What is the Greatest City in Tennessee for Hunters and Anglers?

After killing a black bear, famed pioneer Daniel Boone, better known for his exploits as a frontiersman than for his spelling, marked the occasion by carving the inscription: “D. Boon cilled a bar in year 1760,” in a beech tree in Washington County, Tenn. That took place not far from what is now Johnson City, a thriving mountain town steeped in history and surrounded by natural riches.

Founded by Henry Johnson as a railroad station (Johnson’s Depot) in 1856, Johnson City became a major rail hub for the Southeast. Due to its ties to bootlegging in the Appalachian Mountains during the Prohibition era in the 1920’s, the city was nicknamed “Little Chicago.”

Now boasting some 73,500 residents, Johnson City is Tennessee’s eighth most populous town. And while it has a number of attractions that entice visitors from all over, the area’s hunting and fishing opportunities remain major draws.

SPEAKING OF BEARS

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) estimates there are as many as 6,000 black bears in the Volunteer State. The population has increased dramatically in recent years and the majority are concentrated in the East Tennessee mountains, making Johnson City an ideal hub for bruin chasers. In fact, about 40 percent of the 814 bears taken in the state during the 2024 season were shot in Johnson City’s surrounding area, with 650,000-acre Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee’s largest tract of public land, proving particularly productive. Located on Johnson City’s doorstep, it also adjoins other national forests in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

Bear hunting in Tennessee typically begins in September with an archery-only season.

Wayne Rich, a retired game warden from upper East Tennessee, says relatively few people specifically target bears with a bow and arrow; however, that doesn’t mean bowhunters don’t kill some.

“I would say about 90 percent of the bears [taken with a bow] are incidental targets of deer hunters,” Rich says. But that changes during firearm seasons, when many hunters take to the woods in the Cherokee National Forest specifically looking for a bear. Alex Baker is one of those hunters, and while he often hunts with a pack of hounds, occasionally he still-hunts the mountainous terrain without canine help.

“You want to concentrate on flats with white oaks and hickories where the bears are fattening up on the mast crop,” says Baker. “The best time is in October, and we usually focus on elevations between 1,600 and 2,000 feet.”

Baker recalls one day when he and his partner snuck over a rise overlooking a flat filled with white oaks dropping acorns and found nine bears feeding.

“It was neat. They were all totally focused on eating, just gorging themselves between 50 and 150 yards away,” he says. “And my hunting partner managed to take down a healthy male.”

In 2024, firearms hunters in Tennessee were allowed 28 days of bear hunting, spread throughout October, November and December. But seasons can vary in the different designated bear hunting zones. If you plan a trip, keep in mind that Johnson City is located in Bear Hunt Zone 1 (BHZ1).

NO SHORTAGE OF DEER

Since bear seasons often coincide with Tennessee’s deer season, it’s quite common for hunters to “double dip” and chase whitetails on the same tracts where they find bears and vice versa.

But tagging out is not so easy in the area’s mountainous, hard-to-access terrain, which Rich says gives deer the opportunity to live a long time and grow big.

Baker agrees. “Mountain bucks are just built differently from ag-land deer. They roam a lot and are harder to pattern. You really have to put in time in the woods, work the terrain and play the wind.”

WINGSHOOTERS TAKE NOTE

The upper East Tennessee mountains are among the few areas where hunters can still find ruffed grouse. Although populations have declined in recent years, there’s a number of hardcore wingshooters who continue to successfully pursue these prized game birds. It’s important, nevertheless, to manage expectations. “I know a handful of people who hunt grouse. If they get two or three flushes a day, they get excited,” says Rich.

RIVER FISHING

Taylor Klarman, owner of River Run Angling (riverrunangling.com), served as a Marine until he suffered a serious injury in Afghanistan. After a medical retirement from the Corps, he bounced around, unclear of what he wanted to do next. But the special memory of a guided trout fishing trip he took with fellow Marines led to his move to Johnson City and the start of a new career as a fishing outfitter. Since 2021, Klarman’s new mission has been to guide clients in pursuit of trout on the renowned South Holston and Watauga rivers.

For anglers wielding a spinning rod, he says March and April offer some of the best opportunities. If you’re a fly-fisherman, Klarman recommends fishing dry flies in the summer and nymphs and streamers from now through November.

“In June, July and August, I prefer dry fly fishing,” says Klarman. “You get great late-afternoon hatches on the South Holston. Some are so good that you’re wiping bugs off your face while fish are boiling everywhere.”

Jason Bromwell with High Flying Flies Guide Service agrees with Klarman and touts the potential of those same two rivers.

“The South Holston is the crown jewel. It offers roughly 8,500 fish per mile and about 85 percent of them are wild brown trout,” he says. “And the Watauga is no slouch. It has some 5,000 trout per mile and double the miles of river to fish.”

SUPERB LAKES AS WELL

It’s not only the rivers that attract anglers to Johnson City. Just a short drive away from town, lakes like Boone, Watauga and South Holston offer fantastic fishing for a variety of species. South Holston and Watauga are stocked with lake trout, an exciting gamefish found nowhere else in the South.

Scott Lillie is a fishing guide in Southeast Tennessee, but he makes frequent road trips to Watauga Lake on his own time to target the lakers in the summer.

“It’s one of the cleanest lakes east of the Mississippi, and its dissolved oxygen content and cold water make it viable for lake trout, as well as rainbows and browns. It’s also an underrated walleye fishery. And the bass fishing, especially for smallmouths, is pretty good.”

There are guides who specifically target the lake trout, but Lillie says folks with the right gear and some deep-water-trolling know-how can be successful on their own.

Lillie trolls the same spoons and flashers used for lake trout and salmon in the Great Lakes and says you need downriggers to get the baits down deep.

“In the summer, the lake trout and other fish hold on the thermocline. In June it’s usually in the 40- to 70-foot range. But in July and August, you’re going to have to fish a little bit deeper, usually in 80 to 120 feet.”

Lillie routinely catches lakers weighing up to 10 pounds and says 4- to 6-pounders are pretty average. He also says the rainbow trout action in the lake is phenomenal. “It’s nothing to go out and catch 10 to 15 per day.”

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

• Johnson City attractions extend beyond the outdoors.

Even if you’re not a hunter or angler, you’ll find plenty to do, says Alec Castro with Visit Johnson City (visitjohnsoncitytn.com). There are lots of hiking, biking and paddling opportunities—even whitewater for the more adventurous. And you can easily access the famed Appalachian Trail, a “moderate” hike crossing Iron Mountain.

Bristol Motor Speedway (bristolmotorspeedway.com), about 20 minutes up the road, and the International Storytelling Center (storytellingcenter.net) in nearby Jonesborough are two of the area’s top drawing cards.

“Johnson City is also home to a robust food-and-beverage scene and a distinctive arts and culture community,” adds Castro.

There’s a wide variety of hotels in Johnson City, with the Carnegie (carnegiehotel.com) being one of the more unique. Originally built in 1891, the building was destroyed by fire in 1910. It was rebuilt, however, with the traditional décor (Tiffany-style lamps, wooden sleigh beds, etc.) and it continues to offer the ambience and topnotch amenities that travelers have come to expect.

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• This article was featured in the September 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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