WATER LEVEL KENTUCKY LAKE: 355.4
WATER TEMP: 68 DEGREES
WATER LEVEL LAKE BARKLEY: 355.4
TEMP: 68 DEGREEES WATER
Both lakes are about 1.5 feet over winter pool with water clarity ranging from slightly stained to clear. The cooler nights and days the last 2 weeks have lowered the water temps about 10 degrees and started the Bass to move to their shallow water haunts. Heavy rains in the last 24 hours should continue to cool our water temps and signal the start of our fall fishing patterns. The Shad minnows are schooling on the main lake ledges and points with the Bass being receptive to early and late topwater fishing.
The Bass at present can be taken with a variety of angling methods by fishing ledges, flats, gravel bars, main lake and secondary points. I fished two days last week for Crappie and caught 20+ each trip, the fish were taken over Crappie structure in 10-20 feet of water by casting jigs and vertically fishing jigs and minnows. We also caught several big Bluegill and tons of Yellow Bass while Crappie fishing those days. The White Bass are still being caught on the main lake river channel ledges with some schools starting to move into the bays and the creeks. Good catches of quality Bluegill are being taken on gravel bars and main lake shorelines in 6-16 feet of water. The Blue Cats are starting to school up in 35-50 feet of water on main lake islands and river channels with the Channel Cats being caught on the secondary channels and deeper flats. All things considered I would rate the fishing above average for this time of the year. I would expect all species to continue to improve as the summer weather turns to fall with the cooler days and nights. When booking a guide to pre-fish for your fall classic or year-end tournament make sure and inquire as to how many teams he will be guiding, to many times in the last few years I have seen 5 or 6 teams show up on the same fish which can put these teams at a disadvantage for their tournament. I have made it a policy not to guide more than 2 teams per tournament and make every effort to fish different areas of the lake with these teams. This sometimes costs me bookings and money but it is how I would want to be treated if I were fishing a tournament!
LARGEMOUTH: As I mentioned above you can employ several different patterns with the present conditions to catch Bass. The last 10 days have produced some good ledge fishing with most of the fish caught on football head jig/trailer combinations in black/blue and green pumpkin colors. Other good producers are 10 inch worms in plum, junebug, and electric blue colors, large white spinnerbaits slow rolled and 4 inch spoons cast and retrieved with a bottom bouncing pumping action. The crankbait fishing has picked up recently with numerous fish being take on series 5 Strike King and Bomber Fat Free Shad baits. Several fish can be taken shallow on topwaters, Rattle Traps, and spinnerbaits fished on points and main lake shorelines. As is normal for this time of year the Carolina- Rig fishing is starting to pick up with good numbers being taken in 8-25 feet of water on creature baits and 4-6 in. finesse worms. About a week ago we found two schools of fish on straight pea gravel banks busting schools of Shad in the middle of the day and managed to catch about 20 on Pop R’s and rattletraps before we wore them out. Some of the fish weighed up 3 ½ lbs which surprised me since most schoolers will be smaller Bass. The best topwater action of the year is here so give us a call to experience this exiting action!
SMALLMOUTH: To my surprise recently most of the quality Smallies I’ve taken have been on topwaters during the early mornings hours on chunk rock and gravel banks close to deep water. We have caught some on finesse jigs, shakey-head jigs and Carolina rigged creature baits but not the quality taken the first 2-3 hours of the A.M. on topwaters. There is nothing more exciting than catching these Bronze Backed Battlers on topwaters so give us a call to experience this fantastic angling adventure!
CRAPPIE: The majority of the fish are being taken on secondary channels in 8-18 feet of water over Crappie structure we have dropped with a few fish being taken on structure at the mouths of the bays and creeks. The best producing baits are 1/8 oz. jigs with chartreuse/glitter twister-tails cast over the structure or tubes or minnows fished vertically. The Crappie has shown a vast improvement in the last 2 weeks and should continue to improve as the fall progresses.
WHITE BASS: The whites continue to be caught on the main river channel ledges on in-line spinners and ½ oz. jigging spoons in chrome and white colors. A few schools are beginning to show up in the bays and creeks as they begin their fall migration. The Stripe fishing is as good as it gets right now with the shad schooling on the main lake ledges with the Stripes feeding on top or right below the balls of Shad.
CATFISH: The Blues are being caught in 35-50 feet of water on main river channel ledges and islands on large minnows and Yellowtail Shad fished vertically. This is the time of the year the Blue cats start to school so when you locate them the action can be fast and furious. The Channels are being taken in 15- 25 feet of water on shrimp/leech combinations fishing secondary channels and ledges close to main lake flats.
BLUEGILL: Quality Bluegill can be caught on main lake shorelines and gravel bars at the mouths of the bays and creeks. Several Gills are beginning to show up on Crappie structure in 8-16 feet of water close to the main lake and secondary channels. Small jigs, crickets, meal worms, and nightcrawlers are the best bets for bait.
SEASONAL REMINDERS:
- Tournament fishermen don’t forget to book your pre-fishing trips if you have an upcoming year-end tournament or fall classic on the lake.
- Crappie fishermen now is the time to book for the Fall Crappie Run, in the last 10 we have days booked over 25 trips in October, November, and December so contact us soon!
- Sauger fisherman late October, November, and December is the time frame to catch these tasty fish so give us a call to enjoy some fine winter fish fries.
- Make sure and check out our Fantastic Fishing Packages for fall and winter on our website. We
are the only guide service to offer these packages and can customize them to fit your needs!
Thanks to all my past and new clients for the last 2 great weeks of new bookings! We have openings available so contact us by E-Mail or our toll free number to insure your dates and Packages!
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