Fishing Report Archives

It’s fair to say this spring’s weather patterns and Kentucky Lake’s water levels have been rather weird! The average fisherman has a few more gray hairs and wrinkles in his forehead than last year at this time.

Will some semblance of normalcy every return? That’s a question anglers have been asking since back in mid-March around the Kentucky and Barkley Lakes region. The answer to that question could be a resounding yes as the seven day weather forecast is a good one.

Anglers have reason to smile a bit as temps should begin to rebound on Sunday and by next week the daily highs are forecast to return to normal, eclipsing the 70-degree mark for several consecutive days beginning Monday.

Barring any unusual storms with heavy rains lake levels should stay put to some degree. TVA has held the reservoir this week to normal summer pool elevation range of 359. While that level wasn’t supposed to arrive until May 1 it appears the agency will hold pretty close to that level as May approaches.

Surface temperatures this week reflected yet another series of cold fronts that pulled readings down from the upper 60’s and 70-degree mark recorded earlier this month. The week kicked off with a 62-degree range reading and has slowly rebounded to the 64 mark at midweek.

Anglers can expect to see a gradual increase in surface temps as the weekend arrives. Next week should see the water warm back to the 70-degree range and keep climbing.

Water color has been clearing and is in pretty good shape across the reservoir at present.

Still up for debate is the status of the crappie spawn. Has it happened and if so when did it peak? If it hasn’t happened then will a few crappie head to shallow shorelines in the days ahead as waters warm and stability in lake levels return?

This year’s spawning scenario has been quite a saga. A series of lake level fluctuations combined with crazy weather patterns have kept the fish off balance to some degree as to active spawning phases.

Although some anglers chalked up some hefty catching in early to mid-April in the upper end of Big Sandy around the New Hope and Country Junction area other sectors of the lake did not fare that well.

High lake levels saw crappie migrate early up Big Sandy and West Sandy and stay there.

Crappie seemed to linger longer in the midrange depths of 8 to 10 feet this year. They staged there in open water awaiting ideal conditions that never quite arrived.

Boats and pontoons drifting and slow trolling with both spider rig multi-pole presentations and long lining techniques have scored the best stringers thus far. That speaks volumes for the whereabouts of Kentucky Lake crappie which have been on the move and spent a lot of time off shore and suspended instead of relating to submerged structure.

No doubt crappie have been thrown off schedule this year. Their normal stair-step pattern enroute to shallow spawning habitat got derailed several times.

This week several fish backed off to deeper water in response to colder surface temperatures and nasty northwest winds. Some fish were taken in the 16-foot depth range in the Paris Landing and Big Sandy area around the power lines, although fish were quite scattered.

Just what the crappie will do in the days ahead is somewhat unknown. Yearning to see the return of crappie to buck bushes or shallow shorelines where casting grubs, tube jigs or minnows beneath slip-bobbers is a multitude of anglers.

It has been my experience over 44 years as a professional guide here on Kentucky Lake that once crappie start to shallow zones and get sidetracked by cold fronts and drastic changes in lake levels at the optimum time---which is early to mid-April---they never return to those areas during the spring in big numbers with a vengeance.

No doubt a few scattered crappie will venture to some shallow structure and shoreline habitat in the weeks ahead just because of ample water there. However, while there may be a few late spawners taken it won’t be that massive influx of aggressive fish like it would have been had the weather and water levels not interfered with the initial blitz.

Meanwhile, the fishing scene in the Paris Landing sector has been below average for crappie anglers. Those using vertical fishing techniques over manmade fish attractors such as stakebeds and brushpiles in shallow to midrange depths have not found fish this year in significant numbers.

Most of the crappie have been taken south of the powerlines. Even boaters applying spider rigging and long line techniques in a variety of depths have not found fish north of the power lines. Some popular areas with long standing reputations have just not attracted crappie like times past.

There are other bays and sectors of Kentucky Lake from the Blood River sector on south into Tennessee that have experienced low crappie numbers too. Again, the high lake levels and fluctuations have no doubt distributed the fish differently this year.

There have been a few anglers that seemed to outfox this spring’s weird whereabouts but for others the saga continues. Meanwhile, hiding and hoping for a late spawn phase are legions of fishermen who deserve a few nice days with fish biting instead of playing this game of hide and seek!

When I was in school majoring in biology there was an older fisheries biologist who befriended me and taught me a lot. His name was Ged Petit with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and I looked up to him in many ways. Although he is dead and gone I often recall conversations as to fish behavior and reactions to this or that.

I recall him stating that at spring spawning times if conditions are unfavorable such as repeated cold weather and fluctuations in lake levels the fish will tolerate it only so long and some may not spawn and perhaps reabsorb eggs. I don’t know if that scenario is unfolding this year but it has been on my mind!

Bass anglers have invaded the shorelines lately and enjoyed the ample opportunities to pitch and flip endless pockets and bays where buck bushes and willow trees await them.

Some nice stringers have been taken in-between cold fronts. A few days high winds and high skies seemed to diminish the bite but it has rebounded quickly at times.

Tossing Texas rigged craws and lizards has been working well as have jig and pig combos. Gold willow leaf spinnerbaits sporting blue/chartreuse skirts have produced too as have some shallow running crankbaits.

Also working have been floating fluke style worms as anglers twitched them around submerged grass mixed in with buck bushes. Topwater jerk baits have tricked a few fish too but not much in the way of successful reports from those fishing buzzbaits just yet.

Most anglers are targeting small pockets off the main lake or working the backs of big bays where slightly warmer surface temps are present.

As surface temps warm next week watch for early activity from both bluegill and shellcracker as that time is fast approaching.

It has indeed been a strange spring but hang in there! Warm days are on the horizon.