Kentucky Lake Bass Fishing Reports

[Ranger375]

Kentucky Lake Reports...

[Phil Carver]

I would just like to see what the current water conditions on the lake are . Have they started dropping the lakes yet ?

[bass1cpr]

     Midwest yes they have already dropped it two feet.

[Phil Carver]

I wish they wouldnt start drawing it down until the middle of October . That way when I come down the first week it would be still fishin good . We atleast it would give me better confidence . 

[DAWG]

Do they have a power plant on the lake like Dale Hollow

[bass1cpr]

Dawg yes they generate power on Kentucky Lake.

[bassman20002002]

Hey
I fished a tournament on Ken Lake last weekend.  And the fishing wasn't much to brag about.  I caught over 20 bass, but only 1 keeper.  So if you are looking to have a great trip to Kentucky Lake, take my advise.  Early in the morning, find you bigger, deeper bays.  Go to the first or second pocket back into the bay, and look for hydrillia, you will find it no problem.  Cast a horney toad over the cover and retrieve just fast enough to keep it on top of the water.  Expect some explosive stikes.
Also later in the day, find your bridges and neck downs, in the backs of creeks, and parallel the pillings with a 300 series white bandit crankbait.

I can't get much more specific than that because I don't want to give away any of my specific spots.

Good Luck, and good fishing

[wareagle71]

Great info Bassman, it has been tough all over, but I think you are right about the morning.  Nothing better than an explosive strike coming deep from some nice cover to get the blood pumping early in the morning.

Keep us posted.

WAR

[bass1cpr]

     Bassman20002 that's not hydrilla on Kentucky it's coontail. Just thought I'd help ya get a bearing on what kind of grass they have.

[Phil Carver]

Thanks for keeping us updated . I cant wait to get down there , only 26 days to go . Water should be down pretty good by the time I get there though . I hope I can get a patern going for the tourny .

[bass1cpr]

     Another thing that make Kentucky Lake mornings a great top water bite is if they are pulling water. Catch it on the points near a chanel swing and hang on to your rod and don't set the drag to tight. A Lucky Craft Sammy or a Zara Spook.

[cable guy]

fished a tournament at kentucky lake this weekend, the water is low, it is 2 ft below summer pool. prefished the land between the lakes side smith bay, duncan bay, and sugar aby with no good results, swung over to big bear creek and found fish, all the fish, weigheed in at this 2 dayer came from that side of the lake, the winning stringer came from jonathon creek,fishing jigs,2nd 3rd and fourth came from bear creek, bug bass which i had came from bear creek, the bite was on jigs, finnesse worms and power worms, a few fish came on buzzbaits, there are small fish all over the banks, you have to find the bigger ones,they generated power all day saturuday and 600am they started sunday, it might have helped the ledge fisherman, but the main alke points were dead. good luck.

[MotherNature]

Sounds like you had a tough day on the water.

[bass1cpr]

   His bug bass was actually BIG BASS. 

[wareagle71]

Good Report Cable.  I actually got a little break this morning.. nailed 2-18" and a 16" smallmouth with buzzbaits in a creek in Indianapolis.  Caught 20 other little assorted fish and had a great wade.  Can't wait for this cold front to work through and cool things off a bit.

WAR

[Lipripper]

cable guy I use to go down there an dfish in the jonathon creek area for Crappies. there are som eBig Ones in tha tlake as I'm sure you know 

[DAWG]

Here is another report I was able to find
Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Ky Dam - 355.42 Surface Temperature - 62
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 355.20 Surface Temperature - 62

Both lakes are slightly over one foot above winter pool. We had more record breaking warm weather this week accompanied by some high winds which has kept the water temperatures up in the low 60's. A cooling period is in the forecast so we should see the water temps drop slightly over the next few days. As reported last week the fishing is still feast of famine depending on which side of the latest cold front you are fishing on. Some very good days are being reported and some slow days are being reported. One thing is for sure, the fall bite is on and there is still plenty of fall fishing left to be done. This time of fall is a great time to be on the lakes with very few pleasure boaters and not nearly as many anglers....reminds me of why I like hunting season so much and I don't even hunt.

The Largemouth Bass are being taken primarily in the bays. Some fish are being taken on humps and creek channel ledges but the primary pattern is on the secondary points and flats as the Largemouth are feeding on the schools of baitfish. The deeper fish are being taken on Carolina rigged small creature baits and tubes. The fish on the secondary points are being taken on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, tube jigs and jignpig. The shallow fish are being taken on lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and tube jigs. There has been a few reports of a topwater bite also.

The Smallmouth Bass are being taken on main lake points and front secondary points in the bays. These fish are being taken on crankbaits, tube jigs and jignpig. Some Smallmouth are being taken early and late in the day on the flats in the bays on lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy in american shad, Rebel Pop R in black/chrome, Bandit crankbaits in craw/chartruese and white, S&S rattletraps in threadfin shad pattern, Hook Some Bass spinnerbaits in blue glimmer, Hook Some Bass tubes in chameleon craw and green pumpkin and Zoom baby brush hogs in watermelon/candy.


Report Courtesy of Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service

[wareagle71]

Report for 11-23-05

Fishing has been the best this past week than it has for some time.
Crappie fishing is excellent. The crappie are around brush in 5' to 10'
of water. Mister Twister Curly Tail and minnow have both been producing
good catches. The crappie are up shallow feeding on minnows for the
winter.

Sauger have been hitting fair in the lakes but the fish are
running small. Good size sauger are being caught in the tail waters.
Kentucky Dam seems to be a bit better now. Bottom bouncing minnows at
25' to 30' has been the better bait. Some are also being caught bouncing
jigs.

