Middle Tennessee · County seat Jamestown

Fishing in Fentress County, Tennessee

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

Hall's Sports and Outdoors, Jamestown — hallssportsandoutdoors.com (phone not published on the site. There is a fuller list on the Fentress County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Q: Where do locals fish in Fentress County?

The White Oak Creek NPS access near Rugby — a formal national park river access that barely anyone uses. Zenith on the Big South Fork. Peter's Bridge, 8 miles east of Jamestown, which is the closest gorge access to town. The East Fork Obey River above Jamestown for wade smallmouth. Arch Lake at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park (12 acres, CCC-built 1934–42) is just over the Pickett County line and is about as quiet as a state park lake gets.

Fentress 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 Fentress County

1 public access point in Fentress County: 1 boat launch. 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.

Dale Hollow Lake 1 in Fentress County

Free2.5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · USACECompton’s Boat Ramp1 ramp, 1 laneDirections and detail →36.45226, -85.08319

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Fentress 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

Fentress County at a glance

Fentress County boat ramps and fishing access

Fentress County has 1 public fishing access point: 1 boat ramp, on 1 lake or river.

1boat ramp

1lake, river or creek

The big water in Fentress

Main fishing waters in Fentress County

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

river · within the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area · National Park Service,…

Big South Fork of the Cumberland River

A genuinely wild river in a deep sandstone gorge, with three of its formal access points inside Fentress County

smallmouth bassrock bassmuskellungecatfish

river · tributary forming the Big South Fork · National Park Service / TWRA

Clear Fork River

Joins the New River to form the Big South Fork; Brewster Bridge near Rugby is the Fentress County access.

smallmouthrock basssunfish

reservoir · 27,700 acres with 620 miles of shoreline · US Army Corps of Engineers

Dale Hollow Lake

Fentress County includes part of the reservoir’s upper Obey/East Fork arm, but read the CONFIDENCE note, the developed marinas and ramps are all in Pickett and Clay counties, roughly 30 minutes west of Jamestown, so this is a “nearest major water” for Fentress rather than a water with Fentress access.

smallmouth basslargemouthcrappiewalleye

What it looks like

Fentress County water

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

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

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 Fentress County

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

river

East Fork Obey River

Drains western Fentress County toward Dale Hollow; a genuine plateau smallmouth stream with a USGS gauge near Jamestown.

smallmouthrock basssunfish

creek

White Oak Creek

Has its own named NPS access point near Rugby in Fentress County, one of the most obscure formal river accesses in Tennessee.

smallmouthrock basssunfish

small impoundment

Old Jamestown Reservoir

Near Grimsley; appears in angler databases but its public access status was not confirmed.

bassbreamcatfish

municipal lake

Jamestown City Lake

Referenced as a Jamestown attraction.

bassbreamcatfish

creeks and ponds

Catoosa WMA waters (Fentress/Cumberland/Morgan)

Seasonal access closures for hunting.

smallmouthsunfish

WMA

Skinner Mountain WMA

Small headwater streams.

creek fishing only

creeks

Pogue Creek Canyon and Colditz Cove state natural areas

Scenic rather than angling destinations, but they show up on county attraction lists.

minimal fishery

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Fentress County

Fishing from the bank in Fentress County

Big South Fork riverbank at Peter’s Bridge, Zenith and Brewster Bridge; White Oak Creek access near Rugby; Leatherwood Ford (Scott Co.) for the most developed riverside bank access on the Big South Fork; East Fork Obey River at road crossings; Jamestown City Lake shoreline

Getting a boat on the water in Fentress County

Fentress County is carry-in country. The Big South Fork and Clear Fork are canoe, kayak and raft water with no trailer ramps inside the county, and sections are serious whitewater, the gorge runs Class III–IV at flow, and the fishing windows are low-water summer.

For trailered boating, anglers drive roughly 30 minutes west to the Dale Hollow marinas in Pickett County: Sunset Marina, East Port Marina, Dale Hollow Marina and Star Point Resort, with 14 marinas lakewide across Tennessee and Kentucky offering houseboats, cabins, slips and rentals. A Tennessee–Kentucky reciprocal licensing agreement applies to boat fishing on the Big South Fork from Leatherwood Ford (TN Hwy 297) to Yamacraw Bridge (KY Hwy 92), with the issuing state’s regulations governing, a genuinely useful detail for a page here.

