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Home › Waters › Tennessee › French Broad River
River · East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains Foothills · Tennessee

French Broad River Fishing Guides

One of the oldest rivers in the world, running north out of North Carolina past Newport to meet the Holston and form the Tennessee, with a serious smallmouth and musky fishery.

Mist lifting off a river between wooded Appalachian ridges

Map of the French Broad River

45 numbered points: 6 access points, 6 campsites, 14 bridges, 2 parks and conservation areas, 2 regulation section limits, 11 hazards, 1 USGS gauge, 3 points of interest. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Oct 23, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (6)
  • Campsite (6)
  • Bridge crossing (14)
  • Park / conservation area (2)
  • Regulation section limit (2)
  • Dam / hazard (11)
  • USGS gauge (1)
  • Point of interest (3)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

Open the printable map
All 45 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Paint Creek Road
FS 41, at the state line		Bridge crossing35.94529, -82.89836
2Paint Rock River Access
Paint Rock - US Forest Service		Access / boat ramp35.94482, -82.89904Uppermost access on the Tennessee reach, just below the North Carolina line. OSM maps it three times; the other two objects are the parking area and the footpath.
3Dixie Highway
US 25 / US 70		Bridge crossing35.92073, -82.95915
4French Broad Recreation Site
US Forest Service		Park / conservation area35.92210, -82.96202
5SR 107
Del Rio		Bridge crossing35.92491, -83.02134OSM tags this span with a ref and no name.
6French Broad River Access
About 2 km below the SR 107 bridge		Access / boat ramp35.91869, -83.04000OSM gives it no name beyond "French Broad River Access"; it is the slipway downstream of the Del Rio crossing.
7Dixie Highway
US 25 / US 70 above Newport		Bridge crossing35.95475, -83.11124
8USGS streamgauge
Live stage and discharge		USGS gauge35.98151, -83.16121Roster coordinate; USGS 03455000, French Broad River near Newport.
9US 321
Newport		Bridge crossing35.98248, -83.16088Also the upstream limit of the TWRA section below.
10Newport to the state line section
US 321 bridge at Newport upstream to the North Carolina line		Regulation section limit35.98248, -83.16088TWRA names this reach in its statewide fishing exceptions. Check the current TWRA regulations for what applies before you fish it.
11Holt Town RoadBridge crossing36.05074, -83.20998
12Rankin Bridge
Rankin Bottoms		Bridge crossing36.05347, -83.21147
13US 25EBridge crossing36.04493, -83.25698
14Nina Ferry Landing
Douglas Lake at Nina		Access / boat ramp36.02668, -83.27258OSM carries the name only, with no ramp or surface tag, so its condition is unconfirmed. It is the one mapped landing in 20 km of lake.
15I 40Bridge crossing36.04152, -83.33623OSM maps the two carriageways separately; this is one of the pair.
16US 25W / US 70Bridge crossing36.03945, -83.33768
17The Point RV Park
Douglas Lake near Dandridge		Campsite36.00939, -83.40866
18Chestnut Hill Road
SR 92		Bridge crossing36.01218, -83.41310
19Crosslake Landing
Douglas Lake, 1.7 km off the mid-lake line		Access / boat ramp35.98731, -83.46055Name-only in OSM like Nina Ferry Landing, and kept for the same reason: nothing else is mapped on the mid-lake reach.
20Douglas Headwater Campground
TVA, above the dam		Campsite35.95820, -83.53513
21Douglas Dam
Tennessee Valley Authority		Point of interest35.96125, -83.53860Head of the 52 km tailwater float down to the Holston confluence; the impoundment above it is Douglas Lake.
22Mountain Cove Marina
Douglas Lake, above Douglas Dam		Access / boat ramp35.95209, -83.53702Marina sharing an operator with the campground of the same name; the last mapped launch above the dam.
23Old State Hwy 66
SR 338, just below Douglas Dam		Bridge crossing35.95787, -83.54692
24Douglas Tailwater Campground
TVA, below the dam		Campsite35.95617, -83.54968First camp on the tailwater float.
25Mountain Cove Campground
Douglas Lake, with the marina		Campsite35.94687, -83.53505
26Winfield Dunn Parkway
SR 66, Sevierville		Bridge crossing35.93789, -83.58331OSM maps the two carriageways separately; this is one of the pair.
27Coleman
Camping-gear outlet, Sevierville		Point of interest35.93317, -83.58526Outlet store 325 m off the river, tagged shop=outdoor in OSM. Gear, not bait or tackle.
28Two Rivers Landing RV Resort
Sevierville, on the river		Campsite35.93412, -83.58811OSM tags it tourism=camp_site; typed camp here rather than access.
29Riverside RV Park & Resort
Sevierville		Campsite35.92933, -83.58843
30Bryant Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.93259, -83.60489
31Davis Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.92676, -83.63406
32Hanging Rock Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.92842, -83.64156
33The Gallops
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.94342, -83.64851
34Wild Bull Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.94648, -83.66240
35Bass Pro Shops
Kodak, about 4 km off the river		Point of interest35.98506, -83.61217Kept despite the distance because OSM maps no bait or fly shop anywhere on the Tennessee reach.
36Seven Mile Eddy
Named eddy, not a rapid		Dam / hazard35.94537, -83.68601OSM tags it waterway=rapids; the name and the local usage are for the eddy.
37Cruze Landing
Knox County river landing		Access / boat ramp35.96046, -83.73732Lowest mapped landing above the Holston confluence.
38Pattys Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.95620, -83.79768
39East Governor John Sevier Highway
SR 168		Bridge crossing35.95287, -83.80990Also the downstream limit of the TWRA section below.
40Hwy 168 to Douglas Dam section
Hwy 168 bridge upstream to Douglas Dam		Regulation section limit35.95287, -83.80990TWRA names this reach in its statewide fishing exceptions. Check the current TWRA regulations for what applies before you fish it.
41Paint Rock Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.94925, -83.81240Not the Paint Rock at the North Carolina line, which is 156 km upstream.
42Pennyroyal Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.94231, -83.81601
43Mill Shoals
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.94314, -83.84185
44Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area
TWRA, at the mouth		Park / conservation area35.94865, -83.84851End of the float: the French Broad meets the Holston here and the two form the Tennessee River.
45Jumping Moses Shoal
Named shoal, Douglas tailwater		Dam / hazard35.95342, -83.84463Last named shoal before the Holston confluence.

