Lake conditions: Water color has been pretty good across the reservoir this week. Lake levels are a few inches above normal but nothing too drastic for mid-April. Elevation is projected to hang around the 357.6 range this weekend. Normal summer pool level is 359 and TVA’s target date for that each year is May 1. The average Lake temperature for both Kentucky and Barkley lakes is 62 degrees.
LARGEMOUTH BASS: Rising lake levels have now brought some bass toward shallow shorelines where dead grass is attracting them just outside of pockets and shoreline habitat most of which is still a bit too shallow. Casting Texas rigged lizards and craws have worked well at times as have shallow running crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Still popular have been crankbaits on gravel points and roadbeds and around rip-rap banks. Try spinnerbaits, shallow crankbaits, or plastics fished around cover or wood. Some really nice bass are being caught.
SMALLMOUTH BASS: Bite is slow. A few fish are being caught around rocky shorelines near deep water, main lake points, and the Canal with suspending jerk baits.
CRAPPIE: Barkley Lake is a little tougher fishing for crappie than Kentucky Lake, but the fish are much fatter. If you want to catch nice crappie, now if the time to be out there. Good crappie are being caught anywhere from two feet to 22 feet deep. Minnows, plastics, crankbaits are all catching fish. Find structure in medium to shallow water and the crappie will be close by. A few anglers have managed to take limits of crappie while long lining or spider rigging but not everyone has been catching crappie on a consistent basis. In fact, for the vast majority the spring crappie bite has been below average this year. Crappie continued to stage in open water flats and bays this week, suspending out over midrange depths instead of heading toward shallow structure such as manmade stakebeds and brushpiles.
BLUEGILL/RED EARS: There are reports of a few nice Bluegill and Red Ear caught on night crawlers under a bobber. Red Ears can be found in areas with gravel substrate and vegetation. Red ear generally spawn a bit deeper than bluegill from late April through May. If you catch one fish, keep fishing the same spot as these fish often make colonial spawning beds. If you’re looking for trophy red ear, Lake Barkley is your destination
CATFISH: The Blue catfish bite is picking up. Look for good flow in the lake for best fishing conditions. Good numbers of 10 to 20 pounders are being caught using fresh caught shad or skipjack. But cut up pieces of silver carp also works well.
WHITE & YELLOW BASS: Only a few yellows have been caught with not much size but they do frequent the same areas as crappies do.
