Melton Hill Lake

With nearly 193 miles of shoreline, Melton Hill is a long, relatively narrow reservoir held in a tight operating band near full pool. Wooded banks, creek arms, islands, and a defined navigation channel create a mix of quiet fishing water and through-traffic for boats moving between the Clinch and the Tennessee. Proximity to Oak Ridge, Clinton, and west Knoxville gives the lake a strong local recreation identity without the scale of the big storage reservoirs upstream.

The lake offers fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, and catfish, with fisheries managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TVA access areas, public boat ramps, and shoreline parks provide launch points along the reservoir, and the lock lets recreational boaters continue upstream toward Norris or downstream to the Tennessee River. Rowing clubs and local tournaments also use Melton Hill's sheltered water.

Water levels on Melton Hill Lake are managed by TVA as a run-of-river reservoir around a full pool near 795 feet above mean sea level. Because it receives releases from Norris Lake and passes water toward Watts Bar Lake on the Tennessee, elevations shift with generation and lock traffic even though the operating band is narrow. Monitoring current lake levels is helpful for boating, fishing, and dock access throughout the year.