Middle Tennessee · County seat Woodbury

Fishing in Cannon County, Tennessee

Q: Where do locals fish in Cannon County?

The Woodbury Access itself qualifies — it is a legitimate public put-in on a pretty upper river that almost nobody outside the county knows about. Headwaters WMA for anyone willing to walk in.

Cannon 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 Cannon County

1 public access point in Cannon County: 1 designated fishing site. 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.

East Fork Stones River 1 in Cannon County

Free1 out of 5facilitiesFishing Site · TDOTWoodbury AccessOn HWY 70S (St. Rt. 1) West of Woodbury with overflow parking across highway at Cannon County Arts CenterDirections and detail →35.82305, -86.08985

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Cannon 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 Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Cannon County at a glance

Cannon County boat ramps and fishing access

Cannon County has 1 public fishing access point, on 1 lake or river.

1lake, river or creek

The big water in Cannon

Main fishing waters in Cannon County

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

river · the headwaters and upper river run through the county past Woodbury · TDOT owns the…

East Fork Stones River

This is the county’s only real public fishing water, a small, clear upper river best waded or floated, with exactly one formal public access.

smallmouthrock basssunfishchannel catfish

What it looks like

Cannon County water

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

East Fork Stones RiverOpen the East Fork Stones River page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

Center Hill LakeOpen the Center Hill Lake page →Tyler White / Public domain

Old Hickory LakeOpen the Old Hickory Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

Cumberland RiverOpen the Cumberland River page →U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not s / Public domain

Duck RiverOpen the Duck River page →SBaker43 / CC BY-SA 3.0

Tims Ford LakeOpen the Tims Ford Lake page →Geobeedude / CC BY-SA 3.0

The ones nobody writes about

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

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

river stretch

Woodbury Access, East Fork Stones River

On HWY 70S (St. Rt. 1) west of Woodbury, with overflow parking across the highway at the Cannon County Arts Center. Bait available in proximity.

smallmouthrock bass

WMA · ~600 ac

Headwaters WMA

Near Woodbury, with a River Road Trail access and parking on Stones River Rd. Hunting-focused; fishing opportunity present but not documented by TWRA, so confirm before promoting it.

small stream species

ponds · small

Farm ponds

Cannon County’s still water is essentially all private.

—

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Cannon County

Fishing from the bank in Cannon County

Woodbury Access on HWY 70S west of Woodbury, with overflow parking at the Cannon County Arts Center, the one reliable public bank point in the county. Headwaters WMA’s River Road Trail access and parking off Stones River Rd.

Bridge crossings on the East Fork elsewhere may or may not carry public right of way; do not assume.

Getting a boat on the water in Cannon County

No public boat ramp anywhere in the county. The upper East Fork is canoe and kayak water at best, and only at adequate flow, it is a small river this far up. No marina, no rental operation, no ski water. Anyone wanting to launch a boat leaves the county.

Two different trips

Visiting Cannon County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Cannon County

Cannon County is known for the Arts Center of Cannon County and for Short Mountain rather than for water. The Woodbury Access on the East Fork is the only fishing site a visitor would be pointed to.

Where Cannon County locals actually go

The Woodbury Access itself qualifies, it is a legitimate public put-in on a pretty upper river that almost nobody outside the county knows about. Headwaters WMA for anyone willing to walk in.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Cannon County water

Creel and length limits in Cannon County

No water-specific creel, length or seasonal exceptions found for Cannon County in TWRA’s statewide exceptions list. Statewide regulations apply throughout, for the East Fork Stones River that means black bass 5/day combined and rock bass 20/day, with no special length limits on the river above the reservoirs.

State record fish from Cannon County water

None. The state record Cherokee (hybrid) bass, 23 lb 3 oz, Ray Pelfrey, 17 Apr 1998, is credited to the Stones River, but that fish came from the impounded lower river near Percy Priest in Rutherford or Davidson County, not from the East Fork headwaters in Cannon. Do not put it on a Cannon page.

Cannon County water holds smallmouth bass, sunfish, rock bass, channel catfish.

Questions people actually ask

Cannon County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Cannon County?

How many public boat ramps are in Cannon County?

TWRA’s statewide access database lists no maintained boat launch inside Cannon County. Cannon County genuinely has very little fishable public water, one river access and no boat ramp. The closest real water is Center Hill Lake (18,220 ac, USACE), reachable in about 35–40 minutes east via Hwy 70 to the Smithville area and th

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

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

What are the creel limits in Cannon County?

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Cannon County?

Nothing verified in Cannon County. No bait shop, tackle shop or rental operation confirmed in Woodbury. TWRA records bait “in proximity” to the Woodbury Access, meaning a convenience store rather than a tackle shop. Nearest big-box: Walmart in Murfreesboro (Rutherford County, roughly 30 minutes west) or McMinnville (Warren County, roughly 30 minutes east). Academy and Bass Pro are in Murfreesboro and Nashville.. There is a fuller list on the Cannon County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Cannon County?

The Woodbury Access itself qualifies, it is a legitimate public put-in on a pretty upper river that almost nobody outside the county knows about. Headwaters WMA for anyone willing to walk in.

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Cannon County

Cannon County genuinely has very little fishable public water, one river access and no boat ramp. The closest real water is Center Hill Lake (18,220 ac, USACE), reachable in about 35–40 minutes east via Hwy 70 to the Smithville area and the Hurricane Bridge and Holmes Creek ramps. J.

Percy Priest Lake (14,200 ac, 15 free public ramps) is about 45 minutes west via Hwy 70S through Woodbury and Murfreesboro. Normandy Reservoir is about 50 minutes south. For a boat angler, Center Hill is the practical answer; for a bank angler, Percy Priest’s enhanced bank fishing sites at Stewart Creek and Vivrette Creek are the better trip.

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

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Cannon County

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

RiverEast Fork Stones River1 access point in Cannon County, 2 in totalSee the spots →

About this list

Where the Cannon 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.

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

By town instead

Towns near Cannon 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 MurfreesboroJ. Percy Priest Lake, West Fork Stones RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near SmithvilleCenter Hill Lake, Caney Fork RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near McMinnvilleCenter Hill Lake, Collins RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near SmyrnaJ. Percy Priest Lake, West Fork Stones RiverSee the spots →

Keep looking

Counties next to Cannon

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

Next county overWarren CountyBarren Fork River, Collins RiverSee the spots →Next county overDeKalb CountyCenter Hill Lake, Caney Fork RiverSee the spots →Next county overRutherford CountyJ. Percy Priest Lake, West Fork Stones RiverSee the spots →Next county overCoffee CountyNormandy Lake, Duck RiverSee the spots →Next county overBedford CountyDuck River, Bedford LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Cannon 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 Cannon County right now: Cannon County conditions.