Tennessee Fishing Regulations: Bag Limits, Size Limits and Seasons
These are the statewide daily bag limits and length limits Tennessee anglers work under, taken from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) guide for March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Statewide means the default: most states, Tennessee included, override these on specific lakes, rivers and coastal zones, so treat this page as the baseline and the official guide as the rule for the water you are standing on.
Tennessee has no closed season for sport fish; every species below can be kept year-round on public waters unless a specific lake or river says otherwise. The one calendar rule is paddlefish, open to snagging only from late April through May. Several tailwaters carry their own trout seasons and slot limits. You will still need the Tennessee fishing license, which runs $39 for residents and $98 for non-residents; the Tennessee fishing license page covers short-term options, exemptions and where to buy.
Limits last verified 2026-09-16.
Tennessee freshwater bag and length limits
| Species | Daily bag | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted)Many reservoirs set a 15 in. minimum on largemouth or a smallmouth slot. | 5 combined | None statewide |
| Crappie (all species)Region 1 (West Tennessee) allows 30 with no length limit on most waters. | 15 | 10 in. minimum |
| Catfish | No limit under 34 in.; only 1 per day at 34 in. or longer | See bag |
| Trout (all species)Tailwaters and trout streams carry their own limits. | 7 combined | None |
| Walleye | 5 | 16 in. minimum |
| Sauger and hybrids | 10 | 15 in. minimum |
| Striped bass and hybrids | 2 | 15 in. minimum |
| White bass | 15 | None |
| Rock bass and redeye | 20 | None |
| Bluegill and sunfish | No limit | None |
| Muskellunge | 1 | 36 in. minimum |
| PaddlefishSnagging only, late April to May 31. | 2 | None |
How to read a bag limit
A daily bag limit is the number of that species one angler may keep in a day, and in most states also the number you may have in possession on the water. Where a row says "combined", the number is shared across every species named in it. A minimum length is measured from the tip of the closed mouth to the tip of the tail with the tail pinched; a slot means fish inside the range must go back. When a lake has its own rule in the official guide, that rule replaces the statewide one for that water only.
Related: the Tennessee fishing license page for the fee and where to buy, non-resident fishing license fees across states, and fishing regulations for every state.