East Tennessee · County seat Erwin

Fishing in Unicoi County, Tennessee

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

- Cherokee Adventures Inc, 2000 Jonesborough Rd, Erwin — (423) 743-7733. Rafting and river outfitter, the main outdoor business in the county. - No dedicated bait or tackle shop was verified in Unicoi County. - Nearest: Fly Shop of Tennessee, 102 Willmary Rd, Johnson City — (423) 928-2007, about 20 min. Mahoney's Outfitters, 830 Sunset Dr, Johnson City — (423) 282-5413. Academy Sports + Outdoors, 925 Hamilton Pl, Johnson City — (423) 434-1300. Dick's Sporting Goods, 2011 N Roan St, Johnson City — (423) 282-4430. - Nearest big box in-county: Walmart Supercenter, 110 Rocky Bottom Dr, Unicoi — (423) 743-8780. That is the practical place to buy a license and terminal tackle locally.. There is a fuller list on the Unicoi County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Q: Where do locals fish in Unicoi County?

Fishery Park Pond in Erwin — a stocked town pond next to a federal hatchery that nobody outside the county thinks of. the Rocky Fork State Park accessible pond. Sill Branch's North and South Forks for wild trout.

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

Find fishing spots3 public access points Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

Every public access point

Fishing access in Unicoi County

3 public access points in Unicoi County: 1 boat launch, 1 fishing pier and 2 designated fishing sites. 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 Unicoi County

Three picks from the smallmouth 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.

RodSt. Croix Bass X 7 ft medium spinning rodLight enough for a Ned rig, with enough backbone for a 5 lb fish in current.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

ReelPflueger President 30 spinning reelSmooth drag at a fair price. Fill it with braid and a leader.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

FinesseZ-Man Finesse TRD and Ned rig jigheadsThe single most reliable smallmouth bait on Tennessee rock. Drag it slowly.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

Full smallmouth bass checklist (10 items)All gear checklists

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

Bluegill and Panfish checklist Catfish checklist Trout checklist Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Unicoi County at a glance

Unicoi County boat ramps and fishing access

Unicoi County has 3 public fishing access points: 1 boat ramp and 1 fishing pier, on 2 lakes, rivers and creeks.

1boat ramp

1fishing pier

2lakes, rivers and creeks

The big water in Unicoi

Main fishing waters in Unicoi County

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

free-flowing river · drains essentially the whole county · n/a (Cherokee National Forest…

Nolichucky River

The Nolichucky Gorge between Poplar, NC and Unaka Springs is one of the most technical whitewater runs in the Southeast and drops the river into Tennessee at Erwin; the county’s fishing is the smallmouth and rock bass water from Unaka Springs downstream, and it rises and falls hard with rain because nothing upstream regulates it.

smallmouth bassrock bassredhorsecatfish

What it looks like

Unicoi County water

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

Nolichucky RiverOpen the Nolichucky 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

The ones nobody writes about

Small and out-of-the-way water in Unicoi County

County lakes, park ponds, creeks and river stretches in Unicoi County that never make a best-of list. Several of them fish better than the famous water on a busy weekend.

Clark Creek, seasonally stocked rainbow trout.

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Unicoi County

Fishing from the bank in Unicoi County

Fishery Park Pond, Erwin; Rocky Fork State Park pond and creek crossings; Nolichucky River at Unaka Springs and the Chestoa area; Cherokee National Forest road crossings on Rocky Fork, North Indian Creek, South Indian Creek and Clark Creek; Rock Creek Recreation Area; Limestone Cove. Almost all of this county’s fishing is bank and wade fishing, there is no boat fishery.

Getting a boat on the water in Unicoi County

No marina, no lake, no ramp of consequence. The Nolichucky is a raft and kayak river; commercial outfitters run the gorge from the Erwin side. Below Erwin the river is floatable by canoe and kayak in decent water.

Two different trips

Visiting Unicoi County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Unicoi County

Nolichucky Gorge whitewater; Rocky Fork State Park; Erwin National Fish Hatchery and the Unicoi County Heritage Museum; Appalachian Trail (Big Bald, 5,516 ft, the county high point); Cherokee National Forest; the Clinchfield Railroad Loops; Erwin’s Main Street.

