Doug Wynn

Charles Dickens wrote in “A Tale of Two Cities” , “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” That seems to be fishing on Kentucky Lake recently from my perspective. One day the bite will be red hot, the next day ice cold. Nothing is more frustrating for the average fisherman. Just think how it makes a Kentucky Lake guide feel. Welcome to my world.

I’m sure the unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of rain for months are mostly responsible. Lake temperatures have dropped into the low 70s and should be in the mid 60s in a few days. The seasonal fall migration of baitfish and gamefish from deep, main lake areas to shallow cover in bays and creeks has been very slow to materialize. There have been days it seemed to be starting only to reverse a day or two later. Finding good catches in an area one day then vacant water the next can be maddening.

The 10-day forecast is one we have been hoping for. Daytime highs in the low 60s and nighttime lows in the low 40s should cool the lake down nicely and put the bait on the move toward shallower water. That in turn will put the gamefish into areas they are more likely to be caught in.

I recently found a good number of nice crappie in water 6 to 8 feet deep and willing to hit shallow running Pico Squarebill cranks behind Off Shore Tackle OR12 planer boards. The crappie that have been shallow are also very skittish. That’s where planer boards shine. The bite lasted a few days until it disappeared without notice. Weather and wind were similar over the time period but the fish seemed to have vanished. Sadly, most avid fishermen know this feeling. I’m hoping the cooler lake temperatures will help prevent this.

The crappie we are catching are extremely healthy, some appearing what one would expect of pre-spawn fish. Huge numbers of baitfish are allowing the gamefish to gorge themselves. Catfish are a constant threat on cranks and some big ones have been landed.

I recently took a trip to Dale Hollow Lake with my buddies Mark Ridl, from Cornfield Fishing Gear, and Brian Johnson. We decided to try our luck at chasing walleyes under moonlight. A couple of guide friends from there had given us a few waypoints and some advice of tactics to try.

We took their input and tried some of the spots with no luck before dark the first night. Since pulling crankbaits is our thing, we decided to try that when the suggested tactics hadn’t produced. About 10 pm, under a bright full moon, we found some walleye on a hump in 30 feet of water, next to a drop that fell into 100 feet of clear water. After catching three nice fish, the bite slowed so we boated a short distance to another submerged island. There we caught two more then called it a night at 1:30am. We then had a 10 mile run in pitch black back to Cedar Hill Resort. Dale Hollow area is a mountainous terrain with zero lights along any shore except where the marinas are located. Thank goodness my Humminbird LakeMaster maps tracks were accurate and I was able to navigate the run back to our marina with no issues.

We slept in that morning then went into Celina, Tn. for a great breakfast and a visit to the folks at Clay Powersports. They are an Excel Boats and Cornfield Fishing Gear dealer with a very well stocked fishing department.

We started our second day’s trip by checking out some spots I had marked on my Humminbird map. The first gave up one nice walleye, a big catfish that Mark hooked on light line and played for several minutes, and a nice walleye that broke my line during the fight.

As we were checking some other spots, I got a text from my friend Steve from Indiana. He and a buddy were in town to fish with Jeff Brown, a walleye guide I have fished with a couple of times. They were scheduled the following night so I asked them to join us. We met them at Willow Grove Marina.

Before dark I checked another area I had waypointed. One keeper walleye and several lost walleye Bandits later, we left for the spot we fished last the night before. As I ran over the area with 2D sonar, my Solix lit up with arches from walleye stacked on the edges of the drops. We rigged our walleye Bandits and Reef Runner cranks behind 2 ounce Off Shore Tackle Tadpole diving weights and OR12 planer boards. I had installed glow sticks on top of the OR12s so they could be seen in the dark. We then proceeded to put on a walleye beatdown 28-35 feet below my Excel!

It was all hands on deck as I maneuvered the boat. My four friends laughed and joked as the glass-eyed fish showed up several feet below the surface from the green LED lights under my transom and the black lights I had installed so we could detect subtle strikes.

We had to stop and count as we approached our limit. Steve and Matt had decided they wouldn’t keep any walleye so 15 (3x5 fish daily limit) was our target. We hit 15 at 9:40pm and as we were reeling up to finish our night, #16 keeper hit and was reeled in and released.

It was hugs and high-fives all around. We dropped Steve and Matt back at Willow Grove and made our way back to Cedar Hill. We got to the marina just as rain was starting. Our trip the next day was washed out.

We had just accomplished something we had never even dreamed of. Our guide friends told us it was one of the most impressive walleye catches from Dale Hollow they were aware of. We will return!

I’ve warned readers for years about the gremlins that raise their nasty heads in the fall when lake levels reach winter pool. We recently saw the results as a day-cruiser struck a house foundation near Birmingham Point and was destroyed. Sad but reality when GPS maps are not used religiously on both lakes now.

Be careful out there! Enjoy the onset of fall weather and improved fishing.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.