Middle Tennessee · County seat Erin

Fishing in Houston County, Tennessee

Houston County is thin on public water. This page lists what there is, then points at what is close.

Find fishing spotsEvery public water Find gear & baitBait shops, tackle, rentals, licences

The big water in Houston

Main fishing waters in Houston County

What each of these is actually known for, and what you can expect to catch.

reservoir · forms the county’s western boundary at Danville · TVA

Kentucky Lake

The old town of Danville was flooded when Kentucky Dam went in; the Danville crossing is where Houston County touches big water, and Danville Landing is the county’s one genuine fishing asset.

crappielargemouthsmallmouthcatfish

reservoir · runs along the county’s northern edge past the Wells Creek Basin · US Army Corps…

Cumberland River / Lake Barkley

The Barkley pool here is broad and river-like. Every maintained ramp on this reach is filed by TWRA under Stewart or Montgomery County, not Houston.

blue and channel catfishcrappielargemouthsauger

What it looks like

Houston County water

Photographs of the water this page covers. Every picture opens that water’s own page. Drag or swipe to see the rest.

Kentucky LakeOpen the Kentucky Lake page →George Green, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Public domain

Cumberland River, TennesseeU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not s / Public domain

Center Hill LakeOpen the Center Hill Lake page →Tyler White / Public domain

Old Hickory LakeOpen the Old Hickory Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

Duck RiverOpen the Duck River page →SBaker43 / CC BY-SA 3.0

Tims Ford LakeOpen the Tims Ford Lake page →Geobeedude / CC BY-SA 3.0

The ones nobody writes about

Small and out-of-the-way water in Houston County

County lakes, park ponds, creeks and river stretches in Houston County that never make a best-of list. Several of them fish better than the famous water on a busy weekend.

creek · drains the Wells Creek Basin, an eight-mile-wide meteor crater, into the…

Wells Creek

The geology is the story here as much as the fishing, a hundred-million-year-old impact structure that you can float a creek through.

catfishsunfishsmallmouth

creek · runs through Erin past Rotary Park

Town Creek

Small urban creek, the park gives bank access.

sunfishcatfish

creek · eastern Houston toward the Cumberland

Yellow Creek

The maintained Yellow Creek access on Hwy 149 is across the line in Montgomery County.

catfishsunfish

No boat, or your own boat

Bank fishing and launching in Houston County

Fishing from the bank in Houston County

Danville Landing & Park accessible fishing pier, the county’s only purpose-built bank fishing facility, recently upgraded alongside a four-boat hinged docking area designed for changing water levels and repaved parking. Rotary Park in Erin sits near Town Creek. Beyond that, bank access in Houston County is road crossings and private land.

Getting a boat on the water in Houston County

Launch at Danville Landing for Kentucky Lake, or run north 10-20 minutes into Stewart County for Wells Creek or Guices Creek on Barkley. A state-operated ferry crosses the Tennessee River at McKinnon to Benton County, a seven-minute ride, $0.75 for residents and $2.00 for non-residents, 931-721-2776. No marina, no fuel on the water and no rental boats were verified inside the county.

Two different trips

Visiting Houston County versus fishing it like a local

Where visitors get pointed in Houston County

Danville Landing & Park; the McKinnon ferry crossing; the Wells Creek Basin meteor crater; Land Between the Lakes NRA is roughly 30-40 minutes northwest through Stewart County.

Where Houston County locals actually go

Danville Landing, a recently upgraded county access with an accessible pier that almost no published fishing content mentions. Wells Creek, for the geology as much as the fish.

Rules and record fish

Limits and records for Houston County water

Creel and length limits in Houston County

Kentucky Lake, crappie 20 per day at a 10 in minimum, black bass 5 per day at 15 in, white bass 15 per day. Lake Barkley, crappie 20 per day at 10 in, black bass 5 per day at 15 in.

Barkley runs a different pool schedule from the TVA lakes: it reaches full pool around 1 May and recedes to winter levels after 4 July.

Houston County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill.

Questions people actually ask

Houston County fishing questions

Where can I fish from the bank in Houston County?

How many public boat ramps are in Houston County?

TWRA’s statewide access database lists no maintained boat launch inside Houston County. Houston genuinely has little fishable public water of its own, one county landing, and TWRA’s statewide access database lists no site at all in the county. Lake Barkley ramps at Wells Creek (TVA, Hwy 233 west of Cumberland City) and Guices

Do I need a fishing license to fish in Houston County?

Yes. Anyone 13 and over needs a Tennessee fishing license, and there is no license required for ages 12 and under. A resident annual combination hunt and fish license is $33, a resident one-day all-species license is $11, and a non-resident three-day all-species license is $40. Tennessee has no non-resident one-day license. Buy online at gooutdoorstennessee.com, from a county clerk or from a licensed agent. Licenses are digital, nothing arrives in the post.

What fish can you catch in Houston County?

The main species across Houston County water are largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, white bass, sauger, catfish and gar. Each water body on the fishing spots page lists what it is actually known for, which is not always the same thing.

Does my Tennessee license cover trout in Houston County?