Where Unicoi County locals actually go

Fishery Park Pond in Erwin, a stocked town pond next to a federal hatchery that nobody outside the county thinks of; the Rocky Fork State Park accessible pond; Sill Branch’s North and South Forks for wild trout; Devil Fork above Flag Pond; upper South Indian Creek; Spivey Creek; Higgins Creek; the Nolichucky at Unaka Springs on low water for smallmouth.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Unicoi County water

Creel and length limits in Unicoi County

No county water carries a seasonal closure or a delayed-harvest designation. TWRA stocks Rocky Fork, North Indian Creek, South Indian Creek, Clark Creek and Fishery Park Pond on the seasonal (spring through early fall) schedule rather than year-round.

State record fish from Unicoi County water

No Tennessee state record is credited to a water inside Unicoi County. Three Nolichucky River records exist but the river runs through Unicoi, Washington, Greene, Cocke and Hamblen and TWRA names no county: warmouth 1 lb 12 oz (Frank E.

Garrett, 26 May 1984), orangespotted sunfish 5 oz (Donald Daryl Fox, 30 May 1982), silver redhorse 6 lb 14.7 oz (Elise Hyatt, 26 March 2023).

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

Questions people actually ask

Unicoi County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Unicoi County?

Fishery Park Pond, Erwin. Also rocky fork state park pond and creek crossings, and nolichucky river at unaka springs and the chestoa area. Unicoi County has 1 public fishing pier listed in TWRA’s access database.

How many public boat ramps are in Unicoi County?

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

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

The main species across Unicoi County water are smallmouth bass, rock bass, catfish, trout and redhorse. 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 Unicoi 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. This matters in Unicoi County, because there is trout water here.

What are the creel limits in Unicoi County?

Nolichucky River carries the East Tennessee stream smallmouth rule, black bass 5/day in combination, smallmouth 13–17″ protected length range with only one over 17″. Statewide trout rules apply on the stocked creeks: 7 trout per day, no minimum length, no more than 2 lake trout No county water carries a seasonal closure or a delayed-harvest designation Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Unicoi County?

– Cherokee Adventures Inc, 2000 Jonesborough Rd, Erwin, (423) 743-7733. Rafting and river outfitter, the main outdoor business in the county., No dedicated bait or tackle shop was verified in Unicoi County., Nearest: Fly Shop of Tennessee, 102 Willmary Rd, Johnson City, (423) 928-2007, about 20 min. Mahoney’s Outfitters, 830 Sunset Dr, Johnson City, (423) 282-5413. Academy Sports + Outdoors, 925 Hamilton Pl, Johnson City, (423) 434-1300. Dick’s Sporting Goods, 2011 N Roan St, Johnson City, (423) 282-4430., Nearest big box in-county: Walmart Supercenter, 110 Rocky Bottom Dr, Unicoi, (423) 743-8780. That is the practical place to buy a license and terminal tackle locally.. There is a fuller list on the Unicoi County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Unicoi County?

Fishery Park Pond in Erwin, a stocked town pond next to a federal hatchery that nobody outside the county thinks of. the Rocky Fork State Park accessible pond. Sill Branch’s North and South Forks for wild trout.

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Unicoi County

The county has no still water worth the name. Nearest real lakes: Boone Lake (Washington/Sullivan) about 30 min north; Watauga Lake (Carter/Johnson) about 50 min northeast; Davy Crockett Lake on the Nolichucky (Greene County) about 25 min northwest.

Nearest trout tailwaters: Wilbur Dam / Watauga River about 45 min; South Holston about 1 hour.

Unicoi County water holds smallmouth bass, rock bass, catfish, trout.

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Unicoi County

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

RiverNolichucky River1 access point in Unicoi County, 10 in totalSee the spots →

Conditions

Unicoi County trout stocking

TroutTrout stocking in Unicoi CountyTWRA stocks Clark Creek, Fishery Park Pond, North Indian Creek and 2 more. 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 Unicoi County access list comes from

The 3 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 Unicoi 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 Johnson CityBoone Lake, Watauga RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near GreenevilleNolichucky River, Holston RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near ElizabethtonWatauga River, Watauga LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near KingsportBoone Lake, South Fork Holston RiverSee the spots →

1 public fishing pier in Unicoi County, no boat needed.

Keep looking

Counties next to Unicoi

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

Next county overWashington CountyBoone Lake, Nolichucky RiverSee the spots →Next county overGreene CountyNolichucky RiverSee the spots →Next county overCarter CountyWatauga River, Doe RiverSee the spots →Next county overSullivan CountySouth Fork Holston River, Boone LakeSee the spots →Next county overHawkins CountyHolston River, Cherokee LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Unicoi 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 Unicoi County right now: Unicoi County conditions.