Fishing Report Archives

Hey Folks from the "Fishful Thinking". The Bay Pro 230 will be my boat for a few more weeks (more on that below). This has been a week of frustrating fishing. High water levels, acres of floating trash on Barkley, and fickle fish that are on a pattern one day then something totally different the next day. It's making me lose what little hair I still have.

Vicki and I were excited to host our Grandkids, Georgia and JT, on Sunday afternoon. After having to fish two of the three days of Memorial Day weekend, I knew boat traffic would be an issue but with full calendars, the kids aren't able to fish with us as much as we would like.

The decision was made to head to Sportsman's Marina after church Sunday. Vicki made sure there were copious amounts of snacks for them. My diet prevents me from eating most anything that might be enjoyed on a fishing trip.

The kids have pulled cranks before, so it was an easy job to get things going. The boat traffic made my job of boat control a miserable task. Many folks I've encountered on other boats this year seem to have forgotten anything they knew about being courteous to other boaters while they were on Covid lockdown.

It took me a while to locate fish but once I established a pattern, the bite was to our liking. JT started out with a nice blue catfish on a Pico crank on a 14-foot Southern Crappie Rod. Hooking then fighting a catfish 100 feet behind a boat moving almost 2 mph can be quite a challenge but JT handled it like a pro.

The crappie bite came and lasted until we were all sunburned, windburned, and tired of a constantly rocking boat. Pico Simply Awsum pattern was the choice of the fish and we ended up with them on most of the rods. As has been the case all spring, it was quality over quantity but for post-spawn crappie, we had some good-uns.

Vicki and I were able to sneak off Tuesday afternoon for a few hours on Barkley. Barkley holds a lot of special memories for me with good times past with my Dad and his family. Vicki loves to fish there for the scenic beauty and the big crappie she has caught there in the past. Tuesday was no different.

The fish were extremely scattered but were willing to take the cranks as they were presented. The flavor-of the-day were some of my custom painted models. The lake was almost hazardous to run due to the huge mats of floating debris made up of everything from leaves to whole huge trees. Thankfully, I'm seeing less trash in the drift and I hope it's because folks have decided if we are going to have clean lakes, it's up to all of us to pack out what we pack in.

Wednesday found me back on Kentucky Lake with some friends who were looking to expand their bag of tricks. The fish of Sunday had taken up residency in new areas and it took me most of our allotted time to locate some that were willing to bite. Some days you just have to put your head down and keep digging.

The quality was less than Sunday, but we still had a bag of fillets to send home with them. Again, the customs were well received. I guess it is because the fish have never seen some of the colors and patterns.

The fish I have been finding have been all over the place. Some tight to cover. Some on sharp drops. Some out away from any cover, suspended in deep water. It is just taking time to eliminate unproductive water. With the coming drawdown to summer pool, the fish are bound to move daily if not hourly. Maybe we can look forward to a summertime pattern soon.

Catfish have been hot but as water temps approach 80 degrees, the spawn for them will be short lived. Look for cats around rip-rap banks as well as rocky areas with deep water nearby. Worms, leeches, cut bait and prepared scent baits should all be productive when fished near the bottom.

Bluegill and redears have me as puzzled as the next guy. Folks who have been staying after them daily are doing fairly well but the occasional angler is finding tough fishing.

I'll be fishing out of the Bay 230 for a few more weeks. Plant shutdowns in Mountain View, AR have pushed delivery dates back and since we will be fishing the Crappie USA Mega Tournament on KY/Barkley on June 26-27. I decided to take delivery after the tourney so stand by.

Since Memorial Day is now in the rear-view mirror and summer boating is officially here, I urge folks to be courteous to other boaters. I've had folks tell me to find other places to fish to get away from boat traffic. First, that is hard to do on these lakes and second, we each have as much right to boat where we please as the next guy. That includes fishermen as well as pleasure boaters.

Be careful out there. Wear your life jackets. Watch out for those boaters who refuse to watch out for you.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.