East Tennessee · County seat Dayton

Fishing in Rhea County, Tennessee

Q: What are the creel limits in Rhea County?

Chickamauga — largemouth 5 per day with a 15-inch minimum; crappie 15 per day with a 10-inch minimum; walleye 5 per day with a 16-inch minimum; catfish unlimited under 34 inches with one over. Watts Bar — paddlefish 1 per day, season open 1 May–15 May, which is a different and shorter window than the 24 April–31 May season on most other Tennessee reservoirs The Emory River single-hook rule and the Emory paddlefish closure sit in Roane County, upstream Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.Marina stores on the lake are the on-water option. Chattanooga, about 40 minutes south, has large-format outdoor retail... There is a fuller list on the Rhea County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Chickamauga Lake, Watts Bar Lake, Tennessee River. Where to launch, where to fish from the bank, and where to buy what you forgot.

Find fishing spots15 public access points Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

Every public access point

Fishing access in Rhea County

15 public access points in Rhea County: 9 boat launches, 6 fishing piers and 6 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.

Chickamauga Lake 6 in Rhea County

Free3 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TVABlythes Ferry / Rhea County1 ramp, 1 lanefishing pierDirections and detail →35.41461, -85.01161 Launch fee4.5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · CountyDayton Boat Dock3 ramps, 2 lanesfishing piercanoe / kayak landingrentalsDirections and detail →35.49250, -85.00410 Free4 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TWRAFrazier Park1 rampfishing pieraccessible parkingDirections and detail →35.47640, -84.95840 Launch fee4.5 out of 5facilitiesMarina · Private LandBlue Water Resort and MarinaFrom 30, take Double S Road, right onto Shaver Loop1 ramp, 1 lanerestroomsDirections and detail →35.47960, -84.97590 Free3 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TWRACottonport WMA / Access Area1 ramp, 2 lanesDirections and detail →35.48831, -84.88183 Free2 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TWRA/TVAGarrison1 rampDirections and detail →35.45390, -84.99090

Watts Bar Lake 9 in Rhea County

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Rhea 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 Striper and Hybrid checklist Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Rhea County at a glance

Rhea County boat ramps and fishing access

Rhea County has 15 public fishing access points: 9 boat ramps, 6 fishing piers and 6 marinas, on 2 lakes, rivers and creeks.

9boat ramps

6fishing piers

6marinas

2lakes, rivers and creeks

The big water in Rhea

Main fishing waters in Rhea County

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

TVA reservoir · 36,240 acres, 810 mi shoreline, 58.9 mi long · TVA, impounded 1940

Chickamauga Lake

Dayton is the standard launch town for Chickamauga and the lake’s reputation as a big-bass water rests on Florida-strain largemouth stocked since 2000, which lifted average angler catch weight from about 1.4 lb to consistently over 3 lb.

largemouth basscrappiesmallmouthspotted bass

TVA reservoir · ~39,000–39,600 acres, 722 mi shoreline, 72.4 mi long · TVA, impounded 1942

Watts Bar Lake

Rhea County sits on the Watts Bar side above the dam as well as the Chickamauga side below it, so the county has two major reservoirs and the dam between them; Watts Bar holds only a five to six foot winter drawdown.

crappielargemouth and spotted basscatfishstriped bass

river / reservoir · not applicable · TVA

Tennessee River

Forms the county’s eastern border with Meigs County and is the thread joining the two reservoirs.

as above

What it looks like

Rhea County water

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

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

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

Tennessee River, TennesseeScott Basford / CC BY-SA 3.0

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 Rhea County

Fishing from the bank in Rhea County

The Watts Bar Dam tailwater area near Spring City; Dayton’s riverfront and Frazier Park; the Watts Bar Recreation Area; Rhea Springs; Euchee; Piney Point; the Whites Creek embayment road crossings; Laurel-Snow State Natural Area for stream fishing on Richland and Morgan creeks; Cumberland Trail access points on the plateau streams.

Getting a boat on the water in Rhea County

Both reservoirs are fully navigable with no blanket horsepower restriction; no-wake zones apply around marinas, the dam and recreation areas. Dayton is the principal Chickamauga launch and the town most tournaments use. Spring City serves the Watts Bar side.

Marinas on the Chickamauga system include Blue Water, Midway, Pine Harbor and Harbor Lights, several of which are in Hamilton rather than Rhea County, verify before attributing. The Piney River and Soak Creek are paddling water on high flows, not fishing floats.

