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Middle (TWRA Region 2; second-largest county in Tennessee by area, 736 sq mi, entirely rural) Tennessee · County seat Waynesboro

Fishing in Wayne County, Tennessee

Tennessee River (Pickwick Lake / Kentucky Lake transition), Buffalo River, Green River. Where to launch, where to fish from the bank, and where to buy what you forgot.

Find fishing spots3 public access pointsFind gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

What to bring

What to bring fishing in Wayne 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 checklistCrappie checklistBluegill and Panfish checklistFish Finders comparedTrolling Motors comparedLithium Marine Batteries comparedShallow Water Anchors compared

Wayne County at a glance

Wayne County boat ramps and fishing access

Wayne County has 3 public fishing access points: 2 boat ramps, 1 fishing pier and 1 marina, on 1 lake or river.

2boat ramps
1fishing pier
1marina
1lake, river or creek

The big water in Wayne

Main fishing waters in Wayne County

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

river impoundment forming the northwestern border with Decatur and Hardin counties · TVA

Tennessee River (Pickwick Lake / Kentucky Lake transition)

Clifton is the river town and was a key steamboat port in the mid-19th century; the Wayne County bank is bluff-and-gravel and fishes for smallmouth and catfish rather than for the ledge-bass game further downstream.

catfishsmallmouthlargemouthcrappie
free-flowing river · 125 mi, the longest unimpounded river in Middle Tennessee · upper section…

Buffalo River

Flows across the county’s north; primarily Class I water suited to canoe, kayak and tubing, with gravel bars and long clear pools, the smallmouth fishing is the reason to go and the float is the way to do it.

smallmouth bassrock basslargemouthchannel catfish
Buffalo tributary through Waynesboro

Green River

Small, clear and wadeable, running right through the county seat.

smallmouthrock basssunfish
Buffalo tributary

Little Buffalo River

Wadeable headwater smallmouth water.

smallmouthrock bassstocked rainbow trout in Lawrence County upstream

What it looks like

Wayne County water

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

Kentucky Lake, TennesseeKentucky LakeOpen the Kentucky Lake page →George Green, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Public domain
Tennessee River, Tennessee
Tennessee River, TennesseeScott Basford / CC BY-SA 3.0
Buffalo River, TennesseeBuffalo RiverOpen the Buffalo River page →La Citta Vita / CC BY-SA 2.0Center Hill Lake, TennesseeCenter Hill LakeOpen the Center Hill Lake page →Tyler White / Public domainOld Hickory Lake, TennesseeOld Hickory LakeOpen the Old Hickory Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0Cumberland River, TennesseeCumberland RiverOpen the Cumberland River page →U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not s / Public domain

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Wayne County

Fishing from the bank in Wayne County

Tennessee River bank at Clifton (town riverfront and the ferry landing area); Buffalo River bridge crossings on Hwy 13, Hwy 99 and the county roads; Green River in and around Waynesboro; Forty-Eight Creek and Hardin Creek crossings; the four WMAs. Wayne is a wade-and-gravel-bar county, the Buffalo is shallow enough to walk for long stretches in summer.

Getting a boat on the water in Wayne County

Crazy Horse Canoe Rental, 2505 Waynesboro Hwy, Waynesboro, (931) 722-5213. Buffalocanoeing.com, 702 Gaither Hinson Rd, Waynesboro, (931) 796-2211. Shoal Creek Canoe Run, 470 Iron City Rd, Iron City, (888) 226-6380 (Iron City straddles toward Lawrence County; confirm before listing as in-county).

The Buffalo River–Perry County scenic water trail covers 37.87 miles downstream of Wayne. No marina in Wayne County; Tennessee River marina services are at Clifton or across the river. The Buffalo is Class I with strainers and deadfall rather than rapids.

Two different trips

Visiting Wayne County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Wayne County

Clifton and the Tennessee River (Clifton Marina area, the river ferry, Clifton’s historic riverfront); Buffalo River canoe floats; Natchez Trace Parkway; Waynesboro’s square and the Green River; Collinwood; Laurel Hill Lake and Laurel Hill WMA just east in Lawrence County.

