Anglers targeting numbers more than trophies should also fish big creeks, such as Little Turkey and Sinking, upstream of the forks in the river, and in the canal that connects Fort Loudoun with Tellico Lake. The canal can be especially productive when water is being run through Loudoun Dam (day or night) because it creates a current through the canal.

More than 25 boat ramps provide good boating access to all parts of Fort Loudoun, and bank-fishing is possible from many of the same access areas.

Watts Bar
Located immediately downstream of Fort Loudoun on the Tennessee River, Watts Bar continues where Loudoun leaves off and is an absolute trophy cat factory. Again, all three major catfish species are well represented. However, heavyweight blues are the main attraction for many serious catfishermen. Like Loudoun, this is somewhat of a forced catch-and-release fishery. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency recommends that anglers not eat any catfish from this lake because of PCB contamination.

Watts Bar is a big reservoir, impounding approximately 38,000 acres along the Tennessee River. Its upper end is highly riverine. The lower end is substantially broader, with coves, islands, broad flats and big creek arms creating more complex fish habitat on both sides of the main-river channel. The Clinch and Emory rivers also join forces with the Tennessee River within Watts Bar, adding substantial volume to an already large river.

Through the lake's upper end, where serious fishing for big cats is the most popular, current dictates everything. When the wheels are turning at Loudoun Dam and current is pushing steadily through the river, the cats feed aggressively. During slack-water times, the fish become much tougher customers. However, even when no water is being pushed through the lake from Loudoun Dam, power generation through Watts Bar Dam will pull water through the main body in the lower lake, making fish in that part of the lake more active.

Big blue catfish in the upper half of the lake relate to classic river holes, where deep water is adjacent to flats. For anglers who don't know the river well, the easiest holes to locate are along hardest bends in the river channel and are recognizable by the bluffs that rise straight from the water's edge. The blues and channels will hold along the slopes at the tops of the holes and along the edges of the same holes.

Big chunks of fresh skipjack are tough to beat for big blue catfish in these waters; however, other types of cut fish will suffice in a pinch. Most anglers anchor upcurrent of where they want to place their baits, cast downstream, let the baits settle on the bottom and put the rods in holders, with reels engaged. Oversized Carolina rigs with large egg weights and circle hooks work well. Because of the sheer size of many river holes, it's often necessary to reposition the boat three or four times before the baits end up near a concentration of big cats.

In the broader lower lake, many anglers choose to drift, dragging the same types of baits along the bottom. Before beginning drifts, these anglers usually do a fair amount of looking with their electronics, seeking out both baitfish and catfish and looking for humps or channel edges to drag baits across. A small float pegged between the weight and the hook is really helpful for keeping hooks out of bottom snags.

Access to all parts of Watts Bar is very good, with more than 35 boat ramps scattered from one end to the other.