Middle Tennessee · County seat Hohenwald

Fishing in Lewis County, Tennessee

Lewis 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 Lewis County

1 public access point in Lewis 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.

Buffalo River 1 in Lewis County

Free2 out of 5facilitiesFishing Site · Nat’l ParkMetal FordSouth on Natchez Trace Pkwy; 3.4 miles past Hwy 20canoe / kayak landingaccessible parkingtrolling motors onlyDirections and detail →35.46329, -87.47927

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Lewis 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

Lewis County at a glance

Lewis County boat ramps and fishing access

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

1lake, river or creek

The big water in Lewis

Main fishing waters in Lewis County

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

free-flowing river, 125 mi total · flows through the western part of the county · no…

Buffalo River

The longest unimpounded river in Middle Tennessee runs mostly Class I here with long flat stretches; you fish it legally from a boat, and wading private frontage needs permission.

smallmouth bassrock basscatfishdrum

free-flowing creeks · drain the eastern county toward the Duck · mostly private

Big Swan Creek / Little Swan Creek

Small, clear, wadeable Highland Rim creeks; the fishing is real but access is nearly all by landowner permission.

smallmouthrock basssunfish

What it looks like

Lewis County water

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

Buffalo RiverOpen the Buffalo River page →La Citta Vita / CC BY-SA 2.0

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

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Lewis County

Fishing from the bank in Lewis County

Buffalo River bridge crossings on SR-99 and SR-48 (public right-of-way only). Natchez Trace Parkway crossings of Little Swan Creek. No developed municipal fishing park found in Hohenwald.

Getting a boat on the water in Lewis County

No marina, no county-based outfitter verified. The Buffalo is the paddling water and the commercial canoe liveries sit downstream in Perry and Humphreys counties and upstream in Lawrence County; the Boy Scouts’ Grimes Canoe Base also serves the river. A 37.87-mile water trail is signed through Perry County, not Lewis.

Two different trips

Visiting Lewis County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Lewis County

Meriwether Lewis Monument and gravesite on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Elephant Sanctuary (no public viewing). Natchez Trace Parkway itself. Hohenwald’s Swiss-German heritage museums.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Lewis County water

Creel and length limits in Lewis County

Lewis County water holds smallmouth bass, sunfish, rock bass, catfish.

Questions people actually ask

Lewis County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Lewis County?

Buffalo River bridge crossings on SR-99 and SR-48 (public right-of-way only). Natchez Trace Parkway crossings of Little Swan Creek. No developed municipal fishing park found in Hohenwald.

How many public boat ramps are in Lewis County?

TWRA’s statewide access database lists no maintained boat launch inside Lewis County. Genuinely thin, say so plainly. Closest real public water: Williamsport Lakes (four TWRA lakes, Maury County) about 40 minutes northeast via Hwy 412 and Hwy 50; Laurel Hill Lake (325 ac, Lawrence County) about 45 minutes southwest; the Duc

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

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

What are the creel limits in Lewis County?

Buffalo River carries no special creel or length exceptions found. On private frontage you may legally fish while floating but not while wading without permission, this is the operative rule on most of the river here Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Lewis County?

No tackle shop, bait shop or boat/kayak rental verified in Lewis County. Nearest: Walmart Supercenter in Hohenwald for licences and basic tackle. There is a fuller list on the Lewis County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Lewis County?

None verified. Locals fish Buffalo River access at bridge crossings and float down from Lawrence County, and the upper Swan Creek pools, but no specific publicly-accessible named spot could be confirmed.

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Lewis County

Genuinely thin, say so plainly. Closest real public water: Williamsport Lakes (four TWRA lakes, Maury County) about 40 minutes northeast via Hwy 412 and Hwy 50; Laurel Hill Lake (325 ac, Lawrence County) about 45 minutes southwest; the Duck River at Columbia about 45 minutes east; Duck River at Henry Horton State Park about 1 hr 15 min east.

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

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Lewis County

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

RiverBuffalo River1 access point in Lewis County, 3 in totalSee the spots →

About this list

Where the Lewis 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 Lewis County

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

17 access points within 30 milesFishing near LawrenceburgDuck River, Richland CreekSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near ColumbiaDuck River, Harpeth RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near DicksonHarpeth River, Cheatham LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near SavannahKentucky Lake, Pickwick LakeSee the spots →

Keep looking

Counties next to Lewis

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

Next county overLawrence CountyLaurel Hill Lake, Shoal CreekSee the spots →Next county overHickman CountyDuck River, Piney RiverSee the spots →Next county overPerry CountyBuffalo RiverSee the spots →Next county overMaury CountyDuck River, Bluecat LakeSee the spots →Next county overWayne CountyKentucky LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Lewis 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 Lewis County right now: Lewis County conditions.