Fishing Report Archives

Hey Y’all from the Excel Storm Cat.

I don’t know about you but I’m sick of wind and storms. Even the days that are forecast to be marginal end up being horrible to be in a 23-foot boat with a windshield and high sides.

My Skinny Water Marine trolling motor battery is being stretched to the max. Thank goodness it has a Bluetooth transmitter in it that gives me current battery info on my phone. Monday, I ran it to 2%, today to 1%. Both days we fished well over 6 hours, Monday over 7 in high winds.

The surface temperatures are reaching the high 60s daily in the afternoon but dropping back to low 60s overnight. I personally have not caught a crappie that has spawned from either Blood River or Jonathan Creek. There may be crappie or redears in very shallow water that are in the act, but I just haven’t caught any yet that have returned to the ledges closest to shallow water.

The lake levels are hovering around 358 feet, which is wonderful for the upcoming spawn. That said, today there was some serious debris (gremlins) floating in Jonathan. Add the trash to the high winds and it made for a tough time keeping the trash off our lines and crankbaits. Keep an eye out, especially if the forecasted 3 inches of rain comes.

I had been doing very well pulling jigs and roadrunners in 6-10 feet of water but suddenly those fish disappeared. I always keep my crankbait rods close by to save the day. The results have been very satisfying both quality and quantity.

I’m fishing in the vicinity of the river or creek channels along drops but also in deeper water but not too deep. Some fish, especially BIG white bass and even a hybrid or two, are only 6-10 feet deep over deeper water.

Some of these white bass take me back several years to what some refer to as the “glory days” of our lakes. The new glory days are in the making if the sheer numbers of 9+” crappie we are catching is an indication.

Those of you who have fished with me know I keep crankbaits stashed anywhere they will fit most of the time. Monday, I had a father and son with me and the strangest thing happened. Over the course of the day, we had ONE crank that amounted for 90% of our catch.

I’m not talking about one color but multiple baits, I mean one bait! It was a Pico Simply Awsum INT. When we tried the exact same bait on other rods, they didn’t get a bite. That one bait, which was shared by the pair, was red hot. As I often do, I gave that bait to the young man so he can start his crappie crankbait career. I probably should have kept it and found out what was so unique about it.

I’m seeing some photos of some nice redears. Not big numbers but big fish. As I often do, consider releasing those egg-filled females so they can grow this fishery. Many of the redear catches are coming from very shallow water. Bluegills are showing up often at the cleaning tables.

The catfish bite has not started in earnest on the cranks. It should soon.

I get some criticisms for always talking about crankbaits. Any crappie fisherman worth their salt should be able to take my information and apply it to their own tactics for catching crappie. I write about what I know and what I’m doing to catch fish. I will pass this along.

I heard of some guys complaining that there are no more crappie in Kentucky Lake since they had spent 3 days anchored near one of the KY F&W fish attractors or “bed” in shallow water. A guy had told them the crappie were starting to go on the “bed” or spawn. They took that to mean a stakebed in 2 feet of water. I have to give them an A for effort.

Be careful out there. Help those who need help. Wear your PFDs. I had a client almost walk off with one of my inflatables on today. He had worn it all day and didn’t realize he still had it on.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.