TWRA Installs 500 Fish Habitat Structures at Chickamauga

Artificial habitat added to Bill Dance Signature Lake as part of the state's broader fish attractor effort.

Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Fishing

Wide photograph of a calm Tennessee reservoir with submerged timber and pipe structures beneath clear water, forested shoreline behind, soft morning light. — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency installed 500 artificial fish habitat structures in Bill Dance Signature Lake on Chickamauga Reservoir, with 100 more added to Watauga Reservoir after Hurricane Helene. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Fisheries Division installed 500 artificial habitat structures in Bill Dance Signature Lake on Chickamauga Reservoir. The effort follows development of the Black Bass Management Plan and is paired with a separate project in which TWRA and TVA added 100 large structures to Watauga Reservoir after Hurricane Helene.

Why it matters

Fish attractors give aquatic life shelter and feeding areas, and the agency says the new structures are long-lasting and BPA-free. The Watauga work addresses habitat loss caused by Hurricane Helene, which the extraction describes as major.

The Chickamauga installation totals 500 structures placed at multiple depths and near tournament release areas and hatchery stocking sites. Structure performance and fish response were not reported.

The players

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA)

The state agency that manages wildlife and fisheries resources in Tennessee and led the habitat installations.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

The federal corporation that operates the Tennessee River system and partnered with TWRA on the Watauga Reservoir project.

Bill Dance Signature Lake

A lake on Chickamauga Reservoir named for the fishing personality Bill Dance, where the 500 structures were placed.

The details

Region III fisheries staff installed the structures, with support from Kubota of Chattanooga, university volunteers, Friends of Reservoirs and Bass Pro Shop. Elsewhere, Region 2's North Reservoir Crew added seven sites at Percy Priest Reservoir using TN Towers and pipe structures set 14 to 24 feet deep.

Recent: Black Bass Management Plan developed.
After Hurricane Helene: 100 structures installed in Watauga Reservoir with TVA.
Recent: Region 1 completed annual habitat improvements on Kentucky Reservoir.
Recent decades: thousands of fish attractors installed across Tennessee.

Fishing Landscape

The installations follow the Black Bass Management Plan, which guides how TWRA manages black bass in Tennessee waters. Thousands of fish attractors have been placed across the state over recent decades, and this work extends that effort to Chickamauga and Percy Priest reservoirs.

Anglers fishing Chickamauga, Percy Priest and Watauga reservoirs may encounter new structures at marked or depth-specific locations. The Watauga structures are marked for angler access, so reservoir users can locate them directly.

The takeaway

Anglers on Tennessee reservoirs can look for the marked Watauga structures and the 14 to 24 foot depth ranges at Percy Priest as reference points when planning trips.