Every Boat Ramp on Boone Lake

About Boone Lake

Boone Lake is a 4,400-acre TVA reservoir at the confluence of the South Fork Holston River and Watauga River in the Tri-Cities region of upper East Tennessee. With 130 miles of shoreline across Sullivan and Washington counties and depths reaching 100 feet, this scenic mountain lake serves as the home fishery for the combined metropolitan area of Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol, providing convenient access to quality fishing for over 500,000 residents. The lake winds through the rolling Appalachian foothills and offers a pleasant mix of residential shoreline and undeveloped natural areas.

Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass provide the backbone of the Boone Lake fishery, with both species benefiting from the lake's diverse habitat of docks, rocky points, and creek channel structure. Crappie fishing is outstanding during the spring spawn when fish push into the shallow coves and around brush piles and dock pilings. Walleye have been stocked and provide a growing fishery that excites cool-weather anglers targeting the deeper main-lake structure. Catfish offer excellent fishing in the river channel areas, and Striped Bass add big-fish excitement with their open-water surface-feeding frenzies during the fall shad migration.

Boone Lake offers several public boat ramps, including facilities at Boone Dam and multiple TVA-managed access points spread across the two-county shoreline. The lake recently underwent a multi-year TVA dam repair project that included shoreline improvements. Whether you are skipping jigs under docks for Largemouth Bass, jigging for Walleye in the deep river channel, or chasing Striped Bass boils on an autumn evening, Boone Lake delivers reliable fishing in the scenic Appalachian foothills of the Tri-Cities region.

Nearest towns: Johnson City, Kingsport, Boones Creek