East Tennessee · County seat Maryville

Fishing in Blount County, Tennessee

Q: What are the creel limits in Blount County?

Chilhowee — black bass 5/day combined, 15" min; walleye 5/day, 16" min; sauger 10/day, 15" min; trout 7/day with only two lake trout; catfish, only one over 34" per day. Tellico — bass 5/day combined, 15" min; walleye/sauger combined with no more than five walleye; paddlefish 2/day, season Apr 24–May 31; rainbow trout 7/day with no minimum length Calderwood — black bass 5/day combined with only two under 14"; crappie 20/day, 8" min; sauger 8/day, 15" min; walleye 8/day, no length limit; musky 1/day, 42" min; rock bass no creel or size limit; limblines and trotlines prohibited Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Q: Where do locals fish in Blount County?

Pistol Creek in Maryville — a stocked winter trout stream running through town. Greenbelt Lake, same program, in a city park. Tabcat Creek ramp on Chilhowee. Walland Roadside Picnic Area on US-321, a county bank site. Bill Bennett (Coulters) Bridge on Tuckaleechee Pike. Ish Creek and Polland Creek, two small TVA ramps on the Fort Loudoun shore that almost nobody lists.

Tellico Reservoir, Chilhowee Reservoir, Little River. Where to launch, where to fish from the bank, and where to buy what you forgot.

Find fishing spots20 public access points Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

Every public access point

Fishing access in Blount County

20 public access points in Blount County: 14 boat launches, 1 fishing pier, 3 designated fishing sites and 2 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.

Chilhowee Lake 2 in Blount County

Free4 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · Private LandAbram’s Creek RampFoothills Parkway to right on US 1291 ramp, 1 lanefishing pierDirections and detail →35.55670, -84.01140 Free2.5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · ALCOATabcat Creek1 ramp, 1 laneDirections and detail →35.52470, -83.99360

Fort Loudoun Lake 12 in Blount County

Tellico Lake 2 in Blount County

Free4 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TRDAHarrison BranchUS 1291 ramp, 2 lanesDirections and detail →35.55210, -84.09210 Free3 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TRDATallassee AccessUS 1291 ramp, 1 laneDirections and detail →35.54710, -84.06600

Little River 4 in Blount County

Free2 out of 5facilitiesFishing Site · CountyBill Bennett (Coulters) BridgeUS 321 to Tuckaleechee Pikecanoe / kayak landingDirections and detail →35.76634, -83.85593 Free1.5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TVAPeery’s Mill4501 E Lamar Alexander Hwy, Walland, TNcanoe / kayak landingDirections and detail →35.74860, -83.83713 Free2 out of 5facilitiesFishing Site · CityRoadside Picnic Areacanoe / kayak landingaccessible parkingDirections and detail →35.67980, -83.78341 Free2 out of 5facilitiesFishing Site · CountyWalland Roadside Picnic AreaOn US 321 near Wallandcanoe / kayak landingDirections and detail →35.70226, -83.81478

What to bring

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

Blount County at a glance

Blount County boat ramps and fishing access

Blount County has 20 public fishing access points: 14 boat ramps, 1 fishing pier and 2 marinas, on 4 lakes, rivers and creeks.

14boat ramps

1fishing pier

2marinas

4lakes, rivers and creeks

The big water in Blount

Main fishing waters in Blount County

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

reservoir · 16,056 ac, 373 mi shoreline (Blount/Monroe/Loudon) · TVA (1979–80, the last TVA…

Tellico Lake

A cool-water impoundment fed by cold Chilhowee releases, which is why it carries a reservoir trout regulation of 7/day with no minimum, unusual for a Tennessee lake.

largemouthwhite crappiebluegillsmallmouth

reservoir · 1,747 ac, impounded 1957 · ALCOA/Tapoco, borders Great Smoky Mountains NP and…

Chilhowee Lake

Runs along US-129 and fishes more like a river than a lake; its cold outflow is what makes Tellico cool downstream.

largemouthsmallmouthstocked rainbow troutabundant yellow perch

river · rises in the Smokies, runs through Townsend, Walland and Rockford into Fort Loudoun ·…

