Fishing Report Archives

Kentucky Lake’s summer fishing scene is about on track as to lake levels, surface temperature and overall conditions.

Anglers got a little reprieve from the hot weather earlier this week as both humidity and temperatures dropped a bit, providing a few days of nice fishing conditions especially if you got out early.

Elevation on Kentucky Lake is similar this week to last week as Tennessee Valley Authority seemed to diminish discharge rates. Lake levels have hung around the 358.8 range the last several days, which is only a few inches shy of summer pool level recorded earlier in the month.

Water color remains clear and surface temperatures have warmed to the 85-86 degree range by midday but starting off a few degrees cooler in the early morning hours.

TVA has been pulling about 22,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) through Kentucky Dam this week, which is down from last week at this time. The reduced current sort of diminished the catfish bite which had improved late last week when more current was present along the Tennessee River channel area.

During the mid-summer period catfish anglers rely on some moving water to stimulate the bite. Without the current the catfish exhibit a sluggish mode and the bite can be downright finicky.

That was the case at midweek as several fishermen reported tough fishing conditions on days when the current wasn’t flowing. There’s no real crystal ball to predict just when current will come and go, although monitoring TVA’s website which provides a three-day forecast of lake levels and current flow certainly helps give an indication.

However, changes in the flow out there on the main river can change from day to day. Depending on power demands and rainfall throughout the TVA valley, the flow can come and go at times.

Normally there’s decent current throughout the hot summer days and it often picks up around mid-morning as TVA’s demand for hydro power generation increases.

For a lot of fishermen the current giveth and it taketh away. Both bass and catfishermen thrive on the moving water and it has some positive impacts on crappie too at times.

The bottom line on the current is the stimulation of shad movement. Schools of baitfish really start roaming along the edges of the rain river channel and all about once current stirs up zooplankton.

Once the flow increases and schools of shad move about there’s movement all up and down the food chain. The catfish will often be inactive and lethargic if baitfish are not on the move. The fish are still out there but they just don’t go into the feeding mode unless current jump starts the whole lake’s food chain.

Meanwhile, last weekend several decent stringers of catfish were taken by anglers targeting the big balls of baitfish and monitoring their whereabouts on sonar units. Observing the shad movement will help tell the anglers what depth range the catfish are residing as the fish often suspend right below the baitfish activity.

Depths of 25 to 40 feet have been common lately with some fish even deeper. Nightcrawlers, chicken liver, leeches, cut-bait such as bluegill and catalpa worms (if you can find them) are popular bait choices. There are some great commercial stink bait concoctions that work great too.

A few reports have come in from summer crappie anglers working main lake ledges and some deeper manmade fish attractors. Depths of 14 to 20 feet have been producing decent stringers at times.

Live minnows have been working well. Some anglers are using jigs but tipping them with minnows. Generally speaking, once summer weather arrives and water temps increase the crappie show favoritism for that live minnow presentation.

Most crappie fishermen are using tightline presentations but some boaters are slow trolling crankbaits out over main lake ledges and scoring decent catches. While trolling they are also tying into a catfish, bass, whitebass and sauger at times.

While using deep diving crankbaits boaters are roaming along the main lake ledges and getting the bait down to the 12 to 14 foot depth range at times.

Mayflies are still showing up at random. There have been a few decent hatches in the Paris Landing sector and also down around Danville areas as well. Some scattered hatches have been reported up toward Panther Creek and around the stateline bays and river islands too north of Cypress Bay and north toward Blood River.

Bass fishermen are targeting the main lake ledges these days but a few fish have been taken around mayfly hatches found around river island rims and blowdowns. Some schools of pin minnows were relating to both blowdowns and exposed weedbeds.

Tossing a spinnerbait and Texas rigged worm, along with some topwater, has produced some fish in the early morning hours.

After the sun gets up most fishermen are falling back to ledge fishing and throwing big crankbaits, Texas rigged worms, jig and pig combo and some swim baits.

Most report the schooling bass have been tough to locate. A decent fish has been taken here and there but anglers have not reported much schooling activity out on the main lake ledges and deeper holes.

There has been some night fishing activity as a few reports have come in from those tossing a big spinnerbait around rip-rap levees and along steep bank shorelines.

Odds are anglers will see an increase in current these next few days so perhaps the overall bite will improve.