Fishing may improve with the cooler weather, clouds and rainfall. Some of the best fishing can be found on rainy days. Just be sure that no lightning is around. As the lake level continues down to winter pool, please be mindful of the Asian carp nets that are being set in the bays and main lake. Don’t forget to wear your PFDs when the boat is above idle speed. They won’t save your life if they are stashed away under the other junk we all cram into our storage areas. Leave the alcohol on the bank for later. Very few seem to know that a boat operator in KY can be arrested and charged with DUI while operating a boat, same as behind the wheel of a vehicle on Kentucky roads.
LARGEMOUTH BASS: Overall, Largemouth fishing is slow. A few Largemouth are being taken on the ledges on the main lakes and around the mouths of the deeper creeks and bays. The ledge bite is slow. These fish are being taken with Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, jigs, drop shots, shaky heads and swim baits. Largemouth are also being taken in the creeks and bays on channel banks and secondary points, especially those with wood cover. These fish are being taken on spinner baits, top water lures, shaky heads, ned rigs, Texas rigged creature baits and finesse jigs.
SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on main lake points and on the ledges. These fish are being taken early in the morning on top water lures and later in the day on Carolina rigged creature baits, jigs and tubes. This bite is slow also.
CRAPPIE: Some anglers are fishing ledges, flats in 12-20 feet of water, around scattered brush and stakebeds, and channels to catch fish. It is the same for both Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. Some limits of small fish being caught spider rigging with jigs and minnows on shallower flats, water 8-12 feet deep. Overall, the bite is slow.
BLUEGILL/RED EARS: The hunt for Bluegill may be picking up just a bit. A few anglers have caught some nice gills while fishing with bladebaits. There are reports of some nice bluegill being caught in water 6-10 feet deep. Try worms, crickets or Popeye jigs with wax worms on a drop-shot rig.
CATFISH: No change here. Anglers have caught cats casting Steelshads and Ken’s Hybrid spinners. A lot of bluecats in the 3 to 6-pound range along with some channel cats. On Barkley, use shrimp here if you’re fishing on bottom along the channel. Depths of 35 to 40 feet were holding fish pretty good and anglers were using also nightcrawlers and chicken livers.
WHITE & YELLOW BASS: The whitebass fishing has been more on than off especially on days when the current has been heavy. The yellow bass have been great this year and both are great at pulling hard on your line. Somedays we have been using 3/8-ounce inline spinners in white with a silver blade. Hit bottom then reel at a medium retrieve about 8 times around. Then open the bail and let the lure sink back to bottom. Repeat back to the boat. Jigging spoons have worked some also. All of these fish caught were on 15 to 25-foot ledges off the main river channel. Using my Lowrance unit on downscan has been the key to finding the schools of fish.
