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.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paint Creek Road FS 41, at the state line | Bridge crossing | 35.94529, -82.89836 | |
| 2 | Paint Rock River Access Paint Rock - US Forest Service | Access / boat ramp | 35.94482, -82.89904 | Uppermost 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. |
| 3 | Dixie Highway US 25 / US 70 | Bridge crossing | 35.92073, -82.95915 | |
| 4 | French Broad Recreation Site US Forest Service | Park / conservation area | 35.92210, -82.96202 | |
| 5 | SR 107 Del Rio | Bridge crossing | 35.92491, -83.02134 | OSM tags this span with a ref and no name. |
| 6 | French Broad River Access About 2 km below the SR 107 bridge | Access / boat ramp | 35.91869, -83.04000 | OSM gives it no name beyond "French Broad River Access"; it is the slipway downstream of the Del Rio crossing. |
| 7 | Dixie Highway US 25 / US 70 above Newport | Bridge crossing | 35.95475, -83.11124 | |
| 8 | USGS streamgauge Live stage and discharge | USGS gauge | 35.98151, -83.16121 | Roster coordinate; USGS 03455000, French Broad River near Newport. |
| 9 | US 321 Newport | Bridge crossing | 35.98248, -83.16088 | Also the upstream limit of the TWRA section below. |
| 10 | Newport to the state line section US 321 bridge at Newport upstream to the North Carolina line | Regulation section limit | 35.98248, -83.16088 | TWRA names this reach in its statewide fishing exceptions. Check the current TWRA regulations for what applies before you fish it. |
| 11 | Holt Town Road | Bridge crossing | 36.05074, -83.20998 | |
| 12 | Rankin Bridge Rankin Bottoms | Bridge crossing | 36.05347, -83.21147 | |
| 13 | US 25E | Bridge crossing | 36.04493, -83.25698 | |
| 14 | Nina Ferry Landing Douglas Lake at Nina | Access / boat ramp | 36.02668, -83.27258 | OSM 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. |
| 15 | I 40 | Bridge crossing | 36.04152, -83.33623 | OSM maps the two carriageways separately; this is one of the pair. |
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | US 25W / US 70 | Bridge crossing | 36.03945, -83.33768 | |
| 17 | The Point RV Park Douglas Lake near Dandridge | Campsite | 36.00939, -83.40866 | |
| 18 | Chestnut Hill Road SR 92 | Bridge crossing | 36.01218, -83.41310 | |
| 19 | Crosslake Landing Douglas Lake, 1.7 km off the mid-lake line | Access / boat ramp | 35.98731, -83.46055 | Name-only in OSM like Nina Ferry Landing, and kept for the same reason: nothing else is mapped on the mid-lake reach. |
| 20 | Douglas Headwater Campground TVA, above the dam | Campsite | 35.95820, -83.53513 | |
| 21 | Douglas Dam Tennessee Valley Authority | Point of interest | 35.96125, -83.53860 | Head of the 52 km tailwater float down to the Holston confluence; the impoundment above it is Douglas Lake. |
| 22 | Mountain Cove Marina Douglas Lake, above Douglas Dam | Access / boat ramp | 35.95209, -83.53702 | Marina sharing an operator with the campground of the same name; the last mapped launch above the dam. |
| 23 | Old State Hwy 66 SR 338, just below Douglas Dam | Bridge crossing | 35.95787, -83.54692 | |
| 24 | Douglas Tailwater Campground TVA, below the dam | Campsite | 35.95617, -83.54968 | First camp on the tailwater float. |
| 25 | Mountain Cove Campground Douglas Lake, with the marina | Campsite | 35.94687, -83.53505 | |
| 26 | Winfield Dunn Parkway SR 66, Sevierville | Bridge crossing | 35.93789, -83.58331 | OSM maps the two carriageways separately; this is one of the pair. |
| 27 | Coleman Camping-gear outlet, Sevierville | Point of interest | 35.93317, -83.58526 | Outlet store 325 m off the river, tagged shop=outdoor in OSM. Gear, not bait or tackle. |
| 28 | Two Rivers Landing RV Resort Sevierville, on the river | Campsite | 35.93412, -83.58811 | OSM tags it tourism=camp_site; typed camp here rather than access. |
| 29 | Riverside RV Park & Resort Sevierville | Campsite | 35.92933, -83.58843 | |
| 30 | Bryant Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.93259, -83.60489 |
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Davis Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.92676, -83.63406 | |
| 32 | Hanging Rock Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.92842, -83.64156 | |
| 33 | The Gallops Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.94342, -83.64851 | |
| 34 | Wild Bull Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.94648, -83.66240 | |
| 35 | Bass Pro Shops Kodak, about 4 km off the river | Point of interest | 35.98506, -83.61217 | Kept despite the distance because OSM maps no bait or fly shop anywhere on the Tennessee reach. |
| 36 | Seven Mile Eddy Named eddy, not a rapid | Dam / hazard | 35.94537, -83.68601 | OSM tags it waterway=rapids; the name and the local usage are for the eddy. |
| 37 | Cruze Landing Knox County river landing | Access / boat ramp | 35.96046, -83.73732 | Lowest mapped landing above the Holston confluence. |
| 38 | Pattys Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.95620, -83.79768 | |
| 39 | East Governor John Sevier Highway SR 168 | Bridge crossing | 35.95287, -83.80990 | Also the downstream limit of the TWRA section below. |
| 40 | Hwy 168 to Douglas Dam section Hwy 168 bridge upstream to Douglas Dam | Regulation section limit | 35.95287, -83.80990 | TWRA names this reach in its statewide fishing exceptions. Check the current TWRA regulations for what applies before you fish it. |
| 41 | Paint Rock Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.94925, -83.81240 | Not the Paint Rock at the North Carolina line, which is 156 km upstream. |
| 42 | Pennyroyal Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.94231, -83.81601 | |
| 43 | Mill Shoals Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.94314, -83.84185 | |
| 44 | Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area TWRA, at the mouth | Park / conservation area | 35.94865, -83.84851 | End of the float: the French Broad meets the Holston here and the two form the Tennessee River. |
| 45 | Jumping Moses Shoal Named shoal, Douglas tailwater | Dam / hazard | 35.95342, -83.84463 | Last named shoal before the Holston confluence. |
Gauge: USGS 03455000 — FRENCH BROAD RIVER NEAR NEWPORT, TN. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Redbreast Sunfish, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Striped Bass, Walleye
Regulations: www.tn.gov/twra/fishing-regs.html
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
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.
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.