LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Caney Fork Tailwater · No. 22-1
USACE tailwater · DeKalb County, TN · below Center Hill Dam

Dam Reach

Long Branch, Buffalo Valley and the Tailwater Fishing Pier — three USACE sites within four-tenths of a mile of the dam. A 250 cfs seasonal minimum flow, and a release that can hit 18,000 cfs with no siren to warn you.

THE DAM-REACH CORRIDOR USGS NHD flowline · TWRA/USACE GIS coordinates
Dam / tailraceCenter Hill Damdrawn at USGS 03424010Walk-in accessTailwater Fishing Pierbank/pier only · no ramp · winter-pool accessBoat rampBuffalo ValleyUSACE ramp · fishing pier · courtesy dockBoat rampLong BranchUSACE ramp · 60-site campground · fish-cleaning stationRiver line: real USGS NHD flowline, clipped to this corridorN01 mi
Three things to get right
What you hearWhat TWRA and the Corps actually say
“It's one Corps ramp.”Three sites, one cluster. Long Branch and Buffalo Valley (both ramps) and the Tailwater Fishing Pier (bank/pier only) sit within 0.4 river-mile of each other, all below the dam.
“Minimum flow is always 250 cfs.”Seasonal, and only the floor. 250 cfs continuous applies through November when nothing is generating. The Corps has also released as high as 18,000 cfs (11,000 turbine + 7,000 spillway, May 2024), calling that event “extremely dangerous.”
“The statewide 7-fish trout limit applies.”This water's own rule governs. Rainbow/brown/brook combine for a daily total of 5, with a 14–20 in PLR on rainbow/brook; brown is 1/day, 24 in minimum. Cutthroat is quoted as its own separate 5/day, 14–20 in PLR — TWRA does not say whether it counts against the three-species total. None of this is the statewide seven.
TWRA's own access records, verbatim
Long Branch comment field: “Check Generation Schedule - Danger at High Water.” Buffalo Valley comment field: “Check Generation - Danger at high water.” Both open 24 hrs year-round; asphalt ramps, launchable to 26 ft, paved parking 25+ spaces. Long Branch adds 60 campsites with electric/water hookups; Buffalo Valley adds a fishing pier and courtesy dock. The Tailwater Fishing Pier is bank/pier only — no ramp.

Generation changes this river fast

No siren, horn or public release notice is described on any page we read. TWRA: “Use caution below dams. Call TVA at 1-800-238-2264 to check dam discharge and generation schedules.” TVA: schedules “can change without notice.” Call before you wade — code 37 for Center Hill.

LIMESTONE DRIFT
CANEY FORK TAILWATER Access & limits
Dam-reach access sites (TWRA GIS, read 29 Sep 2026)
SiteRampNotes
Long Branch
36.09940, −85.83104		Asphalt, 1 lane, to 26 ft USACE campground, 60 elec/water sites, fish-cleaning station, canoe landing, no courtesy dock. 478 Lancaster Rd, Lancaster TN; 615-548-8002.
Buffalo Valley
36.10125, −85.82938		Asphalt, 1 lane, to 26 ft Fishing pier, courtesy dock, canoe landing, handicap parking. No camping listed.
Tailwater Fishing Pier
36.10337, −85.83583		None — bank/pier Paved parking 25+, restrooms, winter-pool access.
Trout: this water's own rule
SpeciesDailySize
Rainbow, brook5 combined w/ brown (total 5)14–20 in PLR, 1 over 20 in kept
Brown trout1 (within that 5)24 in minimum
Cutthroat5 — TWRA states separately*14–20 in PLR, 1 over 20 in kept
*TWRA's combined-5 sentence names rainbow/brown/brook only; cutthroat's daily-5 is its own sentence, not stated as folded into that total.
Everything else is statewide — black bass (5 combined, no size), striped/hybrid striped bass (2, 15 in), walleye (5, 16 in), sauger (10, 15 in), rock bass (20, none), catfish (one over 34 in daily, no limit under). The lake's own headwater rules (one-hook method, muskellunge) do not apply below the dam.
Gauge: USGS 03424860, Caney Fork at Stonewall — discharge 00060, gage height 00065 (downstream, lags the release). Dam anchor: USGS 03424010, field measurements only, no live series. TVA release line: 1-800-238-2264, code 37. Corps office: (931) 858-3125.
Sources: USACE Nashville District (Corps Lakes Gateway, Master Plan 2018, DVIDS releases), Recreation.gov, TVA lake-levels pages, TWRA (trout regulations, statewide creel & length limits, license fees, trout stocking pages, Boat_Launch_Sites and Fishing_Sites GIS records read 29 Sep 2026), USGS NWIS 03424860 / 03424010.
Conditions change. Call TVA (1-800-238-2264, code 37) before you go. Built September 2026.
QR code: https://limestonedrift.com/waterways/caney-fork-river-tailwater/#ld-alertslimestonedrift.comAlerts and the water page
Water alerts. We email when the release rule, the access or the regs on this tailwater actually change. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=caney-fork-river-tailwater