Two different trips

Visiting Rhea County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Rhea County

Dayton and the Rhea County Courthouse, site of the 1925 Scopes Trial, which is the county’s main non-fishing draw; Chickamauga Lake bass tournaments, which are a genuine visitor economy; Watts Bar Dam; Laurel-Snow State Natural Area and its waterfalls; Piney Falls; the Cumberland Trail; Watts Bar Nuclear Plant’s visitor presence near the dam.

Where Rhea County locals actually go

The Whites Creek embayment on Watts Bar, on the Roane county line and fished mostly by locals. The Piney River and Soak Creek above the escarpment, small plateau smallmouth and rock bass water inside Laurel-Snow that essentially no reservoir angler visits. The Watts Bar tailwater below the dam. Yuchi Refuge backwaters. The sloughs on the upper Chickamauga arm between Dayton and the dam.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Rhea County water

Creel and length limits in Rhea County

The Emory River single-hook rule and the Emory paddlefish closure sit in Roane County, upstream. On the Hiwassee Refuge portion, trespassing and fishing are prohibited in embayments and sub-impoundments 15 November–28 February, and boats must stay within the buoyed river channel.

State record fish from Rhea County water

Spotted bass, 6 lb 1 oz, Chickamauga Reservoir, Chris Coleman, 22 February 2011. Yellow bullhead, 4 lb 8 oz, Chickamauga Reservoir, Jessie R. Johnson, 21 April 1979. Skipjack herring, 4 lb 3 oz, Watts Bar Reservoir, Marc A. Cooper II, 17 February 2015.

Class B shortnose gar, 8 lb 4 oz, archery, Chickamauga Reservoir, Scott Simmons, 15 April 1984; Class B spotted sucker, 2 lb 15 oz, commercial gear, Chickamauga Reservoir, Heath Jordan, 29 January 2021. All are credited to the reservoirs, which span several counties, so attribute them to the lake rather than to Rhea County.

9 public boat launches in Rhea County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people actually ask

Rhea County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Rhea County?

The Watts Bar Dam tailwater area near Spring City. Also dayton’s riverfront and frazier park, and the watts bar recreation area. Rhea County has 6 public fishing piers listed in TWRA’s access database.

How many public boat ramps are in Rhea County?

TWRA’s access database lists 9 boat launches in Rhea County, plus 6 marinas. Most of them are on Watts Bar Lake. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

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

The main species across Rhea County water are largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, 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 Rhea 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 Rhea County, but it is worth knowing before you drive to a tailwater elsewhere in the state.

What are the creel limits in Rhea County?

Chickamauga, largemouth 5 per day with a 15-inch minimum; crappie 15 per day with a 10-inch minimum; walleye 5 per day with a 16-inch minimum; catfish unlimited under 34 inches with one over. Watts Bar, paddlefish 1 per day, season open 1 May–15 May, which is a different and shorter window than the 24 April–31 May season on most other Tennessee reservoirs The Emory River single-hook rule and the Emory paddlefish closure sit in Roane County, upstream Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Rhea County?

Marina stores on the lake are the on-water option. Chattanooga, about 40 minutes south, has large-format outdoor retail… There is a fuller list on the Rhea County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Rhea County?

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Rhea County

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

LakeWatts Bar Lake9 access points in Rhea County, 52 in totalSee the spots →LakeChickamauga Lake6 access points in Rhea County, 51 in totalSee the spots →

Rhea County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, crappie.

Conditions

Rhea County lake levels and trout stocking

Lake conditionsWatts Bar Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Watts Bar Dam generation schedule.Open →Lake conditionsChickamauga Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Chickamauga Dam generation schedule.Open →TroutTrout stocking in Rhea CountyTWRA stocks Piney River. Dates are on the stocking schedule.Open →

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

About this list

Where the Rhea County access list comes from

The 15 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 Rhea 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 DaytonChickamauga Lake, Hiwassee RiverSee the spots →

6 public fishing piers in Rhea County, no boat needed.

Keep looking

Counties next to Rhea

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

Next county overMeigs CountyChickamauga Lake, Watts Bar LakeSee the spots →Next county overBledsoe CountySequatchie RiverSee the spots →Next county overMcMinn CountyHiwassee RiverSee the spots →Next county overBradley CountyHiwassee River, Candies CreekSee the spots →Next county overCumberland CountyBryd Lake, Meadow Park LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Rhea 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 Rhea County right now: Rhea County conditions.