake is very accessible and the Chickamauga Dam is actually in the city limits of Chattanooga.

Professional guide Richard Simms (www.ScenicCityFishing.com) has been fishing the river system for a number of years and actually fishes within sight of the Tennessee Aquarium in downtown Chattanooga. Simms likes to target the really big fish and said, "I have little doubt there is the potential to catch a new state-record blue cat within casting distance of Chattanooga."

Jolley said Chickamauga ranks just behind Watts Bar in the creel survey with an average of 1.36 catfish caught per hour. The average weight for all three species ranges from 3 to 4.5 pounds, but don't let that figure be misleading. There are some huge fish in the reservoir. Simms said he has photos of a 120-pound blue cat caught on the lake by a commercial fisherman running trotlines.

On the other side of the dam begins the headwaters of Nickajack Reservoir. Jolley said there are no recent creel numbers to look at, but the lake should be comparable to the other two reservoirs. He said it has a good catfish population and there have been a number of big cats caught there and those numbers should grow over time with the new 34-inch trophy cat regulation.