East Tennessee · County seat Loudon

Fishing in Loudon County, Tennessee

Q: What are the creel limits in Loudon County?

Fort Loudoun — largemouth and smallmouth 5/day combined with a 14 in minimum on largemouth and 18 in on smallmouth; crappie 15/day, 10 in minimum; catfish no limit under 34 in, one over. Tellico — rainbow trout 7/day with no minimum, which is an unusual reservoir trout rule worth flagging Watts Bar — the Emory River arm is restricted to a single-hook presentation and a maximum of three rods per angler from 1 January through 30 April, though that arm sits in Roane County, not Loudon Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Fort Loudoun Lake, Tellico Reservoir, Watts Bar Lake (upper end). Where to launch, where to fish from the bank, and where to buy what you forgot.

Find fishing spots16 public access points Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

Every public access point

Fishing access in Loudon County

16 public access points in Loudon County: 13 boat launches, 5 fishing piers, 1 designated fishing site and 2 marinas. Each one opens its own page with written directions, coordinates and a link straight to Google Maps.

Tap a pin for the spot page and directions. Open the full Tennessee fishing map.

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Loudon County

Three picks from the largemouth bass checklist that work for the fish here. Affiliate links: buying through them pays this site a small commission at no extra cost to you.

RodUgly Stik GX2 7 ft medium-heavy casting rodStiff enough to set a hook in grass, tough enough to live in a truck bed.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

ReelAbu Garcia Black Max baitcasting reelAn inexpensive baitcaster that casts cleanly once the brakes are set.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

Soft plasticZoom Trick WormThe Tennessee standard on a Texas rig or weightless along docks and grass edges.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

Full largemouth bass checklist (11 items)All gear checklists

Spending more? The bigger purchases, compared side by side:

Smallmouth Bass checklist Crappie checklist Bluegill and Panfish checklist Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Loudon County at a glance

Loudon County boat ramps and fishing access

Loudon County has 16 public fishing access points: 13 boat ramps, 5 fishing piers and 2 marinas, on 3 lakes, rivers and creeks.

13boat ramps

5fishing piers

2marinas

3lakes, rivers and creeks

The big water in Loudon

Main fishing waters in Loudon County

What each of these is actually known for, and what you can expect to catch.

TVA mainstem reservoir · 14,600 acres, 360 mi shoreline, impounded 1943 · TVA

Fort Loudoun Lake

The dam is at Lenoir City, so the county owns the lower, wider end of Knoxville’s home water; annual level change is only about six feet because it is a navigation pool.

largemouth and smallmouth basswhite basscrappiebluegill

TVA reservoir on the Little Tennessee · 16,056 acres, 373 mi shoreline, impounded 1980, shared…

Tellico Lake

It is a cool-water, relatively infertile impoundment fed by cold water from Chilhowee upstream, and it connects to Fort Loudoun through a canal at Lenoir City, so you can run between two lakes without a takeout.

largemouthsmallmouthwhite crappiebluegill

TVA reservoir · 39,600 acres total, 722 mi shoreline, shared with Rhea, Meigs and Roane · TVA

Watts Bar Lake (upper end)

Loudon County holds the uppermost Tennessee River arm immediately below Fort Loudoun Dam, which is where the white bass and sauger runs stack in late winter and spring.

largemouth (Florida strain stocked since 2015)smallmouthstriped basscrappie

river, now impounded · lower reach is Tellico Lake · TVA

Little Tennessee River

The river’s lower course is the lake; above Tellico Dam the county line runs with Monroe and Blount.

as Tellico

What it looks like

Loudon County water

Photographs of the water this page covers. Every picture opens that water’s own page. Drag or swipe to see the rest.

Tellico LakeOpen the Tellico Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

Fort Loudoun LakeOpen the Fort Loudoun Lake page →George Green, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Public domain

Watts Bar LakeOpen the Watts Bar Lake page →ChristopherM / CC BY 2.5

Norris LakeOpen the Norris Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

Cherokee LakeOpen the Cherokee Lake page →TVA Web Team / CC BY 2.0

Watauga LakeOpen the Watauga Lake page →Mark Larson from Atlanta, GA / CC BY-SA 2.0

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Loudon County

Fishing from the bank in Loudon County

Lenoir City Park on Fort Loudoun. The Fort Loudoun Dam area and the tailrace below it, on the Watts Bar side. Loudon’s riverfront park area on the Tennessee River. Morganton Recreation Area on Tellico. Tellico Lake WMA shoreline units. Highway bridge crossings at Loudon (US-11) and Lenoir City.

Getting a boat on the water in Loudon County

Marinas on the Loudon County side of Fort Loudoun include Fort Loudoun Marina at Lenoir City; Tellico Village and the Tellico side carry additional docks and ramps (verify current operators, marina ownership turns over). The Fort Loudoun–Tellico canal at Lenoir City is the distinctive feature, a navigable link between two reservoirs.

Both lakes are navigation pools with standard no-wake zones around ramps, marinas and the dam; the dam safety zones are enforced.

Two different trips

Visiting Loudon County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Loudon County

Tellico Village and Tellico Lake. Fort Loudoun Dam and lock. Lenoir City waterfront. Historic downtown Loudon. Sweetwater’s Lost Sea (Monroe County, just over the line).

