West Tennessee · County seat Henderson

Fishing in Chester County, Tennessee

Q: Where can I fish from the bank in Chester County?

Lake Placid shoreline within Chickasaw State Park — the county's only reliable public bank fishing. Lake LaJoie shoreline when the Group Camp is vacant. Park trails give incidental creek access within Chickasaw State Forest.

Q: Where do locals fish in Chester County?

Lake LaJoie is the genuine local's answer — 54 acres, eight miles west of the main park, open to the public only when the Group Camp is empty, and effectively private water on the days it is open. Anyone who calls the park office and catches an empty week has the lake to themselves.

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

Find fishing spotsEvery public water Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

The big water in Chester

Main fishing waters in Chester County

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

small reservoir · 54 ac · TDEC (Chickasaw State Park)

Lake Placid

The county’s principal public fishing water, year-round fishing on the main park grounds with a boat dock and rental rowboats. This is a small-lake county, and saying so plainly is more useful than padding.

largemouthbreamcatfish

small reservoir · 54 ac · TDEC (Chickasaw State Park, Lake LaJoie Group Camp)

Lake LaJoie

Eight miles west of the main park; open to the public only when the Group Camp is vacant, and only personal jon boats may be launched. Call the park office to check availability before driving out.

largemouthbreamcatfish

What it looks like

Chester County water

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

Reelfoot LakeOpen the Reelfoot Lake page →User:JeremyA / CC BY-SA 2.5

Mississippi RiverOpen the Mississippi River page →Ceptember / CC BY-SA 4.0

Pickwick LakeOpen the Pickwick Lake page →Kbh3rd / CC BY-SA 3.0

Obion RiverOpen the Obion River page →David.k.hochreiter / CC BY-SA 3.0

Forked Deer RiverOpen the Forked Deer River page →Malepheasant at en.wikipedia / Public domain

Tennessee River, TennesseeScott Basford / CC BY-SA 3.0

The ones nobody writes about

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

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

small impoundment · 54 ac

Lake Placid

Boat dock open Memorial Day through the first weekend in August, then weekends only through 16 October; rowboat rental $4/hour, $24/day, $75/week, and rentals still available from the park office when the dock is closed.

largemouthbreamcatfish

small impoundment · 54 ac

Lake LaJoie

Access is conditional on the Group Camp being empty, the single most important practical fact about this lake.

largemouthbreamcatfish

creeks/ponds · adjoins the park

Chickasaw State Forest waters

Hundreds of miles of trails adjoin the park; specific fishable public water not documented.

small stream species

ponds/creeks · small

Farm ponds and small creeks

Chester County’s remaining water is overwhelmingly private..

—

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Chester County

Fishing from the bank in Chester County

Lake Placid shoreline within Chickasaw State Park, the county’s only reliable public bank fishing. Lake LaJoie shoreline when the Group Camp is vacant. Park trails give incidental creek access within Chickasaw State Forest.

Getting a boat on the water in Chester County

No public boat ramp in the county. Lake Placid has a seasonal boat dock with rowboat rental; Lake LaJoie permits personal jon boats when open. Both are small, quiet lakes, no ski water, no marina, no powerboat launch. Anglers are encouraged to bring their own PFD. Paddling is limited to the two park lakes.

Two different trips

Visiting Chester County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Chester County

Chickasaw State Park, the anchor attraction, with cabins, camping, the two lakes, five miles of horse trails and rental horses (stables 731-609-6562), plus access to hundreds more miles of trail in the adjoining state forest. Beyond the park, the county is not a water destination.

Where Chester County locals actually go

Lake LaJoie is the genuine local’s answer, 54 acres, eight miles west of the main park, open to the public only when the Group Camp is empty, and effectively private water on the days it is open. Anyone who calls the park office and catches an empty week has the lake to themselves.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Chester County water

Creel and length limits in Chester County

Chickasaw State Park’s lakes post their catch limits onsite rather than carrying a published statewide exception, so check the boards at the lake. Neither Lake Placid nor Lake LaJoie is a TWRA agency lake, so no TWRA Lake permit is required, a standard Tennessee fishing licence covers you. No Chester County water appears in TWRA’s list of exceptions to statewide regulations.