Where Wayne County locals actually go

The Green River through Waynesboro, a town creek with real smallmouth that visitors drive past on the way to the Buffalo; Forty-Eight Creek; Hardin Creek; the Buffalo River gravel bars between the Hwy 13 and Hwy 99 crossings on a summer wade; Indian Creek; the Tennessee River bluff bank above Clifton for winter smallmouth; the four WMAs’ creek frontage.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Wayne County water

Creel and length limits in Wayne County

No water in Wayne County carries a creel or length exception, statewide limits apply throughout. That means black bass 5/day with no minimum length on the Buffalo, Green and Little Buffalo (in contrast to the 13–17″ protected ranges on the East Tennessee smallmouth rivers), crappie 15/day at a 10″ minimum, catfish unlimited under 34″ with one over, sunfish no daily limit with redear at 20.

On the Tennessee River, Pickwick and Kentucky Lake rules apply below and above the respective pool boundaries, black bass 5/day at a 15″ minimum, crappie 20/day at 10″. Pickwick reciprocity with Alabama and Mississippi applies from Pickwick Dam upstream to Tennessee River Mile 224.8, which is downstream of Wayne County. TWRA does not stock trout anywhere in Wayne County.

State record fish from Wayne County water

No Tennessee state record is credited to a Wayne County water.

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

Questions people actually ask

Wayne County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Wayne County?

Tennessee River bank at Clifton (town riverfront and the ferry landing area). Also buffalo river bridge crossings on hwy 13, hwy 99 and the county roads, and green river in and around waynesboro. Wayne County has 1 public fishing pier listed in TWRA’s access database.

How many public boat ramps are in Wayne County?

TWRA’s access database lists 2 boat launches in Wayne County, plus 1 marina. Most of them are on Kentucky Lake. Every one is listed further up this page with its owner and lane count.

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

The main species across Wayne County water are largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, sunfish, rock bass, white bass, sauger, channel 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, but it is worth knowing before you drive to a tailwater elsewhere in the state.

What are the creel limits in Wayne County?

No water in Wayne County carries a creel or length exception, statewide limits apply throughout. That means black bass 5/day with no minimum length on the Buffalo, Green and Little Buffalo (in contrast to the 13–17″ protected ranges on the East Tennessee smallmouth rivers), crappie 15/day at a 10″ minimum, catfish unlimited under 34″ with one over, sunfish no daily limit with redear at 20 On the Tennessee River, Pickwick and Kentucky Lake rules apply below and above the respective pool boundaries, black bass 5/day at a 15″ minimum, crappie 20/day at 10″ Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Wayne County?

– Duren’s Sporting Goods, 215 Dexter L Woods Memorial Blvd, Waynesboro, (931) 722-5466., Crazy Horse Canoe Rental, 2505 Waynesboro Hwy, Waynesboro, (931) 722-5213., Buffalocanoeing.com, 702 Gaither Hinson Rd, Waynesboro, (931) 796-2211., Shoal Creek Canoe Run, 470 Iron City Rd, Iron City, (888) 226-6380., Nearest big box: no Walmart in Wayne County. Walmart Supercenter, 612 E Main St, Hohenwald, (931) 796-3282, about 35 min northeast. There is a fuller list on the Wayne County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Wayne County?

The Green River through Waynesboro, a town creek with real smallmouth that visitors drive past on the way to the Buffalo. Forty-Eight Creek. Hardin Creek.

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Wayne County

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

LakeKentucky Lake3 access points in Wayne County, 86 in totalSee the spots →RiverBuffalo River3 in totalSee the spots →

Wayne County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, sunfish.

Conditions

Wayne County lake levels

Lake conditionsKentucky Lake level todayTVA’s current reading and the Kentucky Dam generation schedule.Open →

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

About this list

Where the Wayne County access list comes from

The 3 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 Wayne 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 SavannahKentucky Lake, Pickwick LakeSee the spots →17 access points within 30 milesFishing near LawrenceburgDuck River, Richland CreekSee the spots →22 access points within 30 milesFishing near JacksonHatchie River, Pine LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near ColumbiaDuck River, Harpeth RiverSee the spots →

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

Keep looking

Counties next to Wayne

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

Next county overDecatur CountyKentucky Lake, KentuckySee the spots →Next county overHardin CountyKentucky Lake, Pickwick LakeSee the spots →Next county overPerry CountyBuffalo RiverSee the spots →Next county overHenderson CountyPine Lake, Beech LakeSee the spots →Next county overLewis CountyBuffalo RiverSee the spots →

Keep going

More Wayne 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 waterLicence and limits

Weather alerts, power outages and road closures in Wayne County right now: Wayne County conditions.