Every Boat Ramp on Kentucky Lake (Tennessee)

About Kentucky Lake (Tennessee)

Kentucky Lake is the largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River, and its Tennessee portion alone encompasses 160,300 acres across five counties with an astounding 2,064 miles of shoreline. Created by Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River, this massive impoundment reaches depths of 75 feet and stretches from the Kentucky border south through the rolling hills of West Tennessee, offering a seemingly endless expanse of fishable water that supports one of the most productive warm-water fisheries in the nation. The towns of Paris, Camden, and New Johnsonville serve as primary access points on the Tennessee side of this legendary lake.

Crappie fishing is king on Kentucky Lake, with the Tennessee portion producing incredible catches of both black and white Crappie around the lake's extensive system of stakebeds, brush piles, and submerged timber. Spring Crappie fishing draws thousands of anglers to Paris Landing State Park and the Big Sandy area each year. Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Kentucky Bass provide outstanding fishing along the lake's ledges, points, and creek channel swings, with the famous ledge-fishing pattern producing impressive stringers during summer months. Catfish and Sauger round out the fishery, with channel and blue cats reaching impressive sizes in the main river channel.

Boat ramps are plentiful on the Tennessee portion of Kentucky Lake, with major facilities at Paris Landing State Park, Birdsong Marina near Camden, and New Johnsonville. The Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge encompasses significant portions of the lake's shoreline, providing habitat for both wildlife and fish. Whether you are pulling Crappie from brush piles in the Big Sandy embayment, cranking summer ledges for bass tournaments, or drifting the main channel for trophy Catfish, the Tennessee portion of Kentucky Lake delivers big-water fishing on a scale that is difficult to comprehend until you experience it firsthand.

Nearest towns: Paris, Camden, New Johnsonville