Fishing In Tennessee
Before you head to the water to fish, be sure to stop by the nearest TWRA regional office or a license agent to buy a fishing license. Your fees go toward fisheries management programs that help ensure your future recreational fishing opportunities.
If you fish on private property, you must obtain permission from the owner. Whether that favorite fishing hole is on private or public land, be a responsible resource user. Please do not leave trash along our waterways, including fishing line. Do not dump unused bait in the water; instead, drain your bait bucket on land or dispose of bait in the trash. Bait from bait dealers can contain invasive species. Also, report all littering violations and any suspected illegal dumping into Tennessee’s waters. After all, water is one of our most important resources as both humans and fish depend on it for their survival. Following these simple rules will help ensure that we all may enjoy our natural resources for generations to come.
Attention Anglers, Do NOT Move Bass!
The movement and illegal stocking of Alabama Bass outside their native range has caused serious issues for Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass fisheries across the southeast. It has been well documented that Alabama Bass prey on, hybridize with, and out compete other bass species for habitat and food resources. High hybridization rates between species will eventually result in a population without any genetically pure Smallmouth Bass. Once this occurs it can never be reversed and results in the loss of those species and the decline in the quality of that fishery.
Alabama Bass and their hybrids have been found in numerous Tennessee reservoirs. TWRA has documented the displacement of Largemouth Bass in Parksville Reservoir, one of the first sites Alabama Bass were documented outside their range in Tennessee, and hybridization with Smallmouth Bass has been documented in Watts Bar, Ft. Loudoun, and Tellico reservoirs. By all accounts, if Alabama Bass are introduced into Tennessee’s best bass fisheries, we stand to lose bass fishing as we know it. Do Not Move Alabama Bass!
In order to be successful at stopping the spread of Alabama Bass, the responsibility lies among those who transport live fish away from the water where they are caught. In most instances, those fish are used as food, but in some cases might be released into other water bodies. Always remember that it is illegal to intentionally release live fish into any public water in Tennessee away from which they were harvested.
Alabama Bass are very difficult to distinguish from Spotted Bass; observations of illegal stocking should be reported to your local TWRA Regional Office (listed below).
West Tennessee (Region 1)
200 Lowell Thomas Dr.
Jackson, TN 38301
(731) 423-5725
Middle Tennessee (Region 2)
Ellington Agricultural Center
5107 Edmondson Pike
Nashville, TN 37204
(615) 781-6622
Cumberland Plateau (Region 3)
464 Industrial Blvd.
Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-9571
East Tennessee (Region 4)
3030 Wildlife Way
Morristown, TN 37814
(423) 587-7037
Tailwater Dam Generation Schedules
Lake Levels and Generation Schedules for Tennessee Dams
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
- TVA Fishing Conditions for Mobile Devices
Flow Conditions at Various Streams and Rivers
The TWRA's fisheries management programs are funded from license sales and by federal aid money received through the Federal Aid to Sport Fish Restoration Program.
The federal aid money is generated by an excise tax paid by anglers on various kinds of fishing equipment and taxes collected on marine fuel. The money is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and can be spent only under their guidelines.
Current TWRA projects funded by federal aid:
- operation of fish hatcheries
- fishing piers designed to accommodate handicapped anglers
- renovation and construction of boat ramps across the state
- acquisition of stream access sites
- evaluation of length limits and stocking success on reservoirs
- stream habitat improvement projects
- statewide construction and maintenance of fish attractors
- habitat protection, which includes investigating pollution problems
- fish population surveys on reservoirs, lakes, and streams
