Dover · Stewart County

Fishing Near Dover, Tennessee

Q: Where can I buy bait near Dover?

- Swan's Bait and Tackle, 1601 Highway 79, Dover — (931) 305-6043. Listed on YellowPages. The Dover gear page has the rest, plus rental and licenses.

Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake. Every public launch and pier within about 30 minutes of Dover, and where to buy what you forgot on the way.

Find fishing spots85 public access points within 35 miles Find gear & bait13 bait and tackle shops within 40 miles

Closest first

Every public access within reach of Dover

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

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

Lake Barkley

Kentucky Lake

Other water

Free2 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · USFWSBennett’s Creek Boat Ramp13 mi from Dover · Henry Co.1 ramp, 1 laneDirections and detail →36.37542, -88.03178

What to bring

What to bring fishing near Dover

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 Striper and Hybrid checklist Fish Finders compared Trolling Motors compared Lithium Marine Batteries compared Shallow Water Anchors compared

Measured from town

Where to fish near Dover

The water within reach of Dover is Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake.

Everything on this page is sorted by straight-line distance from Dover, not by which county it sits in. Several of the closest spots to Dover 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 Dover

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

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

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

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

Kentucky LakeOpen the Kentucky Lake page →Thomas R Machnitzki / CC BY-SA 3.0

Lake BarkleyOpen the Lake Barkley page →United States. Army. Corps Of Engineers. Nashvil / Public domain

Kentucky LakeOpen the Kentucky Lake page →Thomas R Machnitzki / CC BY-SA 3.0

No boat

Bank fishing near Dover

6 public fishing piers within reach of Dover. No boat needed for any of them.

Free5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · CityLick CreekLake Barkley · 1 mi from DoverColson Rd, Dover, TN1 ramp, >3 lanesfishing pierrestroomsaccessible parkingDirections and detail →36.48980, -87.81530 Launch fee4.5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · USFSPiney CampgroundKentucky Lake · 11 mi from DoverUSFS LBL, Piney Campground2 ramps, 1 lanefishing pierrestroomsDirections and detail →36.49080, -88.03294 Launch fee5 out of 5facilitiesMarina · Private LandLeatherwood Resort & MarinaKentucky Lake · 12 mi from DoverRT 79 W to 232 S to Brownfield Rd W to Leatherwood Bay Rd1 ramp, 2 lanesfishing piercanoe / kayak landingrestroomsrentalsaccessible parkingDirections and detail →36.37000, -87.98500 Free5 out of 5facilitiesMarina · TDECParis Landing State Park MarinaKentucky Lake · 14 mi from DoverParis, HWY 79N1 ramp, 3 lanesfishing pierrestroomsrentalsaccessible parkingDirections and detail →36.44350, -88.08360 Free5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · CountyDanvilleKentucky Lake · 14 mi from Dover1 ramp, 2 lanesfishing pierrestroomsDirections and detail →36.30386, -87.94655 Launch fee5 out of 5facilitiesBoat Launch · Private LandBuchanan ResortKentucky Lake · 16 mi from DoverHWY 79N, East Antioch, Follow signs1 ramp, 1 lanefishing pierrestroomsrentalsDirections and detail →36.41590, -88.10990

Shoreline access in Stewart County

Cross Creeks NWR pool banks and levees (15 Mar–31 Oct, daylight only; no fishing from designated bridges); Standing Rock Creek road crossings; Fort Donelson National Battlefield river frontage on the Cumberland at Dover; Bards Lake shoreline; Leatherwood Bay shoreline; LBL lakeshore along the Trace and the Fort Henry/Piney area.

What is in there

Fish and limits around Dover

Water around Dover holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, striped bass, white bass, sauger, catfish, gar and skipjack herring.

Barkley and Kentucky Lake both run crappie 20/day with a 10″ minimum and black bass 5/day with a 15″ minimum on largemouth and smallmouth (spotted bass no length limit); catfish unlimited under 34″ with one over. Bards Lake: trotlines and limblines prohibited, jugs 1 Oct–21 Mar at 10 per person, 20 redear/day, 15 crappie. Cross Creeks NWR: 15 Mar–31 Oct daylight only, no trotlines/limblines/jugs/slat baskets, no bows and arrows, boats removed daily, Barkley limits apply, refuge may close for flooding or nesting bald eagles. Rushing Bay back half closed 1 Nov–15 Mar. Kentucky Lake reciprocal with Kentucky from the Ned McWherter Bridge (US 79/TN 76) north to Eggner’s Ferry Bridge, excluding the Blood River embayment. LBL requires the relevant state’s license depending on which side you’re fishing.

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

Dover fishing weather and wind forecast

Thu, Oct 1 night

66°F

Partly Cloudy

Wind SSE 5 mph

0% chance of rain

Thu, Oct 1

90°F

Mostly Sunny

Wind S 5 to 10 mph

0% chance of rain

Thu, Oct 1 night

70°F

Partly Cloudy then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms

Wind S 5 mph

33% chance of rain

Fri, Oct 2

78°F

Showers And Thunderstorms

Wind WSW 5 mph

80% chance of rain

Fri, Oct 2 night

61°F

Showers And Thunderstorms Likely

Wind NNE 0 to 5 mph

58% chance of rain

Sat, Oct 3

73°F

Rain Showers Likely

Wind NE 5 mph

61% chance of rain

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

Sun and moon, Thu, Oct 8

Sunrise6:53 AMCDT

Sunset6:26 PMCDT

First light6:27 AMLast light 6:52 PM

Daylight11 hr 33 minSunrise to sunset

MoonWaning crescent8% lit. New moon in 3 days

29 public boat launches in Stewart County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.

Questions people ask

Fishing near Dover: common questions

Where is the closest place to fish to Dover?

Dover Landing on Lake Barkley, right in Dover, Stewart County. It is a boat launch.

How many fishing spots are near Dover?

There are 40 public access points within about 30 miles of Dover, 37 of them boat launches, across 2 named waters.

Can I fish near Dover without a boat?

Yes. Lick Creek on Lake Barkley has a fishing pier and is about a mile from Dover. There are 6 piers within range in total.

Do I need a license to fish near Dover?

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 Dover?

Lake Barkley carries the most public access within reach of Dover, followed by Kentucky Lake. Which one fishes best depends entirely on the season and what you are after.

Where can I buy bait near Dover?

– Swan’s Bait and Tackle, 1601 Highway 79, Dover, (931) 305-6043. Listed on YellowPages. The Dover gear page has the rest, plus rental and licenses.

What fish can you catch near Dover?

Mainly largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, striped bass, white bass, sauger, catfish, gar and skipjack herring.

Towns near here

Towns near Dover

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

27 miles from Dover · Montgomery CountyFishing near ClarksvilleLake Barkley, Red RiverSee the spots →30 miles from Dover · Henry CountyFishing near ParisKentucky Lake, Garrett LakeSee the spots →38 miles from Dover · Dickson CountyFishing near DicksonHarpeth River, Cheatham LakeSee the spots →53 miles from Dover · Robertson CountyFishing near SpringfieldCheatham Lake, Old Hickory LakeSee the spots →58 miles from Dover · Weakley CountyFishing near MartinReelfoot Lake, South Fork of the Obion RiverSee the spots →

Dover water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, striped bass.

Wider net

Stewart County beyond Dover

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

Fishing in Stewart County

With a guide

Fishing near Dover with a guide

Local captains who run the water near Dover 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 Dover 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