With a guide
Guides and charters near Shady Grove Access
Captains who run Douglas Lake, with their own phone numbers. You call and book with them directly.
Skylar Hamilton Guide Service
Nathan Mountain Outdoors
Largemouth, smallmouth, crappie, bluegill, troutCall 423-726-0240nathanmountainoutdoors.com
StriperFun Guide Service
Cherokee Lake stripersCall 931-403-2501striperfun.com
What to bring
Tackle for Shady Grove Access
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.
Spending more? The bigger purchases, compared side by side:
How to get there
Getting to Shady Grove Access
Shady Grove Access is a public access point on Douglas Lake in Jefferson County, Tennessee, run by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
TWRA holds no written directions for Shady Grove Access. Use the coordinates below, which come straight from the state’s access record and drop you on the access point itself rather than on the nearest town.
Shady Grove Access is 3.5 miles south-west of Dandridge, the nearest town with its own page here. The closest other public access is Shady Grove (TVA), a few hundred yards to the south-west on the same water. For bait, Nathan Mountain Outdoors in Dandridge is about 4 miles away.
Coordinates 35.98327, -83.46488
What you can catch
Fish you can catch at Shady Grove Access
Douglas Lake holds these, according to the county research behind this site and TWRA’s own species notes.
TWRA calls it flatly the best crappie reservoir in East Tennessee, drawing thousands of anglers a year, and also one of the best largemouth fisheries in the region. The defining feature is the drawdown, elevation swings 60 feet between a 1,000 ft summer pool and a 940 ft winter pool, and the lake can rise 15 to 20 feet in a day or two after heavy rain.
Write the seasons honestly: spring and fall, not summer, when stratification and low dissolved oxygen make it hard.
What you can keep
Fishing limits at Shady Grove Access
What you can keep from Douglas Lake at Shady Grove Access. TWRA sets 5 rules just for Douglas Lake. They replace the statewide limit for those fish. Everything else follows the statewide limit.
| Fish | Daily limit | Length | Where or when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black bass (combined) | 5 | No length limit Oct 1–May 31; Jun 1–Sep 30 only one largemouth or smallmouth over 16 in | Spotted bass: no length limit year-round. Reservoir rules extend up to ENKA Dam (Nolichucky) and the Hwy 321 bridges on the Pigeon and French Broad |
| White bass | 15 white/striped/hybrid combined | No length limit | White bass, striped bass and hybrids count together |
| Striped bass | 15 white/striped/hybrid combined | No length limit | Douglas Lake rule |
| Walleye | 5 walleye/sauger combined | 15 in minimum | Also applies on the Pigeon and French Broad upstream to the NC line |
| Sauger | 5 walleye/sauger combined | No minimum, only one over 16 in | Includes sauger/walleye hybrids |
| Crappie | 15 | 10 in minimum | Statewide |
| Bluegill | No limit | No minimum | Statewide |
| Channel catfish | No limit under 34 in | Only one over 34 in | Statewide |
Other rules on Douglas Lake
- Henderson Island WMA rearing pond closed to fishing year-round.
From the 2026–27 Tennessee Fishing Guide (TWRA), in effect 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, checked 25 September 2026. Rules change, so check the guide before you keep a fish.
11 public boat launches in Jefferson County, counted from TWRA’s own access database.
What it looks like
Douglas Lake around Shady Grove Access
What the water at Shady Grove Access actually looks like. Drag or swipe through. Every picture opens that water’s own page.
Douglas LakeOpen the Douglas Lake page →Dwight Burdette / CC BY 3.0
Cherokee LakeOpen the Cherokee Lake page →TVA Web Team / CC BY 2.0
French Broad RiverOpen the French Broad River page →Pollinator at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
Douglas LakeOpen the Douglas Lake page →Pi.1415926535 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Cherokee LakeOpen the Cherokee Lake page →Dwight Burdette / CC BY 3.0
French Broad RiverOpen the French Broad River page →U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region / Public domainNext one along
More Douglas Lake access near Shady Grove Access
The closest other public access points on Douglas Lake, measured straight line from Shady Grove Access. Each one opens its own page with directions.
Shady Grove Access water holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill.
Other water close by
Other fishing near Shady Grove Access
Public access on other water within 20 miles of Shady Grove Access, including French Broad River and Cherokee Lake. Handy when the wind is wrong on Douglas Lake or the ramp is busy.
Bait on the way
Bait and tackle near Shady Grove Access
The closest shops to Shady Grove Access that this site has checked. Nathan Mountain Outdoors in Dandridge is nearest, about 4 miles away. Call ahead in winter, when smaller shops cut their hours.
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Where to next
Around Shady Grove Access
Shady Grove Access is one access point. These pages cover the rest of the water and the rest of the county.