West Tennessee · County seat Union City

Fishing in Obion County, Tennessee

Reelfoot Lake, Obion River (and its forks). Where to launch, where to fish from the bank, and where to buy what you forgot.

Find fishing spots22 public access points Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

Every public access point

Fishing access in Obion County

22 public access points in Obion County: 22 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.

Other water in the county 11 in Obion County

Kingdom Watershed 1 in Obion County

Fee not listed1 out of 5facilitiesBoat LaunchKingdom WatershedDirections and detail →36.38204, -89.26318

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Obion 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 Striper and Hybrid checklist Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Obion County at a glance

Obion County boat ramps and fishing access

Obion County has 22 public fishing access points: 22 boat ramps and 1 fishing pier, on 6 lakes, rivers and creeks.

22boat ramps

1fishing pier

6lakes, rivers and creeks

The big water in Obion

Main fishing waters in Obion County

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

natural lake · ~15,000 acres water within a ~25,000-acre refuge; average depth 5.5 ft, max 18…

Reelfoot Lake

Formed by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes and the only large natural lake in Tennessee; about two-thirds of it is three feet deep or less, so the fishing is done around standing bald cypress and stump fields rather than on structure.

crappiebluegillcatfishlargemouth bass

lowland river · not verified · TWRA, with several WMAs along it

Obion River (and its forks)

Channelized through much of the county with sloughs and oxbows off the main cut; the backwaters rather than the ditch itself hold the fish.

crappiecatfishlargemouthbowfin

What it looks like

Obion 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

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

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

Pickwick LakeOpen the Pickwick Lake page →Kbh3rd / 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

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Obion County

Fishing from the bank in Obion County

Reelfoot Lake State Park units around the Obion shore (the park is 280 acres split into ten separate sections ringing the lake); the Walnut Log area; roadside cypress-line access along SR 21 and SR 22; Gooch WMA levees; Obion River WMA bank on the river itself. Reelfoot has roughly 200 picnic sites across its park units, many of them on the water.

Getting a boat on the water in Obion County

Reelfoot is the boating water, shallow, stump-filled, and traditionally fished from flat-bottom boats and the local “stumpjumper” hull. Gasoline-powered boats are prohibited 1 April–31 May in TWRA-posted areas of the lake.

A Reelfoot Preservation Permit is required for most users in addition to a fishing licence. Guides and rental boats operate out of the Blue Bank and Samburg area. No marina of consequence on the Obion River itself.

Two different trips

Visiting Obion County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Obion County

Reelfoot Lake State Park visitor centre, museum and raptor centre; the January–March bald eagle tours, which are the single biggest visitor draw; cypress-stand boat cruises; Discovery Park of America in Union City, a 50-acre museum and heritage park that opened in 2013.

Where Obion County locals actually go

Walnut Log, the north-end settlement that is the traditional working-fishermen’s end of the lake and far quieter than Blue Bank; the Obion River WMA bottoms, which almost no visiting angler fishes; the borrow pits and sloughs along the Obion River channel; Gooch WMA’s Unit E Lake, which has a real bass rule attached to it and therefore real bass.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Obion County water

Creel and length limits in Obion County

Reelfoot Preservation Permit required. Gasoline motors prohibited 1 April–31 May in posted areas. Crappie on Reelfoot: TWRA’s Region 1 summary gives 20 per day with a 10-inch minimum, note this conflicts with a 30 per day figure carried on some TWRA lake pages, so confirm the current year before publishing.

Largemouth are held to a 15-inch minimum and 5 per day, which reflects historically low bass density rather than a trophy policy, Reelfoot is a panfish lake. On the Obion River and its tributaries (grouped in regulation with the Forked Deer, Hatchie, Loosahatchie and Wolf), crappie are 30 per day with no length limit.

USFWS manages the stretch from Kirby Pocket to Brewer’s Bar with seasonal closures, marked on the water. C.M. Gooch Unit E Lake: largemouth 5 per day, 15-inch minimum, and the lake closes five days before the late waterfowl season, reopening the day after the last military waterfowl hunt.

State record fish from Obion County water

Bowfin, 15 lb 7 oz, Reelfoot Lake, Charles Aaron, 22 June 1983 (Class A). Class B: spotted gar, 12 lb, archery, Reelfoot Lake, Jim Ulerick, 14 April 2013; bowfin, 11 lb 11 oz, archery, Reelfoot Lake, Buckley Pepper, 15 December 2021.

Reelfoot straddles the Obion/Lake county line and TWRA credits these to the lake rather than to a county.

22 public boat launches in Obion County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people actually ask

Obion County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Obion County?

Reelfoot Lake State Park units around the Obion shore (the park is 280 acres split into ten separate sections ringing the lake). Also the walnut log area, and roadside cypress-line access along sr 21 and sr 22. Obion County has 1 public fishing pier listed in TWRA’s access database.

How many public boat ramps are in Obion County?

TWRA’s access database lists 22 boat launches in Obion County. Most of them are on Reelfoot Lake. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

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

The main species across Obion County water are largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, yellow bass, catfish and bowfin. 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 Obion 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 Obion County, but it is worth knowing before you drive to a tailwater elsewhere in the state.

What are the creel limits in Obion County?

Reelfoot Preservation Permit required. Gasoline motors prohibited 1 April–31 May in posted areas Crappie on Reelfoot: TWRA’s Region 1 summary gives 20 per day with a 10-inch minimum, note this conflicts with a 30 per day figure carried on some TWRA lake pages, so confirm the current year before publishing Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Obion County?

Blue Bank Resort at Hornbeak on the Obion side of Reelfoot is the best-known local operation, running guides and boat rental alongside lodging, it is the reference point locals give for the Obion shore.Union City has general big-box retail. There is a fuller list on the Obion County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Obion County?

Walnut Log, the north-end settlement that is the traditional working-fishermen’s end of the lake and far quieter than Blue Bank. the Obion River WMA bottoms, which almost no visiting angler fishes. the borrow pits and sloughs along the Obion River channel.

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Obion County

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

LakeReelfoot Lake6 access points in Obion County, 17 in totalSee the spots →RiverObion River1 access point in Obion County, 3 in totalSee the spots →

Obion County water holds largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, yellow bass.

Conditions

Obion County river levels and trout stocking

River levelsObion River level todayUSGS flow, gauge height and the seven-day trend.Open →TroutTrout stocking in Obion CountyTWRA stocks Union City Reelfoot Packing Site. 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 Obion County access list comes from

The 22 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 Obion 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 Union CityReelfoot Lake, Gooch Unit E LakeSee the spots →

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

Keep looking

Counties next to Obion

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

Next county overLake CountyReelfoot Lake, Mississippi RiverSee the spots →Next county overDyer CountyForked Deer River, Obion RiverSee the spots →Next county overGibson CountyGibson Co Lake, Gibson County LakeSee the spots →Next county overWeakley CountyGarrett LakeSee the spots →Next county overCrockett CountyDavy Crockett LakeSee the spots →

Keep going

More Obion 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 Obion County right now: Obion County conditions.