Two different trips

Visiting Fentress County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Fentress County

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (Bandy Creek Visitor Center, 423-286-7275); Dale Hollow Lake, about 30 minutes west, with the world-record smallmouth story; Pickett CCC Memorial State Park and its 12-acre Arch Lake, just north in Pickett County; Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park at Pall Mall; Colditz Cove and Pogue Creek Canyon state natural areas; Twin Arches

Where Fentress County locals actually go

The East Fork Obey River above Jamestown for wade smallmouth. Arch Lake at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park (12 acres, CCC-built 1934–42) is just over the Pickett County line and is about as quiet as a state park lake gets.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Fentress County water

Creel and length limits in Fentress County

Dale Hollow’s smallmouth regulation is one of the most distinctive in Tennessee and must be stated precisely: 2 per day with a 16–21 inch protected length range, meaning one fish under 16 inches and one over 21 inches may be kept. Largemouth carry a 15-inch minimum. Black bass are 5 per day combined, of which only 2 may be smallmouth. A maximum of 4 rods per angler applies.

On the Big South Fork, the Tennessee–Kentucky reciprocal agreement covers boat fishing from Leatherwood Ford to Yamacraw Bridge and the issuing state’s rules apply in that reach. Catoosa and Skinner Mountain WMAs carry seasonal access closures.

Muskellunge, where present, carry a 1 per day limit at a 50-inch minimum on most Tennessee waters, confirm the Big South Fork’s specific muskie rule with TWRA before publishing.

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

Questions people actually ask

Fentress County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Fentress County?

Big South Fork riverbank at Peter’s Bridge, Zenith and Brewster Bridge.

How many public boat ramps are in Fentress County?

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

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

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

What are the creel limits in Fentress County?

Dale Hollow’s smallmouth regulation is one of the most distinctive in Tennessee and must be stated precisely: 2 per day with a 16–21 inch protected length range, meaning one fish under 16 inches and one over 21 inches may be kept. Largemouth carry a 15-inch minimum Black bass are 5 per day combined, of which only 2 may be smallmouth Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Fentress County?

Hall’s Sports and Outdoors, Jamestown, hallssportsandoutdoors.com (phone not published on the site. There is a fuller list on the Fentress County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Fentress County?

The White Oak Creek NPS access near Rugby, a formal national park river access that barely anyone uses. Zenith on the Big South Fork. Peter’s Bridge, 8 miles east of Jamestown, which is the closest gorge access to town. The East Fork Obey River above Jamestown for wade smallmouth. Arch Lake at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park (12 acres, CCC-built 1934–42) is just over the Pickett County line and is about as quiet as a state park lake gets.

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Fentress County

Fentress has real river water but almost no still water with trailer access. Dale Hollow ramps and marinas in Pickett County are 25–35 minutes west of Jamestown. Center Hill Lake is roughly 1 hr 15 min southwest.

Cordell Hull Reservoir is about an hour west. The Obey River tailwater below Dale Hollow Dam (Clay/Pickett) is the nearest trout water, about 45 minutes.

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

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Fentress County

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

LakeDale Hollow Lake1 access point in Fentress County, 30 in totalSee the spots →

Conditions

Fentress County lake levels and trout stocking

Lake conditionsDale Hollow Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Dale Hollow Dam generation schedule.Open →TroutTrout stocking in Fentress CountyTWRA stocks Wolf River. 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 Fentress 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.

By town instead

Towns near Fentress 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 LivingstonDale Hollow Lake, Obey RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near CelinaDale Hollow Lake, Obey RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near CookevilleCenter Hill Lake, Cordell Hull LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near CrossvilleWatts Bar Lake, Clear CreekSee the spots →

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

Keep looking

Counties next to Fentress

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

Next county overPickett CountyDale Hollow LakeSee the spots →Next county overOverton CountyDale Hollow Lake (backwaters only), Standing Stone Lake (Kelly Lake)See the spots →Next county overClay CountyDale Hollow Lake, Obey RiverSee the spots →Next county overScott CountyNew River, Huntsville LakeSee the spots →Next county overMorgan CountyClear Creek, Emory RiverSee the spots →

Keep going

More Fentress 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 Fentress County right now: Fentress County conditions.