Kentucky Lakes Fishing Report

Lake - Lake Barkley 03/09/06:

Dave Stewart dave@kentuckylakeguide.com wrote:

Kentucky Lake: Water level at Ky Dam - 354.42 Surface Temperature - 51
Lake Barkley: Water level at Barkley Dam - 354.45 Surface Temperature - 52

Both lakes are a few inches above winter pool with little flucuation. We have had warm high south winds for the past couple of days and lots of rain in the lakes area today and more is forecasted for tonight. The TVA at this time is not forecasting any significant rise in the water levels but this could change and should be monitored by anyone planning on fishing over the weekend. The warm winds and rain has the water temperatures on the rise and this is a good thing for the early spring fishing.

Largemouth Bass: The Largemouth Bass are being taken on main lake points and first secondary points in the bays. These fish are being taken with suspending jerkbaits and crankbaits. Largemouth are also being taken shallow in the bays near wood cover especially on gravel banks. These early shallow fish have been biting good and some nice catches have been reported. The shallow fish are being taken on lipless and shallow running crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

Smallmouth Bass: The Smallmouth Bass are being taken on the east side of Ky Lake on main lake primary and secondary points. These fish are being taken on suspending jerkbaits Most of the reports have the catches reported as scattered and no big numbers of fish are being reported. This should change with the water warming up and I expect the Smallmouth bite to get going good very soon.

Some of the more productive lures this week are: Smithwick Rogues in black/chrome/orange, Rapala Husky Jerks in blue/chrome/orange, Flat sided Rapala crankbaits in black/silver and Lewis Rattletraps in blue/chrome and white.

Crappie: Some good catches of Crappie have been reported this week. The Crappie are being taken along the creek channels in the bays over wood cover in 12-15 ft of water by spider rigging small tube jigs and small minnows. Shallow Crappie are also being reported in 4-6 ft of water around brush piles. These fish are being taken by fishing with minnows under bobbers and by casting small roadrunner type jigs with curly tails.

I have not received any reports on other species at this time although I did see an angler pulling in some nice blue catfish on the main river channel of Ky Lake by bottom fishing with cut baits.

The early spring bite is getting underway here on the big lakes. If you are in need of a guide for some fun bass fishing, tournament preparation, lake familiarization or technique instruction don't hesitate to give me a call or drop me an email. Bookings are open for the entire season. I have the following dates open in March and April:

March: 12, 15, 23, 24, 26, 28, and 30
April: 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 17

Remember the water temperatures are still in the range for hypothermia....make sure you have a set of dry clothes with you when you venture on the water and let someone know where you are launching from and your expected time of return and have them check on you to make sure you got off the water safely.

Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-354-5039
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
" Fish with a Professional"