Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Region IV - Fishing
Reservoir Resources
Twelve reservoirs are actively managed by Region IV’s reservoir fisheries personnel. These reservoirs have surface acreage ranging from 893 to 34,000 acres and encompass approximately 151,650 surface acres at full pool.
Biologists use various techniques to monitor reservoir fish populations including electrofishing, gill netting, seining, trap netting, and angler surveys. These surveys gather data about the size structure, recruitment, growth, density and mortality of fish populations. This information is coupled with input from the human and habitat components of sport fisheries and is used to make management recommendations for harvest restrictions and stocking.
Biologists also perform summer water quality profiles on several area reservoirs to determine if conditions are favorable for various game fish species. This effort is designed to locate any potential problems during the summer when oxygen levels can become poor.
Habitat enhancement, public fishing piers, and two warm-water hatcheries are additional components of the reservoir program. Habitat work ranges from installing and maintaining fish attractors to the planting of shoreline vegetation. Hatcheries are an essential tool in maintaining fish species with little or no natural reproduction.
Region IV’s reservoir program maintains a web site where a great deal of reservoir related information can be found.
Stream Resources
Tennessee’s fish fauna is the most diverse in the United States, with approximately 307 species of native fish and about 30 to 33 introduced species. Many of these occur in streams and rivers across the state. Region IV has about 4,870 miles of streams that total approximately 14,112 acres in 21 East Tennessee counties. There are approximately 800 miles classified as coldwater streams.
Streams in Region IV, except for a few in Anderson, Campbell, and Claiborne counties (Cumberland River System streams), are in the Ridge and Valley and Blue Ridge physiographic provinces of the upper Tennessee River drainage basin.
The main river systems in Region IV are the Clinch, Powell, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Tennessee, Nolichucky, and Holston. Streams and rivers across the state are considerably valuable as they provide a variety of recreational opportunities. These include fishing, canoeing, swimming, and other riverine activities that are unmatched by other aquatic environments.
Streams and rivers are also utilized as water sources both commercially and domestically. The management and protection of these resources are primary goals in the Agency’s Strategic Plan.
Regional biologists conduct annual fish population surveys and habitat evaluations in order to effectively manage these resources through regulations and stocking. Much of the information collected from these efforts can be found on the regional stream management web site.