Not automatically. The $33 resident combination hunt and fish license does not cover trout, and neither does the county-of-residence license or the cheaper no-trout short-term options. Those need the $21 annual trout supplemental added on. The Sportsman licenses and every non-resident all-species license already include trout. There is no designated trout water in Houston County, but it is worth knowing before you drive to a tailwater elsewhere in the state.

What are the creel limits in Houston County?

Kentucky Lake, crappie 20 per day at a 10 in minimum, black bass 5 per day at 15 in, white bass 15 per day. Lake Barkley, crappie 20 per day at 10 in, black bass 5 per day at 15 in Barkley runs a different pool schedule from the TVA lakes: it reaches full pool around 1 May and recedes to winter levels after 4 July Always check the current TWRA guide before you keep anything, because water-specific exceptions change.

Where can I buy bait and tackle in Houston County?

Danville Bait Shop & Grill, 12550 Highway 147, Stewart, TN, 931-289-3034, a Stewart mailing address but it serves the Danville crossing and is the closest bait shop to Houston County anglers. Nothing else was verified. Walmart in Waverly (Humphreys County, roughly 25 minutes south) or Dover (Stewart County) is the fallback. There is a fuller list on the Houston County gear page, including anywhere renting boats or kayaks and the nearest big-box store.

Where do locals fish in Houston County?

Danville Landing, a recently upgraded county access with an accessible pier that almost no published fishing content mentions. Wells Creek, for the geology as much as the fish.

If the county comes up short

The nearest real fishing to Houston County

Houston genuinely has little fishable public water of its own, one county landing, and TWRA’s statewide access database lists no site at all in the county. Lake Barkley ramps at Wells Creek (TVA, Hwy 233 west of Cumberland City) and Guices Creek (USACE, Hwy 149 east of Cumberland City) are 10-20 minutes north into Stewart County.

Kentucky Lake at Danville is right on the western edge, and the New Johnsonville and Cuba Landing ramps in Humphreys County are 20-30 minutes south. Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park (Benton County, three boat ramps on Kentucky Lake) is directly across the river via the McKinnon ferry or about 45 minutes by road.

Statewide limits: 5 black bass, 15 crappie at 10 inches, 2 stripers at 15 inches, 7 trout.

Find it yourself

Putting eyes on Houston County water

There is no TWRA access point in Houston County, so there is no ramp to send you to. What there is, is water. These open on a map so you can look for the bridges, pull-offs and park shoreline that people actually fish.

Houston County waterKentucky LakeTWRA lists no developed public access on this water inside Houston County. Open it on a map to find the road crossings and the shoreline that is genuinely public.Open in maps →Houston County waterCumberland River / Lake BarkleyTWRA lists no developed public access on this water inside Houston County. Open it on a map to find the road crossings and the shoreline that is genuinely public.Open in maps →

The water itself

Lakes and rivers in Houston County

Each of these has a page of its own covering the whole water, not just the Houston County end of it, with every public access point on it and what it holds.

LakeKentucky Lake86 in totalSee the spots →

Tennessee sells no non-resident one-day fishing license. The three-day is the shortest option.

Conditions

Houston County trout stocking

TroutTrout stocking in Houston CountyTWRA stocks Hurricane Creek, Whiteoak Creek. Dates are on the stocking schedule.Open →

The $33 combination hunt and fish license does not cover trout. That needs the $21 supplemental.

About this list

Where the Houston County access list comes from

The 0 access points above come from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s public access database, which is why each one names the agency that owns or manages it. A state or TVA ramp is usually free. A Corps of Engineers site, a state park ramp or a marina often is not.

The waters, species and local notes are researched separately, county by county, against TWRA’s own reservoir pages, TVA, the US Army Corps of Engineers and Tennessee State Parks.

Ramps close for repairs, gravel roads wash out and regulations change. Treat anything here as a starting point and call ahead if you are driving a long way for it.

By town instead

Towns near Houston County

These pages measure from the middle of town rather than the county line, which is usually the number you actually care about.

24 access points within 30 milesFishing near DoverLake Barkley, Kentucky LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near DicksonHarpeth River, Cheatham LakeSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near ClarksvilleLake Barkley, Red RiverSee the spots →24 access points within 30 milesFishing near ParisKentucky Lake, Garrett LakeSee the spots →

Houston County water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill.

Keep looking

Counties next to Houston

Fish do not respect county lines. These are the nearest counties to Houston with public water of their own. Each one opens its own page.

Next county overStewart CountyLake Barkley, Kentucky LakeSee the spots →Next county overHumphreys CountyKentucky Lake, Duck RiverSee the spots →Next county overBenton CountyKentucky Lake, Ky. ReservoirSee the spots →Next county overHenry CountyKentucky LakeSee the spots →Next county overMontgomery CountyLake Barkley, Red RiverSee the spots →

Keep going

More Houston County water, and who fishes it

Every guide and charter on this site is listed by the water they run, so you can call the captain direct. Licences, limits and the state record list are one click away too.

Guides by water Licence and limits

Weather alerts, power outages and road closures in Houston County right now: Houston County conditions.