Nashville · Davidson County

Fishing Near Nashville, Tennessee

Q: Where can I buy bait near Nashville?

Finn's Tackle Shop, 3676 Bell Rd, Nashville — live bait (minnows, shiners, leeches, worms), frozen and preserved bait, local tackle brands, rod rentals and rod storage. The Nashville gear page has the rest, plus rental and licenses.

J. Percy Priest Lake, Cheatham Lake, Cumberland River. Every public launch and pier within about 30 minutes of Nashville, and where to buy what you forgot on the way.

Find fishing spots134 public access points within 35 miles Find gear & bait8 bait and tackle shops within 40 miles

Closest first

Every public access within reach of Nashville

From TWRA’s own access database, with a directions link on each one. Distances are straight-line from Nashville, so the drive is always a bit longer.

Tap a pin for the spot page and directions. Open the full Tennessee fishing map.

J. Percy Priest Lake

Old Hickory Lake

What to bring

What to bring fishing near Nashville

Three picks from the largemouth bass checklist that work for the fish here. Affiliate links: buying through them pays this site a small commission at no extra cost to you.

RodUgly Stik GX2 7 ft medium-heavy casting rodStiff enough to set a hook in grass, tough enough to live in a truck bed.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

ReelAbu Garcia Black Max baitcasting reelAn inexpensive baitcaster that casts cleanly once the brakes are set.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

Soft plasticZoom Trick WormThe Tennessee standard on a Texas rig or weightless along docks and grass edges.Shop on Amazon →Why it is on the list

Full largemouth bass checklist (11 items)All gear checklists

Spending more? The bigger purchases, compared side by side:

Smallmouth Bass checklist Crappie checklist Bluegill and Panfish checklist Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Measured from town

Where to fish near Nashville

The water within reach of Nashville is J. Percy Priest Lake, Old Hickory Lake, Cheatham Lake and 4 more.

Everything on this page is sorted by straight-line distance from Nashville, not by which county it sits in. Several of the closest spots to Nashville are across a county line, which is exactly the kind of thing a county-by-county list hides.

What it looks like

The water around Nashville

Photographs of the lakes and rivers on this page. Drag or swipe for more. Every picture opens that water’s own page.

J. Percy Priest LakeOpen the J. Percy Priest Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

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

Cumberland RiverOpen the Cumberland River page →U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not s / Public domain

Stones RiverOpen the Stones River page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

J. Percy Priest LakeOpen the J. Percy Priest Lake page →Brian Stansberry / CC BY 3.0

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

No boat

Bank fishing near Nashville

3 public fishing piers within reach of Nashville. No boat needed for any of them.

Free5 out of 5facilitiesMarina · MarinaBlackjack Cove MarinaOld Hickory Lake · 10 mi from NashvilleRiverside Drive1 ramp, 1 lanefishing pierrestroomsrentalsDirections and detail →36.25110, -86.64095 Free4 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · USACECook Recreation AreaJ. Percy Priest Lake · 11 mi from NashvilleI-40 to exit 221, OH Blvd to Bell Rd, Bell Rd to South New Hope Rd1 ramp, 2 lanesfishing pieraccessible parkingDirections and detail →36.13189, -86.59539 Free5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · CitySanders Ferry ParkOld Hickory Lake · 12 mi from Nashville1 ramp, 3 lanesfishing pierrestroomsDirections and detail →36.24960, -86.60430

Shoreline access in Davidson County

Stewart Creek enhanced bank fishing site (Smyrna, Rutherford Co. but the flagship Percy Priest shore site, full-size pier plus five large fishing platforms linked by paved greenway); Vivrette Creek enhanced bank fishing site (Davidson Co., full-size pier, a fishing jetty and four smaller platforms on a paved path); the Percy Priest dam tailwater bank; the Old Hickory dam tailwater bank; Shelby Park and Shelby Bottoms Greenway along the Cumberland; Peeler Park; Cumberland River Greenway and Riverfront Park downtown; Two Rivers Park at the Stones/Cumberland confluence; Cedar Hill Park pond; Centennial Park’s Lake Watauga; Willow Pond at Percy Warner Park; Little Harpeth River in Edwin Warner Park; Marrowbone Lake pier

What is in there

Fish and limits around Nashville

Water around Nashville holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass, striped bass, hybrid striped bass and white bass.

