West Tennessee · County seat Trenton

Fishing in Gibson County, Tennessee

Q: Where do locals fish in Gibson County?

Milan City Pond during the winter trout stocking — a small city pond that gets stocked and that almost nobody outside Milan fishes. The upper arms of Gibson County Lake away from the ramp and pier. Davy Crockett Lake in neighbouring Crockett County is only about 10 minutes from the Gibson County line at Humboldt and is a natural cross-link.

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

Find fishing spots2 public access points Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

Every public access point

Fishing access in Gibson County

2 public access points in Gibson County: 2 boat launches and 1 fishing pier. 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.

Gibson County Lake 1 in Gibson County

Launch fee5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · TWRAGibson County LakeOff Vaughns Grove Rd, 5 miles northeast of Trenton, TN1 ramp, 2 lanesfishing piercanoe / kayak landingrestroomsrentalsaccessible parkingDirections and detail →35.99077, -88.87143

Gibson Co Lake 1 in Gibson County

Fee not listed1 out of 5facilitiesBoat LaunchGibson Co LakeDirections and detail →35.99090, -88.87150

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Gibson 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:

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

Gibson County at a glance

Gibson County boat ramps and fishing access

Gibson County has 2 public fishing access points: 2 boat ramps and 1 fishing pier, on 2 lakes, rivers and creeks.

2boat ramps

1fishing pier

2lakes, rivers and creeks

What it looks like

Gibson 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 Gibson County

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

small reservoir (TWRA agency/family fishing lake) · 560 acres

Gibson County Lake

At 560 acres this is by a wide margin the largest agency lake in West Tennessee outside Lake Halford, and it is the single reason anyone fishes Gibson County

largemouth bassFlorida-strain basscrappie

city pond · small

Milan City Pond

On TWRA’s winter rainbow trout stocking schedule, the county’s confirmed winter trout water and genuinely obscure.

breamcatfishstocked rainbow trout

rivers

Middle Fork and South Fork Forked Deer River

Drain the county; access is essentially road right-of-way at bridge crossings.

catfishcrappiebowfin

river

Rutherford Fork Obion River

Northern Gibson County drainage.

catfishsunfish

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Gibson County

Fishing from the bank in Gibson County

Gibson County Lake fishing pier and shoreline (the county’s only substantial bank fishery); Milan City Pond; bridge crossings on the Forked Deer forks and the Rutherford Fork of the Obion, public right of way only, verify posting

Getting a boat on the water in Gibson County

Launching is limited to the single ramp at Gibson County Lake. No marinas in the county. No confirmed boat, canoe or kayak rental operation. The Forked Deer forks are paddleable in stretches but log-jammed and without developed put-ins.

Two different trips

Visiting Gibson County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Gibson County

Gibson County Lake is the one water a visitor would be pointed to. Beyond fishing, Gibson County’s visitor draws are the Trenton teapot collection and the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival in Humboldt, neither of which is a fishing destination.

Where Gibson County locals actually go

Milan City Pond during the winter trout stocking, a small city pond that gets stocked and that almost nobody outside Milan fishes. The upper arms of Gibson County Lake away from the ramp and pier.

Davy Crockett Lake in neighbouring Crockett County is only about 10 minutes from the Gibson County line at Humboldt and is a natural cross-link.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Gibson County water

Creel and length limits in Gibson County

Gibson County Lake runs agency-lake rules, not statewide rules, and the bass regulation is a trophy-management one: largemouth 10 per day with an 18–24 inch protected length range and only one fish longer than 24 inches permitted. Bluegill and redear 20 per day in combination with no length limit. Crappie 30 per day with a 10-inch minimum.

Blue and channel catfish 5 per day in combination with no length limit. A TWRA lake-use permit applies at agency lakes unless exempt. Milan City Pond is a seasonal trout water and trout regulations plus a trout licence apply there during the stocking period.

2 public boat launches in Gibson County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people actually ask

Gibson County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Gibson County?

Gibson County Lake fishing pier and shoreline (the county’s only substantial bank fishery). Also milan city pond, and bridge crossings on the forked deer forks and the rutherford fork of the obion, public right of way only, verify posting. Gibson County has 1 public fishing pier listed in TWRA’s access database.

How many public boat ramps are in Gibson County?

TWRA’s access database lists 2 boat launches in Gibson County. Most of them are on Gibson Co Lake. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

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

The main species across Gibson County water are largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, catfish, rainbow trout, bowfin and gar. 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 Gibson 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 Gibson County, because there is trout water here.

What are the creel limits in Gibson County?

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Gibson County?

No standalone bait or tackle shop in Gibson County was verified by name. Fishing licences are sold on site at Gibson County Lake. TWRA Region 1: 731-423-5725 or 800-372-3928. Walmart Supercenter, Humboldt and Walmart Supercenter, Milan sell tackle, bait and licences. Nearest Academy Sports: Jackson (~35 min from Trenton). Nearest Bass Pro: Memphis (~1 hr 45 min).. There is a fuller list on the Gibson County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Gibson County?

Milan City Pond during the winter trout stocking, a small city pond that gets stocked and that almost nobody outside Milan fishes. The upper arms of Gibson County Lake away from the ramp and pier. Davy Crockett Lake in neighbouring Crockett County is only about 10 minutes from the Gibson County line at Humboldt and is a natural cross-link.

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Gibson County

Gibson County is thin on natural water but it is not access-poor, because Gibson County Lake at 560 acres is a real fishery. If a visitor wants something bigger: Reelfoot Lake is about 1 hr 10 min north, Kentucky Lake at Paris Landing about 1 hr 20 min northeast, and Pickwick Lake about 2 hours southeast.

Davy Crockett Lake in Crockett County is 10–20 minutes away depending on where in Gibson County you start.

Gibson County water holds largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish.

Conditions

Gibson County trout stocking

TroutTrout stocking in Gibson CountyTWRA stocks Milan City Pond. 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 Gibson County access list comes from

The 2 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 Gibson 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 MartinReelfoot Lake, South Fork of the Obion RiverSee the spots →22 access points within 30 milesFishing near JacksonHatchie River, Pine LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near DyersburgReelfoot Lake, Obion RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near Union CityReelfoot Lake, Gooch Unit E LakeSee the spots →

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

Keep looking

Counties next to Gibson

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

Next county overCrockett CountyDavy Crockett LakeSee the spots →Next county overMadison CountyForked Deer River, Lake GrahamSee the spots →Next county overWeakley CountyGarrett LakeSee the spots →Next county overObion CountyReelfoot Lake, Gooch Unit E LakeSee the spots →Next county overCarroll CountyMaples Creek LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Gibson 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 Gibson County right now: Gibson County conditions.