Holt Lake in Haywood County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Haywood County, Holt Lake is a Tennessee water. The bank gives way to pine and hardwood. It covers about 9 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. For supplies, Brownsville is 5.3 miles out. Bells follows at 8.1 miles, then Alamo at 12 miles. Others within reach: Cobb Creek Lake 1.1 miles away, Stokely Lake after 4.7 miles, Tyson Lake 6.1 miles away, Turpine Lake after 7.3 miles and Lewis Lake 9.9 miles away. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Holt Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Public occurrence data for Haywood County names bantam sunfish, bowfin, redfin pickerel, slough darter and yellow bullhead. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Holt Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 80°F in July and bottom out at 37°F in January. Cold never closes this one. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to be out. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. It holds true on Holt Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. If the gate is shut, Cobb Creek Lake at 1.1 miles is the nearest alternative. For Holt Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.