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United States · TN
Tennessee
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA)
Rules change by area and can change mid-season. We explain what the rules mean and always link you to the official source — we never copy a limit table and call it current.
Licences — what you need
- • A fishing licence is required; trout fishing needs a trout licence/stamp add-on, and some agency lakes (TWRA fishing lakes) charge a separate daily/site permit.
- • Licences run March to February — a licence bought in January expires weeks later.
How the rules are organized
- • Rules are organized by region (TWRA's four regions) with reservoir-specific tables — the big TVA and Cumberland system lakes each have their own entries.
- • Tailwaters below TVA dams (Caney Fork, Clinch, South Holston, Watauga) have special trout sections within the regional framework.
Good to know — common mistakes
- • Reservoir rules differ lake by lake for crappie, bass and catfish — Norris, Dale Hollow, Chickamauga and Kentucky Lake are all managed individually.
- • The March-to-February licence year is Tennessee's classic gotcha for visiting anglers.
- • Paddlefish and commercial-style methods (trotlines etc.) have dedicated frameworks; snagging is heavily restricted.
- • Agency lakes are small, intensively managed waters with their own permits and sometimes boat restrictions.
Official links
Fishing locations covered in this guide
This page is a plain-language summary, not the law. Regulations change — including in-season by official notice — and if anything here disagrees with the official source, the official source governs.
AnglerPlan is an information service, not a regulator. If anything here disagrees with an official source, the official source wins — and please tell us so we can fix it.