Fishing Report Archives

Kentucky Lake’s elevation is on the threshold of summer pool level and a stubborn spring is beginning to warm to normal temperature ranges.

Surface temperatures this week were dancing around the 67 to 70 degree range. Some annoying cool winds out of the west still had fishermen wearing jackets and long sleeve shirts at times but that should change soon.

Lake levels were around the 358.6 range at midweek. The target date for summer pool (359) is May 1 each year so the reservoir is pretty much on schedule. Water color is relatively clear.

Once late April fades to early May there’s a dramatic transition taking place out there on the big pond in the form of aggressive bluegill and red ear sunfish, known throughout the South as shellcracker, heading toward spawning spots.

In layman’s terms it means some good shallow shoreline fishing is ahead as these powerful panfish turn the corner toward active spawning phases. It is indeed a fishermen’s delight.

Since last week several nice stringers of bluegill have been taken as anglers bang the banks while tossing light spinning tackle, slip bobbers and various morsels to entice these little rascals ranging from redworms to crickets.

No one has ever been able to stop the aging process. However, fishing a spawning bluegill or shellcracker bed is about as close as you’re going to come.

When light action rods bend from the feisty attitude of these rusty rascals it can cure whatever ails you. So can the repeated disappearance of a bobber sucked under the water at the blink of an eye.

Whether your 8 years of age or 88; makes no difference. Seeing the bobber disappear makes your troubles vanish. You can be a kid again in this scenario. Jerk. Catch. Bait-up and cast again. Not a bad life!

So, these next few weeks the shorelines of Kentucky Lake will offer great opportunities. It’s a wonderful time to introduce a youngster to fishing or perhaps rejuvenate the desires of a senior citizen as fishing has no age limits.

Several nice shellcracker have been coming in with some eclipsing the 1-pound mark. From D.J. Loveall of Paris Landing Outdoorsman’s monthly big fish contests for crappie and bass comes word of a 1 pound, 13-ounce shellcracker taken recently by angler Tom Lawrence. Loveall said he has had several weighed in that tilted the scales at 1 ½-pounds.

From the crappie department comes a few success stories of fish biting in the midrange depth of 6 to 12 feet. While most fish appear to be in the post-spawn phase there were a few late spawning fish showing up earlier this week.

There are still decent stringers coming in as boats fishing spider rig style presentations and some single pole style anglers dunking jigs over manmade fish attractors are finding enough fish to keep them interested.

Crappie often scatter a bit and suspend out away from structure once spawning phases pass. After a few weeks the fish will slowly rebound toward a structure oriented mood.

Catfish action has heated up too and already meandering their paths toward rocky banks are some hefty females ready to spawn. Watch for the bite to be good in the weeks ahead.

All sorts of rocky bluffs and rip-rap shorelines and roadbeds will lure catfish toward shoreline spawning territory.

Bass fishermen had some challenging times during the recent cool spells and nasty winds but fish are quickly rebounding and moving into newly inundated grassbeds and various shoreline habitat. The shallow bite should rebound quickly.

The abundance of yellow flowers in shallow water is holding a lot of smaller bass. Anglers are tossing everything from spinnerbaits to floating lizards and assorted topwater jerk baits. Spinnerbaits are producing too as are Texas rigged craws and worms.

Recent tournaments have had a few hefty stringers of smallmouth taken back off the banks and near submerged ditches but there’s a lot of movement by the bass from week to week. Influencing their whereabouts are lake levels and rising surface temperatures.

Also, the abundance of sunfish moving up around shorelines offers bass a buffet of forage in all that shallow grass. By next week a few buck bushes should have decent water as well.