The three reservoirs have genuinely different bass rules and this catches people out. Percy Priest: largemouth 5/day, 15-inch minimum; crappie 30/day, 10-inch minimum; hybrid striped bass 2/day, 15-inch minimum; catfish unlimited under 34 inches, one over. Old Hickory: black bass 5/day combined but largemouth at a 14-inch minimum and smallmouth at 18 inches; crappie 30/day, 10-inch minimum; sauger 10/day, 15-inch minimum; walleye 5/day, 16-inch minimum; striped bass 2/day, 15-inch minimum. Cheatham: largemouth 14-inch minimum, smallmouth 18-inch, crappie 30/day at 10 inches. Marrowbone Lake runs agency-lake rules: largemouth 5/day with a 14–18 inch protected length range and one fish over 18 inches permitted, bluegill unlimited, redear 20/day, crappie 15/day at 10 inches, catfish 5/day, trout 7/day. Trout regulations and the trout licence requirement apply seasonally at Shelby Bottoms, Marrowbone Lake, Cedar Hill Park Pond and the J. Percy Priest tailwater, all of which are on the TWRA winter rainbow trout stocking schedule. Fishing is not permitted at Radnor Lake State Natural Area. Consumption advisories apply to some Cumberland River species, check the current TDEC advisory lis

From TWRA’s statewide creel and length limits, last updated 4 August 2026. Water-specific exceptions change, so check the current guide before keeping a fish.

Weather

Nashville fishing weather and wind forecast

Wed, Sep 30 night

67°F

Partly Cloudy

Wind SSE 5 mph

0% chance of rain

Thu, Oct 1

94°F

Mostly Sunny

Wind S 5 to 10 mph

0% chance of rain

Thu, Oct 1 night

73°F

Partly Cloudy

Wind S 5 to 10 mph

11% chance of rain

Fri, Oct 2

88°F

Showers And Thunderstorms Likely

Wind SW 5 to 10 mph

74% chance of rain

Fri, Oct 2 night

65°F

Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Showers And Thunderstorms Likely

Wind NNE 5 mph

57% chance of rain

Sat, Oct 3

78°F

Showers And Thunderstorms Likely

Wind NE 5 to 10 mph

65% chance of rain

National Weather Service forecast, updated 6:51 PM, Wed, Sep 30.

Sun and moon, Thu, Oct 8

Sunrise6:49 AMCDT

Sunset6:22 PMCDT

First light6:23 AMLast light 6:48 PM

Daylight11 hr 34 minSunrise to sunset

MoonWaning crescent8% lit. New moon in 3 days

21 public boat launches in Davidson County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people ask

Fishing near Nashville: common questions

Where is the closest place to fish to Nashville?

Shelby Park Boat Ramp on Cheatham Lake, about 3 miles from Nashville in Davidson County. It is a boat launch.

How many fishing spots are near Nashville?

There are 40 public access points within about 30 miles of Nashville, 20 of them boat launches, across 7 named waters.

Can I fish near Nashville without a boat?

Yes. Blackjack Cove Marina on Old Hickory Lake has a fishing pier and is about 10 miles from Nashville. There are 3 piers within range in total.

Do I need a license to fish near Nashville?

Yes, anyone 13 and over. 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 sells no non-resident one-day license. Note the $33 combination license does not cover trout, that needs the $21 supplemental.

What is the best lake near Nashville?

J. Percy Priest Lake carries the most public access within reach of Nashville, followed by Old Hickory Lake. Which one fishes best depends entirely on the season and what you are after.

Where can I buy bait near Nashville?

Finn’s Tackle Shop, 3676 Bell Rd, Nashville, live bait (minnows, shiners, leeches, worms), frozen and preserved bait, local tackle brands, rod rentals and rod storage. The Nashville gear page has the rest, plus rental and licenses.

What fish can you catch near Nashville?

Mainly largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass, striped bass, hybrid striped bass and white bass.

Towns near here

Towns near Nashville

The nearest towns to Nashville with pages of their own. If nothing near Nashville suits, one of these usually does.

9 miles from Nashville · Williamson CountyFishing near BrentwoodJ. Percy Priest Lake, Cumberland RiverSee the spots →13 miles from Nashville · Sumner CountyFishing near HendersonvilleOld Hickory Lake, Cheatham LakeSee the spots →15 miles from Nashville · Wilson CountyFishing near Mount JulietOld Hickory Lake, J. Percy Priest LakeSee the spots →17 miles from Nashville · Williamson CountyFishing near FranklinHarpeth River, J. Percy Priest LakeSee the spots →19 miles from Nashville · Rutherford CountyFishing near SmyrnaJ. Percy Priest Lake, West Fork Stones RiverSee the spots →

Nashville water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill.

Wider net

Davidson County beyond Nashville

Nashville is one town in Davidson County. The county page covers every water inside the county line, including the ones nowhere near Nashville.

Fishing in Davidson County

With a guide

Fishing near Nashville with a guide

Local captains who run the water near Nashville are listed on the guides page with their own phone numbers. You call and book with them directly.

Tennessee guides by water

Keep going

More Nashville 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