State record fish from Chester County water

None verified as a Chester County catch. Note that Browns Creek Lake, which holds a TWRA agency-lake designation and sits in Natchez Trace State Park, is in Henderson County, not Chester.

Chester County water holds largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish.

Questions people actually ask

Chester County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Chester County?

How many public boat ramps are in Chester County?

TWRA’s statewide access database lists no maintained boat launch inside Chester County. Chester County is genuinely thin, two 54-acre state park lakes, no public boat ramp, and no river of consequence. The closest real water in order of usefulness: Browns Creek Lake (167 ac, TWRA agency lake, largemouth 10/day with an 18–25″

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

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

What are the creel limits in Chester County?

Chickasaw State Park’s lakes post their catch limits onsite rather than carrying a published statewide exception, so check the boards at the lake. Neither Lake Placid nor Lake LaJoie is a TWRA agency lake, so no TWRA Lake permit is required, a standard Tennessee fishing licence covers you No Chester County water appears in TWRA’s list of exceptions to statewide regulations Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Chester County?

Nothing verified in Chester County. No bait shop, tackle shop or marina store confirmed in Henderson. Rowboat rental is available at Chickasaw State Park’s Lake Placid dock and from the park office out of season. Nearest big-box: Walmart in Henderson. There is a fuller list on the Chester County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Chester County?

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Chester County

Chester County is genuinely thin, two 54-acre state park lakes, no public boat ramp, and no river of consequence. The closest real water in order of usefulness: Browns Creek Lake (167 ac, TWRA agency lake, largemouth 10/day with an 18–25″ protected range) in Henderson County, about 25 minutes northeast via Hwy 100.

Pin Oak Lake (690 ac, Natchez Trace State Park, the only lake in that park where water skiing is allowed, two boat ramps) in Henderson County, about 35 minutes northeast. Whiteville Lake (158 ac, TWRA agency lake, no permit required) in Hardeman County, about 30 minutes southwest.

Pickwick Lake, the nearest genuinely big water, is about 1 hr 15 min southeast in Hardin County. For a boat angler, Pin Oak is the practical answer; for a bank angler, Browns Creek.

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

Find it yourself

Putting eyes on Chester County water

There is no TWRA access point in Chester County, so there is no ramp to send you to. What there is, is water. These open on a map so you can look for the bridges, pull-offs and park shoreline that people actually fish.

Chester County waterLake PlacidTWRA lists no developed public access on this water inside Chester County. Open it on a map to find the road crossings and the shoreline that is genuinely public.Open in maps →Chester County waterLake LaJoieTWRA lists no developed public access on this water inside Chester County. Open it on a map to find the road crossings and the shoreline that is genuinely public.Open in maps →

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

About this list

Where the Chester County access list comes from

The 0 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 Chester County

These pages measure from the middle of town rather than the county line, which is usually the number you actually care about.

22 access points within 30 milesFishing near JacksonHatchie River, Pine LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near SavannahKentucky Lake, Pickwick LakeSee the spots →17 access points within 30 milesFishing near BrownsvilleHatchie River, Forked Deer RiverSee the spots →15 access points within 30 milesFishing near CovingtonHatchie River, Obion RiverSee the spots →

The $33 combination hunt and fish license does not cover trout. That needs the $21 supplemental.

Keep looking

Counties next to Chester

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

Next county overMcNairy CountyTravis McNatt Lake, Hatchie River (upper)See the spots →Next county overMadison CountyForked Deer River, Lake GrahamSee the spots →Next county overHenderson CountyPine Lake, Beech LakeSee the spots →Next county overHardeman CountyHatchie River, Whiteville LakeSee the spots →Next county overHardin CountyKentucky Lake, Pickwick LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Chester 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 Chester County right now: Chester County conditions.