Catfishing is also fair to good on cut bait. Fish along the old
river channels for blues and along the rocks for the channel cats.

Whitebass have been slow.

Bluegill are good around the docks and some of
the deeper cover.

The water temps are in the upper 50's and good fishing
should continue for several more weeks.

TIP: Fish slower in cool water.

THIS REPORT PROVIDED BY:
HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525

[wareagle71]

Crappie fishing WAS excellent.

The water temps were in the 50's and a
lot of big crappie have been caught. The weather has dropped the water
temps into the upper 40's and the bite has really slowed. It should pick
back up with a few days of warm sunshine. The black crappie were on the
banks in 5' of water. Most were caught on 1/16 ounce jigs with Mister
Twister Curly Tails. The white crappie were being caught in and around
brush in 10' of water.

Sauger has improved. Most are hitting minnows
along the old river channels. Sauger are also good in the tail waters.

Bluegill and whitebass are slow.

Blue cats are along the river channel
and are hitting cut bait.

Channel cats have been slow.

Strippers are
fair in the tail waters on live herring. Most have been caught bouncing
the bottom.

TIP: Be careful. The water is cold.

THIS REPORT PROVIDED BY:
HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525

[wareagle71]

Sauger and stripper fishing has been the better fishing this week.

Some good catches of sauger have come from below Kentucky Dam on jigs and
minnows fished off the bottom. Bright colored jigs have been working
best.

Striper are being caught on live baits fished along the bottom from both tail waters. 
The stripers and sauger are spotty yet but should only improve. 

The weather has kept the crappie fishermen and the
largemouth fishermen at home. There has been little activity to report.

Bluegill are slow.
Catfishing has been fair. Blue cats have been caught
along the river channels on yellowtail bounced along the bottom. Channel
cats have been slow.

TIP: Be careful. The water temps are in the upper 40's.


This report provided by:

HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525


WAR

[wareagle71]

The water temps dropped into the upper 30's this past week and really
slowed crappie fishing but has the sauger fishing excellent.

Good size sauger and good numbers have been being caught in Lake Barkley by
bouncing Mister Twister Sassy Shad along the bottom. Some are also
tipping with minnows. The fish are being caught along the old river
banks as deep as 50'. The cold temps have all the fish deeper than
usual. Some good reports have been coming in from the tailwaters for
sauger. Most are being caught bottom bouncing with the same baits but up
close to both dams.

Catfish has really slowed with the crappie.

Some scattered strippers have been taken from the tail waters of Kentucky
Dam. The water temps shouldn't drop much more and winter fishing has
started.

TIP: Fish deeper than you think you might normally.

This report provided by:

HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525

[wareagle71]

Sauger fishing has been very good this past week. Bouncing Sassy Shad
and minnows off the bottom has been the best method. The tail waters of
both dams including Smithland have been producing limits and good size
fish.

There have been few crappie fishermen out to report but they have
been reporting scattered catches.

Bluegill activity has been slow.

Catfishing in the tail waters and also in the lakes have been producing
some good size blue cats but not great numbers. Cut shad has been the
better bait.

Strippers have been caught below Kentucky Dam in good
numbers. Live herring and yellowtail bounced off the bottom have caught
the most fish. The sauger and strippers should be good for awhile now
that the water is cold.

TIP: Thinks safety on the cold water

This Report Provided By:

HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525

[wareagle71]

Sauger and strippers have been the better fishing this past week. The
number of fishermen has been low over the week. The holidays seem to
have kept the fishermen away from the lakes.

Strippers are fair to good in the tail waters of both lakes. Live herring has been the
better baits. Most have been fishing along the bottom.

Sauger have been good in the lakes but better in the tail waters. Jigs tipped with
minnows have been working the best. The tail waters at Smithland pool has been
producing the most sauger. The water levels have been going up and down
in the tail waters and makes some days good and the next slow.

Largemouth and bluegill should be considered slow with very little
activity.

Crappie are fair in the main lakes. Whitebass are slow.

TIP: After a couple of days sunshine, winter fishing can be a pleasant
suprise.

This Report Provded By:
HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525

[wareagle71]

Sauger and catfish have been the best fishing this week.

Sauger have been spotty but very good some days in the tail waters of Lake Barkley.
Most have been caught close to the dam and a few catches have come from
farther down stream. 2" and 3" Sassy Shad alone and also tipped with
minnows have been catching most. A few scattered catches have come from
the canal area on Lake Barkley.

Blue cats have been hitting well along the river channel in Kentucky Lake. A few catches
of blue cats have been caught below Kentucky Dam. Cut shad and shad guts have been good baits.

Stripers have been slow.

Some good catches of crappie have come from the
Jonathan Creek on Kentucky Lake. Minnows and hair jigs caught most.
Hair jigs have worked better than plastic.

There has been little largemouth and bluegill fishing to report.

TIP: Stay safe around the cold water.

This Report Provided By:
HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525



WAR

[wareagle71]

Fishing has been scattered this week. The weather has kept most
fishermen inside.

Some sauger have been caught in the tail waters of both
lakes. Most have ben caught bouncing minnows off the bottom. Sauger in
the lakes have been slow mostly because of the windy conditions. It has
been hard to fish the main lake.

Bluegill and largemouth are slow.

There has been very little crappie fishing to report. The temps have warmed
and fishing will improve when the winds let up a bit.

TIP: Sometimes in winter the warmest water is near the shore.

This Report Provided By:

HOOK LINE & SINKER GUIDE SERVICE
1408 LAKE BARKLEY DR.
KUTTAWA, KY  42055
270-388-0525