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Bass biting on still-shallow Kentucky Lake
Monday, March 1, 2009
Written By: Jerry
Maupin, Kentucky Lake Professional Fishing Guide
http://www.jerrymaupin.com
Last Friday, my brother-in-law, Willie Jackson,
was at my residence by 6 a.m. and was looking to go fishing with me.
Neither one of us was moving very swiftly but we hooked onto my boat and
headed toward Kenlake State Park.
The air was crisp and cool but was not going to
be a problem this day.
Soon we were launched and on our way south. I had
been studying the lake elevation and input of waters coming into our
region for several days and had an idea where the largemouth bass could
be found. The elevation was below normal due to the season plus the
forecast of possibly more rainfall coming soon always calls for a drop
in elevation.
I took Willie into some nice coves where we could
be protected from any strong winds and we tied our crankbaits on, hands
shaking a little. It didn't take long for Willie to score on a good bass
and our day had begun in style. We had to net his fish because it was a
nice one.
I changed my color lure to match Willie's and
never looked back.
We were hot and heavy on these beautiful bass and
it was such a great day for both of us.
We caught our limits of largemouth bass but
released all of our fish so we could do this again.
Some of the bass were three pounders.
The lake elevation was down below spring level so
we had to be careful about where we could run. If you are not sure where
the cuts and clear channels are, please slow down to avoid a bad
accident. It will be several weeks before the lake will be brought up to
spring elevation.
There are so many miles of water coming from the
south, which is the Tennessee River, that one sometimes becomes confused
if they are a tourist angler.
Just use common sense and stay afloat.
After Willie and I had such fun I asked my wife,
Jeanne, if she would enjoy a trip onto the Land Between the Lakes and
possibly catch some good bass.
Needless to ask that question, so we were off
again, only we were not taking a boat this time. There were zero parking
spaces available at most ramps, but that was no problem. I had chosen an
area on the Land Between the Lakes where we could walk and cast all our
hearts desired.
The really neat thing about some of the bays is
they were too shallow for boats to come into the area.
We were able to walk along the shoreline and cast
all we wanted to. Oh yes, the elevation was just perfect for the bass to
prowl the shorelines and search for crawfish or shad minnows.
Now the main lake was pretty choppy so we kept
ourselves on the inside shallow banks to fish the waters we wanted and
honestly we had just as much fun as we could have in our boat and a lot
more comfortable. We each caught our limits of bass but only kept two
for dinner. It was such a fun trip we must try it again.
Happy Fishing!
Jerry Maupin
Editor's Note: Jerry's weekly column appears in the Saturday edition
of the Murray Ledger & Times |