Little River

The upper river through Townsend is a stocked trout stream and one of East Tennessee’s best-known wade fisheries; below Perry’s Mill Dam it turns into a smallmouth float.

stocked rainbow trout abovesmallmouth and rock bass below

reservoir · 14,600 ac, 360 mi shoreline (Knox/Loudon/Blount) · TVA (1943)

Fort Loudoun Lake

Blount holds the southern shore with eight public ramps between Friendsville, Louisville and Rockford; consumption advisories apply to catfish and larger largemouth (PCBs, mercury).

largemouthsmallmouthwhite basscrappie

What it looks like

Blount County water

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

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

Little RiverOpen the Little River page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 2.5

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

Tellico LakeOpen the Tellico Lake 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

The ones nobody writes about

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

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

creek

Abrams Creek (Chilhowee arm)

Abram’s Creek ramp on Chilhowee has a fishing pier; the creek above runs into the national park.

troutsmallmouth

creek · small, in Maryville

Pistol Creek

A winter-stocked urban trout stream running through Maryville, genuinely unusual, and the kind of spot a local names and a visitor never finds.

stocked rainbow trout

small impoundment/pond · small

Greenbelt Lake (Maryville)

TWRA’s winter trout program stocks it; a town lake on Pistol Creek in Maryville Greenbelt Park.

stocked rainbow troutpanfish

creek · small

Coops Creek

Listed among Blount County stocked waters.

stocked rainbow trout

reservoir · 541 ac, 8 mi long, dam completed 1930

Calderwood Reservoir

Remote and deep on the “Tail of the Dragon” stretch of US-129; the only boat access is in North Carolina because of federal property and terrain, which is its defining practical fact.

stocked rainbow troutlargemouthsmallmouth

creek/embayment

Tabcat Creek

A single-lane ALCOA ramp on Chilhowee.

troutbass

creek embayments of Fort Loudoun

Gallagher Creek, George’s Creek, Ish Creek, Polland Creek, Stock Creek

Five small named public ramps on the Blount shore of Fort Loudoun.

largemouthcrappiecatfish

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Blount County

Fishing from the bank in Blount County

Walland Roadside Picnic Area on US-321 (county-managed, Little River); Roadside Picnic Area on the Little River (city-managed, ADA); Bill Bennett (Coulters) Bridge on Tuckaleechee Pike off US-321 (county); Maryville Greenbelt Park and Greenbelt Lake; Pistol Creek through Maryville; Abram’s Creek ramp fishing pier on Chilhowee; the US-129 shoulder pull-offs along Chilhowee; Louisville Point Park shoreline.

Getting a boat on the water in Blount County

Fort Loudoun’s Blount shore has eight public ramps concentrated around Louisville, Friendsville and Rockford, and Tellico is reachable from Harrison Branch and Tallassee on US-129. Chilhowee is river-like with ramps at Abram’s Creek and Tabcat Creek.

Calderwood has no Tennessee boat access at all, the only launch is in North Carolina, and reciprocal TN/NC licensing applies to boat fishing and to parts of Slickrock Creek, which forms the state line. Paddling: the Little River is the marquee run, with a laddered set of put-ins from Perry’s Mill Dam at Walland down through River John’s, the Alcoa Water Plant, Roddy Branch and Stock Creek.

There are no take-outs on the Little River past the water plant and before Rockford Dam, there is no portage at that dam, and it is extremely dangerous, state this plainly on any page.

Two different trips

Visiting Blount County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Blount County

Townsend and the Little River as the “peaceful side of the Smokies”; Great Smoky Mountains National Park trout streams; the Foothills Parkway; Chilhowee Lake and the Tail of the Dragon on US-129; Tellico Lake; Cades Cove; Maryville Greenbelt.

Where Blount County locals actually go

Bill Bennett (Coulters) Bridge on Tuckaleechee Pike. Ish Creek and Polland Creek, two small TVA ramps on the Fort Loudoun shore that almost nobody lists.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Blount County water

Creel and length limits in Blount County

Calderwood, black bass 5/day combined with only two under 14″; crappie 20/day, 8″ min; sauger 8/day, 15″ min; walleye 8/day, no length limit; musky 1/day, 42″ min; rock bass no creel or size limit; limblines and trotlines prohibited. Little River carries standard trout regulations in its stocked reach.

