East Tennessee · County seat Maynardville

Fishing in Union County, Tennessee

Q: Where can I buy bait and tackle in Union County?

- Beach Island Resort & Marina, Maynardville — (865) 992-3091 (marina store). - Lakeview Boat Dock, Sharps Chapel — (865) 278-3666. - P & L Marine, Maynardville — (865) 992-0920. - No dedicated bait-and-tackle shop was verified in Union County outside the marinas. - Nearest big box: no Walmart in Union County. Walmart Supercenter, 6777 Clinton Hwy, Knoxville — (865) 938-6760, about 30 min south. There is a fuller list on the Union County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Q: Where do locals fish in Union County?

Big Ridge Lake itself — an old CCC impoundment with its own bass rule that most Norris anglers drive straight past. the Loyston Sea's submerged Loyston townsite structure. the back of Big Sinking Creek.

Norris Lake, Clinch River (upper arm of Norris). 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 Union County

15 public access points in Union County: 7 boat launches, 2 designated fishing sites and 4 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.

Norris Lake 14 in Union County

Other water in the county 1 in Union County

Fee not listed1 out of 5facilitiesMill CreekDirections and detail →

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Union 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

Union County at a glance

Union County boat ramps and fishing access

Union County has 15 public fishing access points: 7 boat ramps and 4 marinas, on 1 lake or river.

7boat ramps

4marinas

1lake, river or creek

The big water in Union

Main fishing waters in Union County

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

TVA storage impoundment on the Clinch and Powell rivers · 34,200 ac, ~800 mi of shoreline ·…

Norris Lake

Union County owns the lake’s broad middle, including the “Loyston Sea,” one of the widest sections of Norris; TWRA is specific that the smallmouth fishing is a November-through-April proposition, and the lake draws down as much as 45 ft a year.

smallmouthlargemouthstriped basswalleye

river/reservoir arm · forms the county’s northern reach · TVA

Clinch River (upper arm of Norris)

The Clinch arm fishes differently from the Powell arm and from the main lake, colder, narrower, more current-influenced.

smallmouthwalleyesaugercatfish

What it looks like

Union County water

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

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

Clinch River, TennesseeBrian 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

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

Hiwassee RiverOpen the Hiwassee River page →ChristopherM at English Wikipedia / CC BY 2.5

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Union County

Fishing from the bank in Union County

Big Ridge State Park shoreline on both Big Ridge Lake and Norris Lake; the Loyston Point area; Hickory Star; Sharps Chapel road-end shoreline; the Highway 33 causeway area. Note that Norris’s 45 ft drawdown exposes a great deal of walkable shoreline in winter, which is when the smallmouth fishing is best, that combination is worth writing about explicitly.

Getting a boat on the water in Union County

Beach Island Resort & Marina, 170 Beach Island Rd, Maynardville, (865) 992-3091. Lakeview Boat Dock, 280 Lakeview Rd, Sharps Chapel, (865) 278-3666. P & L Marine, 189 Jogging St, Maynardville, (865) 992-0920.

Hickory Star and Loyston Point are the other principal Union County access points. Big Ridge Lake is a small no-wake/low-horsepower lake suited to rowboats and kayaks. Norris has no blanket horsepower limit.

Two different trips

Visiting Union County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Union County

Big Ridge State Park (CCC-built, opened May 1934, with cabins, campground, grist mill and the Norris Lake shoreline); Norris Lake houseboating and the Loyston Sea; Sharps Chapel; the Museum of Appalachia is just over the line in Anderson County.

Where Union County locals actually go

Big Ridge Lake itself, an old CCC impoundment with its own bass rule that most Norris anglers drive straight past; the Loyston Sea’s submerged Loyston townsite structure; the back of Big Sinking Creek; the Hwy 33 bridge rip-rap for winter smallmouth; walking the exposed shoreline at winter pool between Loyston Point and Hickory Star.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Union County water

Creel and length limits in Union County

– Norris Reservoir smallmouth is the rule to lead with: 1 per day at an 18″ minimum from 1 June to 15 October, then 5 per day at a 15″ minimum from 16 October to 31 May., Norris largemouth 14″ minimum. Spotted and Alabama bass: no creel or length limit.

Crappie 10/day at a 10″ minimum, tighter than the statewide 15., Norris striped bass: 2/day at a 15″ minimum from 1 April to 31 October, then 1/day at a 36″ minimum from 1 November to 31 March., Big Ridge State Park has its own exception: black bass 14″ minimum length limit., Clinch River above Norris (upstream to Grissom): walleye/sauger 5/day combined, 15″ minimum. Clinch River from Hwy 25E upstream: smallmouth 13–17″ PLR, only one over 17″., Catfish unlimited under 34″, one over.

State record fish from Union County water

No current Tennessee state record is credited to a Union County water. TWRA’s Norris page references a 49.5 lb striped bass from 1978, that is a former record only; the current mark is 65 lb 6 oz from Cordell Hull (2000)..

7 public boat launches in Union County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people actually ask

Union County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Union County?

Big Ridge State Park shoreline on both Big Ridge Lake and Norris Lake.

How many public boat ramps are in Union County?

TWRA’s access database lists 7 boat launches in Union County, plus 4 marinas. Most of them are on Norris Lake. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

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

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

What are the creel limits in Union County?

– Norris Reservoir smallmouth is the rule to lead with: 1 per day at an 18″ minimum from 1 June to 15 October, then 5 per day at a 15″ minimum from 16 October to 31 May., Norris largemouth 14″ minimum Spotted and Alabama bass: no creel or length limit Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Union County?

– Beach Island Resort & Marina, Maynardville, (865) 992-3091 (marina store)., Lakeview Boat Dock, Sharps Chapel, (865) 278-3666., P & L Marine, Maynardville, (865) 992-0920., No dedicated bait-and-tackle shop was verified in Union County outside the marinas., Nearest big box: no Walmart in Union County. Walmart Supercenter, 6777 Clinton Hwy, Knoxville, (865) 938-6760, about 30 min south. There is a fuller list on the Union County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Union County?

Big Ridge Lake itself, an old CCC impoundment with its own bass rule that most Norris anglers drive straight past. the Loyston Sea’s submerged Loyston townsite structure. the back of Big Sinking Creek.

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Union County

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

LakeNorris Lake14 access points in Union County, 61 in totalSee the spots →

Union County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, striped bass.

Conditions

Union County lake levels

Lake conditionsNorris Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Norris 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 Union 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 Union 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 LaFolletteNorris LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near Jefferson CityCherokee Lake, Douglas LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near KnoxvilleFort Loudoun Lake, French Broad RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near MorristownCherokee LakeSee the spots →

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

Keep looking

Counties next to Union

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

Next county overCampbell CountyNorris LakeSee the spots →Next county overClaiborne CountyNorris Lake, Powell RiverSee the spots →Next county overAnderson CountyClinch River, Norris LakeSee the spots →Next county overGrainger CountyCherokee Lake, Norris LakeSee the spots →Next county overKnox CountyFort Loudoun Lake, French Broad RiverSee the spots →

Keep going

More Union 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 Union County right now: Union County conditions.