Guides on the French Broad River

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

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About the French Broad River

The French Broad is among the oldest rivers on the continent, older than the mountains it cuts through, and it is one of the few major American rivers that flows north. It rises in western North Carolina, gathers the Pigeon and the Nolichucky on the Tennessee side, and joins the Holston just above Knoxville to form the Tennessee River. The USGS gauge near Newport watches about eighteen hundred and sixty square miles and reports discharge and stage; there is no active temperature series on this gauge, so flow is the number that drives a float.

Below Newport the river settles into long, wide pools broken by ledge and shoal complexes, with limestone influence that keeps productivity high. This is float-fishing water in the truest sense, and the drift-boat and raft trade out of the Newport and Sevierville area treats it as a smallmouth river first. Smallmouth hold on the ledges, current seams and rock the entire length, and fish in the four to five pound class are a realistic target rather than a story.

The other headline is muskellunge. Tennessee’s musky fishery on the upper French Broad and its tributaries is among the southernmost in the country, and dedicated guides fish it hard through the cold months. Beyond those two, the river carries rock bass, redbreast sunfish, largemouth, walleye, big flathead and channel catfish, and striped bass that push up out of Douglas Lake.

The lower end backs into Douglas Lake, so the bottom reach behaves like reservoir water and its level follows TVA drawdown rather than rainfall. Above that, the river responds normally to rain, and the gauge at Newport is the practical read on whether the shoals are floatable and how stained the water will be.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

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  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
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Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the French Broad River cfs

Now: 831 cfs, read 6:45 am CST, Mon Nov 2, 2026 (USGS 03455000, FRENCH BROAD RIVER NEAR NEWPORT, TN).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Newport river access and the gauge site - the flow reference and a standard put-in.
Riverside and Highway 25 bridge accesses near Newport - road-supported launches.
House Mountain and Seven Islands area - lower-river float access above the Holston junction.
Seven Islands State Birding Park - walk-in bank access and shoal water.
Pigeon River confluence - tributary mouth and a productive current seam.
Douglas Lake headwaters near Dandridge - where the river becomes reservoir.
Kodak and Highway 66 crossing - popular middle-river put-in and takeout.

Seasons

Spring: high and often stained; strong smallmouth pre-spawn fishing when the river drops.
Summer: the main float season, with low clear water and steady topwater smallmouth fishing.
Fall: cooling water, aggressive smallmouth and the start of the serious musky season.
Winter: cold and higher after rain; the prime window for musky and big flathead.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the French Broad River?

As of Nov 2, 6:45 am, the USGS gauge FRENCH BROAD RIVER NEAR NEWPORT, TN reads 831 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the French Broad River?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Redbreast Sunfish, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Walleye on the French Broad River in Tennessee.

Are there fishing guides on the French Broad River?

GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the French Broad River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the French Broad River?

Newport river access and the gauge site - the flow reference and a standard put-in. Riverside and Highway 25 bridge accesses near Newport - road-supported launches. House Mountain and Seven Islands area - lower-river float access above the Holston junction. Seven Islands State Birding Park - walk-in bank access and shoal water. Pigeon River confluence - tributary mouth and a productive current seam. Douglas Lake headwaters near Dandridge - where the river becomes reservoir. Kodak and Highway 66 crossing - popular middle-river put-in and takeout.

When is the best time to fish the French Broad River?

Spring: high and often stained; strong smallmouth pre-spawn fishing when the river drops. Summer: the main float season, with low clear water and steady topwater smallmouth fishing. Fall: cooling water, aggressive smallmouth and the start of the serious musky season. Winter: cold and higher after rain; the prime window for musky and big flathead.

Where are the fishing regulations for the French Broad River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Tennessee agency site: https://www.tn.gov/twra/fishing-regs.html