TDEC advises against eating catfish from Tellico (PCBs, mercury) and issues advisories for catfish and larger largemouth on Fort Loudoun.

State record fish from Blount County water

None verified as a Blount County catch. TWRA’s Fort Loudoun page claims a 130-lb state record blue catfish from 1976, which contradicts the current Class A record of 122 lb 3 oz from Barkley (2023), it is almost certainly a Class B (non-sportfishing gear) record and should not be published as the state record.

14 public boat launches in Blount County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people actually ask

Blount County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Blount County?

Walland Roadside Picnic Area on US-321 (county-managed, Little River). Also roadside picnic area on the little river (city-managed, ada), and bill bennett (coulters) bridge on tuckaleechee pike off us-321 (county). Blount County has 1 public fishing pier listed in TWRA’s access database.

How many public boat ramps are in Blount County?

TWRA’s access database lists 14 boat launches in Blount County, plus 2 marinas. Most of them are on Fort Loudoun Lake. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

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

The main species across Blount County water are largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, rock bass, striped bass, white bass, walleye and sauger. 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 Blount 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 Blount County, but it is worth knowing before you drive to a tailwater elsewhere in the state.

What are the creel limits in Blount County?

Chilhowee, black bass 5/day combined, 15″ min; walleye 5/day, 16″ min; sauger 10/day, 15″ min; trout 7/day with only two lake trout; catfish, only one over 34″ per day. Tellico, bass 5/day combined, 15″ min; walleye/sauger combined with no more than five walleye; paddlefish 2/day, season Apr 24–May 31; rainbow trout 7/day with no minimum length Calderwood, black bass 5/day combined with only two under 14″; crappie 20/day, 8″ min; sauger 8/day, 15″ min; walleye 8/day, no length limit; musky 1/day, 42″ min; rock bass no creel or size limit; limblines and trotlines prohibited Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Blount County?

Little River Outfitters, 106 Town Square Drive, Townsend, TN 37882, 865-448-9459, littleriveroutfitters.com. Full fly shop, open seven days, with a guide roster. There is a fuller list on the Blount County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Blount County?

Pistol Creek in Maryville, a stocked winter trout stream running through town. Greenbelt Lake, same program, in a city park. Tabcat Creek ramp on Chilhowee. Walland Roadside Picnic Area on US-321, a county bank site. Bill Bennett (Coulters) Bridge on Tuckaleechee Pike. Ish Creek and Polland Creek, two small TVA ramps on the Fort Loudoun shore that almost nobody lists.

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Blount County

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

LakeFort Loudoun Lake12 access points in Blount County, 27 in totalSee the spots →RiverLittle River4 access points in Blount CountySee the spots →LakeChilhowee Lake2 access points in Blount CountySee the spots →LakeTellico Lake2 access points in Blount County, 16 in totalSee the spots →

Blount County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill.

Conditions

Blount County lake levels, river levels and trout stocking

Lake conditionsFort Loudoun Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Fort Loudoun Dam generation schedule.Open →Lake conditionsTellico Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Tellico Dam generation schedule.Open →River levelsLittle River level todayUSGS flow, gauge height and the seven-day trend.Open →TroutTrout stocking in Blount CountyTWRA stocks Little River, Pistol Creek/Greenbelt Lake, Calderwood Reservoir and 1 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 Blount County access list comes from

The 20 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 Blount 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 MaryvilleFort Loudoun Lake, Little RiverSee the spots →

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

Keep looking

Counties next to Blount

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

Next county overKnox CountyFort Loudoun Lake, French Broad RiverSee the spots →Next county overLoudon CountyTellico Lake, Fort Loudoun LakeSee the spots →Next county overMonroe CountyTellico Lake, Tellico RiverSee the spots →Next county overSevier CountyDouglas Lake, French Broad RiverSee the spots →Next county overAnderson CountyClinch River, Norris LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Blount 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 Blount County right now: Blount County conditions.