Fishing In Tennessee

Attention Anglers, Do NOT Move Bass!

The movement and illegal stocking of Alabama Bass outside their native range has caused serious issues for Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass fisheries across the southeast. It has been well documented that Alabama Bass prey on, hybridize with, and out compete other bass species for habitat and food resources. High hybridization rates between species will eventually result in a population without any genetically pure Smallmouth Bass. Once this occurs it can never be reversed and results in the loss of those species and the decline in the quality of that fishery.

Alabama Bass and their hybrids have been found in numerous Tennessee reservoirs. TWRA has documented the displacement of Largemouth Bass in Parksville Reservoir, one of the first sites Alabama Bass were documented outside their range in Tennessee, and hybridization with Smallmouth Bass has been documented in Watts Bar, Ft. Loudoun, and Tellico reservoirs. By all accounts, if Alabama Bass are introduced into Tennessee’s best bass fisheries, we stand to lose bass fishing as we know it. Do Not Move Alabama Bass!

In order to be successful at stopping the spread of Alabama Bass, the responsibility lies among those who transport live fish away from the water where they are caught. In most instances, those fish are used as food, but in some cases might be released into other water bodies. Always remember that it is illegal to intentionally release live fish into any public water in Tennessee away from which they were harvested.

Alabama Bass are very difficult to distinguish from Spotted Bass; observations of illegal stocking should be reported to your local TWRA Regional Office (listed below).

West Tennessee (Region 1)

200 Lowell Thomas Dr.
Jackson, TN 38301
(731) 423-5725

Middle Tennessee (Region 2)

Ellington Agricultural Center
5107 Edmondson Pike
Nashville, TN 37204
(615) 781-6622

Cumberland Plateau (Region 3)

464 Industrial Blvd.
Crossville, TN 38555
(931) 484-9571

East Tennessee (Region 4)

3030 Wildlife Way
Morristown, TN 37814
(423) 587-7037

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Federal Aid Projects

Where does the money come from and what is it used for?

The TWRA's fisheries management programs are funded from license sales and by federal aid money received through the Federal Aid to Sport Fish Restoration Program.

The federal aid money is generated by an excise tax paid by anglers on various kinds of fishing equipment and taxes collected on marine fuel.   The money is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and can be spent only under their guidelines.

Currently, the TWRA projects funded by federal aid include:

  • operation of fish hatcheries
  • construction of Gibson County Lake
  • fishing piers designed to accommodate handicapped anglers
  • renovation and construction of boat ramps across the state
  • acquisition of stream access sites
  • evaluation of length limits and stocking success on reservoirs
  • stream habitat improvement projects
  • statewide construction and maintenance of fish attractors
  • habitat protection which includes investigating pollution problems
  • fish population surveys on reservoirs, lakes, and streams 

Fishing the Attractors


Region IV Fisheries, Partners Work to Help Imperiled Fish

 

The TWRA partnered with the USFWS Partners Program’s Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office, Fish Passage Program, Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP), and the Campbell County Highway Department to complete two culvert replacements on Coontail Branch. 

These projects help restore aquatic habitat connectivity for the federally threatened blackside dace and state listed In Need of Management Cumberland arrow darter. Both structures were rated as severe barriers utilizing SARP’s Barrier Assessment Tool and were replaced with bottomless box bridges, which allow the stream bottom to have natural substrate in it.  These bridges also benefit the county, creating stable crossing structures more resilient to flood effects. 

The Campbell County Highway Department presented TWRA and USFWS with a plaque thanking each Agency for their joint effort in culvert replacements of Baker Lane and Brahma Lane.