East Tennessee · County seat Dunlap

Fishing in Sequatchie County, Tennessee

Q: Where do locals fish in Sequatchie County?

The Sequatchie River itself is the hidden spot — it is a legitimate smallmouth and rock bass float stream that is almost entirely ignored by anglers because there is no lake to draw people into the valley. The reach below Dunlap toward the Marion County line is the best of it. North Chickamauga Creek's headwaters on the plateau rim. The spring-fed valley-wall tributaries, which stay clear and cool after rain.

Sequatchie County is thin on public water. This page lists what there is, then points at what is close.

Find fishing spots1 public access point Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

Every public access point

Fishing access in Sequatchie County

1 public access point in Sequatchie County: 1 boat launch. 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.

Sequatchie River 1 in Sequatchie County

Fee not listed2.5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · CitySequatchie River1 ramp, 1 laneDirections and detail →35.35951, -85.37268

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Sequatchie 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 Bluegill and Panfish checklist Catfish checklist Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Sequatchie County at a glance

Sequatchie County boat ramps and fishing access

Sequatchie County has 1 public fishing access point: 1 boat ramp, on 1 lake or river.

1boat ramp

1lake, river or creek

The big water in Sequatchie

Main fishing waters in Sequatchie County

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

free-flowing river · 116 mi long · TWRA

Sequatchie River

The county’s defining water and effectively its only significant one. It rises from springs near Devilstep Hollow Cave in Bledsoe County, runs the length of the Sequatchie Valley past Dunlap, and eventually empties into the Tennessee River below Chattanooga near the Alabama line. State Route 28 parallels it for most of its length, which makes access straightforward. Its mouth, on Guntersville Reservoir in Marion County, holds the only bowfin population TWRA has observed in any Region 3 reservoir.

smallmouth bassrock basslargemouthcatfish

What it looks like

Sequatchie County water

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

Sequatchie RiverOpen the Sequatchie River page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 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

Clinch RiverOpen the Clinch River page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

French Broad RiverOpen the French Broad River page →Pollinator at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Sequatchie County

Fishing from the bank in Sequatchie County

Sequatchie River road crossings along SR-28 and US-127 through and below Dunlap; the river forms the city of Dunlap’s south-eastern boundary, giving in-town access; Cumberland Trail State Park crossings; North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Park; Dunlap Coke Ovens Park. There is no developed lake shoreline in the county at all.

Getting a boat on the water in Sequatchie County

No reservoir, no marina, no horsepower restrictions because there is no impounded water. The Sequatchie is a canoe and kayak river, generally Class I with some Class II, shallow in late summer, and it is the county’s genuine paddling asset. It is floated far more than it is fished, which is itself the opportunity.

Two different trips

Visiting Sequatchie County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Sequatchie County

Dunlap Coke Ovens Park, with 268 restored beehive ovens from the late 19th century and an annual bluegrass festival; Henson’s Gap and the Tennessee Tree Toppers hang gliding ramp, which makes Sequatchie County “the Hang Gliding Capital of the East” and hosts the East Coast Hang Gliding Championships; Savage Gulf State Park; the Cumberland Trail; Prentice Cooper State Forest; Sequatchie River float trips.

Where Sequatchie County locals actually go

North Chickamauga Creek’s headwaters on the plateau rim. The spring-fed valley-wall tributaries, which stay clear and cool after rain.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Sequatchie County water

Creel and length limits in Sequatchie County

Big Soddy Creek, a delayed-harvest trout stream with a 1 November–28 February catch-and-release season, is in Hamilton County, not Sequatchie, despite draining the same plateau rim.

1 public boat launches in Sequatchie County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people actually ask

Sequatchie County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Sequatchie County?

Sequatchie River road crossings along SR-28 and US-127 through and below Dunlap.

How many public boat ramps are in Sequatchie County?

TWRA’s access database lists 1 boat launch in Sequatchie County. Most of them are on Sequatchie River. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

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

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

What are the creel limits in Sequatchie County?

No Sequatchie County-specific exception appears in TWRA’s exception list, and the Sequatchie River falls under statewide creel and length limits. Anglers following the river downstream should note that where it meets Guntersville Reservoir in Marion County the rules change substantially, crappie go to 30 per day with a 9-inch minimum and black bass carry no length limit except largemouth at 15 inches, which differs from most Tennessee waters Big Soddy Creek, a delayed-harvest trout stream with a 1 November–28 February catch-and-release season, is in Hamilton County, not Sequatchie, despite draining the same pla Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Sequatchie County?

No dedicated bait or tackle shop was found inside Sequatchie County. No bait or tackle shop in Sequatchie County verified in this pass. Dunlap has general retail. Chattanooga, about 40–45 minutes south, is the nearest city with large-format outdoor retail and is the realistic stocking-up point for anyone fishing the valley. Pikeville, about 20 minutes north in Bledso

Where do locals fish in Sequatchie County?

The Sequatchie River itself is the hidden spot, it is a legitimate smallmouth and rock bass float stream that is almost entirely ignored by anglers because there is no lake to draw people into the valley. The reach below Dunlap toward the Marion County line is the best of it. North Chickamauga Creek’s headwaters on the plateau rim. The spring-fed valley-wall tributaries, which stay clear and cool after rain.

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Sequatchie County

The county is genuinely thin and the page should say so. Chickamauga Lake at Soddy-Daisy or Sale Creek is about 40 minutes east over the mountain, 36,240 acres, trophy largemouth and nationally-ranked crappie.

Nickajack Lake at Jasper is about 30 minutes south. Fall Creek Falls Lake is about 40 minutes north in Bledsoe and Van Buren counties, with its own bass and catfish regulations and a state record channel catfish and tied state record bluegill to its name. For a bank angler, Fall Creek Falls or the Chickamauga shoreline parks are the answer.

Sequatchie County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, sunfish, rock bass.

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Sequatchie County

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

RiverSequatchie River1 access point in Sequatchie County, 2 in totalSee the spots →

Conditions

Sequatchie County trout stocking

TroutTrout stocking in Sequatchie CountyTWRA stocks Coops Creek. 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 Sequatchie County access list comes from

The 1 access point above comes 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 Sequatchie 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 Soddy-DaisyChickamauga Lake, North Chickamauga CreekSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near ChattanoogaNickajack Lake, Chickamauga LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near DaytonChickamauga Lake, Hiwassee RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near ClevelandChickamauga Lake, Hiwassee RiverSee the spots →

Tennessee sells no non-resident one-day fishing license. The three-day is the shortest option.

Keep looking

Counties next to Sequatchie

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

Next county overHamilton CountyChickamauga Lake, Nickajack LakeSee the spots →Next county overGrundy CountyCollins River, Grundy Lake #4See the spots →Next county overBledsoe CountySequatchie RiverSee the spots →Next county overMarion CountyNickajack Lake, Guntersville LakeSee the spots →Next county overBradley CountyHiwassee River, Candies CreekSee the spots →

Keep going

More Sequatchie 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 Sequatchie County right now: Sequatchie County conditions.