The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved changes to the fishing season at the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area that will expand access and increase the number of days anglers can fish in the area.
Under the new regulations, all streams and ponds under the Catoosa Wildlife Management Agency will be open to fishing beginning August 1, 2026, except during deer hunts and wild hog control seasons, when fishing will be closed.
Travis Scott is Assistant Chief of TWRA’s Fisheries Division. He said the changes were made to provide more consistent and expanded opportunities for anglers.
“So at the end of the day, what this means is anglers will have, I believe, it’s a hundred and forty-seven additional days that they can actually fish on the waters in Catoosa WMA, so really expanding the opportunity there,” Scott said.
Before the change, fishing at Catoosa WMA was limited to April through December, with closures during managed big game and turkey hunts. Scott said those restrictions did not always align with actual hunting activity.
“There’s a period of time that had changed, where in the spring, the roads are closed because of the difficulty maintaining them during the freeze-thaw cycle, and those dates had changed over time, and we hadn’t adjusted on our fishery side,” Scott said.
Scott said the updated rules will also allow fishing during turkey hunts, which previously resulted in about 30 days of closures each year, while still maintaining closures during deer hunts and wild hog control seasons.
“We felt like there’s no issues having people in here during turkey season,” Scott said. “We can accommodate them for fishing these other times of the year.”
The proposed changes were released for public comment, and Scott said the response was overwhelmingly supportive.
“Overall, we had really high support for that regulation change,” Scott said. “There might have been one opposed.”
Scott said the changes will apply across popular fishing areas within the wildlife management area, including Daddy’s Creek, Otter Creek, and the Obed River.
“These streams have good populations of black bass, rock bass, and even muskie,” Scott said.
According to Scott, the new regulations will be included in the combined hunting and fishing guide and posted online as part of the agency’s effort to educate the public ahead of the August 1, 2026 effective date.
“We’re just excited to provide more opportunity for our anglers,” Scott said. “This being a WMA, it’s a place that the public can go and access miles of stream and relax and have a great fishing experience.”