Fishing Kentucky Lake with "Bass Buster" Dave Stewart

We’ve all done it at one time or another. You’ve planned a bass fishing trip with a few of your friends at a "can’t miss" location such as Dale Hollow or Kentucky Lake. In order to secure the perfect accommodations you made your reservations 6 months in advance. You were certain that the second week of April would be the ideal time of year. As the big trip approaches you check the fishing reports and they confirm your hunch- THE FISH ARE BITING!! The big day finally arrives and some guy at the bait shop says, "You should have been here last week!" Quickly you find out you are facing cold front conditions or some other natural phenomenon, which you couldn’t have predicted. By the end of your trip you find yourself fishing for bluegill or casting that novelty crankbait you received in the mail. Listen to this very carefully. There is a better way! Next time remember to secure a local guide for the first day and save yourself the frustration of a wasted trip.

Several weeks ago a group of buddies and myself headed to Kentucky Lake. We secured the services of veteran Kentucky Lake Guide Dave Stewart for day one. Dave is the owner of Bass Buster Guide Service and a local expert on both bass and crappie. Along with working as a professional guide, Dave is an experienced tournament pro and contributes a Kentucky Lake report on Fishin.com. My Uncle and I met Dave at 6:30 am at the Fenton access area and by 6:40 we were off and running. From the outset we understood that even the best of guides have no control over Mother Nature. We were facing blue bird skies and some spooky shallow water fish. The females were in late pre-spawn and the early bite was very tough. We managed to boat several small fish and eventually landed a three-pound fish shortly after 9:00. My Uncle and I were impressed with Dave’s knowledge of the lake and his friendly disposition. During the slow periods Dave talked to us about different strategies on Kentucky Lake and the best way to pattern the fish. We worked many different areas in an attempt to catch a true trophy. Dave gave us the option to fish other areas where we were certain to catch a lot of smaller "Buck Bass" but we decided on Quality over Quantity.

Despite all of his efforts the bite continued to be very tough. Around 1:00 pm we headed back to the ramp. I think Dave was more disappointed than we were even though we managed to catch fish and had a very enjoyable time.