Where Loudon County locals actually go

The Fort Loudoun tailrace, fishable from the bank, for sauger and white bass in February and March. Lotterdale Cove and Coytee on Tellico, quieter than the Vonore side. The Tellico Lake WMA units at Bacon Bend and McSpadden, where you can walk shoreline most people only boat past.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Loudon County water

Creel and length limits in Loudon County

Watts Bar, the Emory River arm is restricted to a single-hook presentation and a maximum of three rods per angler from 1 January through 30 April, though that arm sits in Roane County, not Loudon. TDEC advises against eating catfish from Tellico and Fort Loudoun, and against largemouth over two pounds from Fort Loudoun, because of PCB and mercury contamination.

State record fish from Loudon County water

Tennessee state record black crappie, 5 lb 7 oz, Lionel Ferguson, 15 May 2018, from a private pond in Loudon County. It is also recognised as a world record. Note carefully that it came from private water, so it is a county claim, not a public-water claim.

Separately, TWRA’s own Fort Loudoun page claims a 130-pound state record blue catfish from the reservoir in 1976; that conflicts with the Class A record list (122 lb 3 oz, Barkley, 2023) and is almost certainly a Class B record taken by non-sportfishing methods.

13 public boat launches in Loudon County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people actually ask

Loudon County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Loudon County?

How many public boat ramps are in Loudon County?

TWRA’s access database lists 13 boat launches in Loudon County, plus 2 marinas. Most of them are on Tellico Lake. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

Do I need a fishing license to fish in Loudon County?

Yes. Anyone 13 and over needs a Tennessee fishing license, and there is no license required for ages 12 and under. A resident annual combination hunt and fish license is $33, a resident one-day all-species license is $11, and a non-resident three-day all-species license is $40. Tennessee has no non-resident one-day license. Buy online at gooutdoorstennessee.com, from a county clerk or from a licensed agent. Licenses are digital, nothing arrives in the post.

What fish can you catch in Loudon County?

The main species across Loudon County water are largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, striped bass, white bass, walleye, sauger and catfish. Each water body on the fishing spots page lists what it is actually known for, which is not always the same thing.

Does my Tennessee license cover trout in Loudon County?

Not automatically. The $33 resident combination hunt and fish license does not cover trout, and neither does the county-of-residence license or the cheaper no-trout short-term options. Those need the $21 annual trout supplemental added on. The Sportsman licenses and every non-resident all-species license already include trout. There is no designated trout water in Loudon County, but it is worth knowing before you drive to a tailwater elsewhere in the state.

What are the creel limits in Loudon County?

Fort Loudoun, largemouth and smallmouth 5/day combined with a 14 in minimum on largemouth and 18 in on smallmouth; crappie 15/day, 10 in minimum; catfish no limit under 34 in, one over. Tellico, rainbow trout 7/day with no minimum, which is an unusual reservoir trout rule worth flagging Watts Bar, the Emory River arm is restricted to a single-hook presentation and a maximum of three rods per angler from 1 January through 30 April, though that arm sits in Roane County, not Loudon Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Loudon County?

No tackle shop verified inside Loudon County.Academy Sports and Bass Pro Shops are in Knoxville, 25–35 minutes northeast via I-75/I-40. Walmart Supercenter, Lenoir City.. There is a fuller list on the Loudon County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Loudon County?

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Loudon County

Each of these has a page of its own covering the whole water, not just the Loudon County end of it, with every public access point on it and what it holds.

LakeTellico Lake7 access points in Loudon County, 16 in totalSee the spots →LakeFort Loudoun Lake5 access points in Loudon County, 27 in totalSee the spots →LakeWatts Bar Lake4 access points in Loudon County, 52 in totalSee the spots →

Loudon County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill.

Conditions

Loudon County lake levels

Lake conditionsFort Loudoun Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Fort Loudoun Dam generation schedule.Open →Lake conditionsTellico Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Tellico Dam generation schedule.Open →Lake conditionsWatts Bar Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Watts Bar Dam generation schedule.Open →

Statewide limits: 5 black bass, 15 crappie at 10 inches, 2 stripers at 15 inches, 7 trout.

About this list

Where the Loudon County access list comes from

The 16 access points above come from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s public access database, which is why each one names the agency that owns or manages it. A state or TVA ramp is usually free. A Corps of Engineers site, a state park ramp or a marina often is not.

The waters, species and local notes are researched separately, county by county, against TWRA’s own reservoir pages, TVA, the US Army Corps of Engineers and Tennessee State Parks.

Ramps close for repairs, gravel roads wash out and regulations change. Treat anything here as a starting point and call ahead if you are driving a long way for it.

By town instead

Towns near Loudon County

These pages measure from the middle of town rather than the county line, which is usually the number you actually care about.

24 access points within 30 milesFishing near FarragutFort Loudoun Lake, Melton Hill LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near MaryvilleFort Loudoun Lake, Little RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near KingstonWatts Bar Lake, Clinch RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near Oak RidgeFort Loudoun Lake, Watts Bar LakeSee the spots →

5 public fishing piers in Loudon County, no boat needed.

Keep looking

Counties next to Loudon

Fish do not respect county lines. These are the nearest counties to Loudon with public water of their own. Each one opens its own page.

Next county overBlount CountyFort Loudoun Lake, Little RiverSee the spots →Next county overMonroe CountyTellico Lake, Tellico RiverSee the spots →Next county overRoane CountyWatts Bar Lake, Clinch RiverSee the spots →Next county overKnox CountyFort Loudoun Lake, French Broad RiverSee the spots →Next county overAnderson CountyClinch River, Norris LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Loudon County water, and who fishes it

Every guide and charter on this site is listed by the water they run, so you can call the captain direct. Licences, limits and the state record list are one click away too.

Guides by water Licence and limits

Weather alerts, power outages and road closures in Loudon County right now: Loudon County conditions.