Public Ramps on the river around Chattanooga

[jonathanr]

Looking to come up and try my hand at some smallmouth fishing on the river up above Nickajack next week. What locations are good for putting in to the fish the river? Thanks

 

[Aries 181]

Above Nickajack what? The dam or the lake?

Bill

 

[jonathanr]

Above the lake itself and down below the Chickamauga Dam. Thanks.

 

[Spinnerbait165]

The ramp at the RiverPark (right below Chickamauga dam) is great. Be advised though, it can get a bit tricky due to the current at times. Never had a problem there if you can handle your boat.

BE CAREFUL below the dams if you aren't familiar with the waters there. Lots and lots of rock piles and other things that can cause a bad day.

EDIT: I just saw that the ramp there is closed currently. Sorry about that.

The only other ramp that I am familiar with is way down stream at Sullivans. Long ride from there to the dam though.

You could consider putting in at the ramp immediately above Chichamauga dam and locking through. Not a difficult thing to do but takes a little time sometimes.

 

[WaterChap]

What about the ramp at the below dam access? It’s a single lane and a bit tricky, but I’ve used it before. There’s also Suck Creek at the foot of Signal and there’s one across the river from the Riverpark.

 

[FishinChef]

Rivermont Park ramp is across from the river park and is your only other option up river. It’s a nice little ramp. Just make sure when backing down to stay to the upside (passenger side) of the ramp. The lower portion of the ramp or side closest to the dock is broken off short and can be deadly to your trailer if the water level is low. So just save yourself the heartache and use the upside. And yes watch for the rock piles. People assume “There’s water so it’s deep and I can go anywhere”. There’s water but your lower unit may have a bad day.

 

[jonathanr]

Thanks. I was going to try to avoid the area right around the dam itself just for the fact I have never navigated that far up the river. Rivermont is what I had scouted out from a video Jacob Wheeler had done a while back, but I wasn't sure how the ramp would be. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Spinnerbait165]

The rip-rap at Chattanooga Golf & CC is a place you don't want to pass up. There are usually some good fish hanging in there and I have caught some 4#-5# spotted bass there over the years. If you're unfamiliar with the area just look it up on Google Earth. Easy to find and on the west side of the river. There is a drop out at about 15' that will always hold fish. White spinnerbaits shallow on the rocks, and 4" grubs on 1/4 heads out on the drop.

Just a thought .....