May 19, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 359.04 Surface Temperature - 68
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 359.35 Surface Temperature - 68

Both lakes are at summer pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 38,750 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 20,600 cfs this afternoon.The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: I am not sure if it is April or May with the weather we have had this past week. The calendar says it is May but the air temperatures and weather patterns indicate we are still in April. We have been under post frontal conditions from a strong cold front all week, with winds out of the north, temperatures running 10-15 degrees below normal. The water temperatures have dropped again as you can see. There has been little if any movement of baitfish and bass to the summer ledges. The patterns I mentioned in last week's report are pretty much the same. We have a few scattered bass on the early ledges, bass on staging/post spawn banks and points and some males in the shallows guarding nests and even a few late females there also. We are still concentrating most of our efforts on the staging/post spawn banks and points in the creeks and bays. We are catching fish, but numbers of 4lbs plus fish are still being elusive.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 71/low of 54 with a 60% chance of rain and wind NE at 7. Saturday's forecast is showing a high of 76/low of 53 with wind N at 10. Sunday is calling for a high of 79/low of 55 with wind NNE at 5. The extended forecast into mid next week is showing a return to more seasonable temperatures with high's in the 80's/ low's in the 60's with south quadrant winds.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on secondary channel points and banks inside the creeks and bays on Carolina and Texas rigged creature baits, jigs and shaky heads. Bass are also being taken on ledges near the mouths of the creeks and bays. The ledge fish are being taken on Carolina rigged creature baits, jigs and Texas rigged worms. Largemouth are also being taken shallow in the coves and backs of the creeks and bays near vegetation on topwater lures, spinner baits, chatter baits, Texas rigged creature baits, whacky rigged worms and jigs.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs, shaky heads and grubs. Although the numbers are low, some nice fish have been taken.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Slong's spinner baits in white/chartruese, Picasso FX shock blade chatterbait in white and blue glimmer, Zman chatterbaits in white/chartruese, Buzzbaits in white/chartreuse and black, Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemon, Slong’s football jig Cumberland craw, D&L baby advantage jig in Cumberland craw and Oops patterns, Last Cast jigs in green pumpkin, Slong’s shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin and bama bug as well as Yamamto senkos in green pumpkin, Charmer lizards and timber pups in green pumpkin and green pumpkin/blue, Zoom super hawg in green pumpkin, Zoom trick worms on whacky rigs in green pumpkin, green pumpkin blue, green pumpkin purple and watermelon purple.

CRAPPIE: Crappie are now on post spawn patterns with majority being taken by vertically fishing with jigs and minnow/jig combinations over brush in 10-15 feet of water. There are a few still being taken shallow around vegatation with jigs and minnows under bobbers but these fish are scattered.

Bluegill/Red Ear: These fish are now starting to spawn and are being taken shallow with crickets and red worms under bobbers as well as on split shot rigs baited with small creature jigs tipped with worms dragged slowly on bottom. Look for the red ears on gravel points in 3-5 ft of water. The bluegills are being taken in front of the brush on gravel bottoms in 2-4 ft of water. The bite on these fish slowed with the water temperature drop this week but should recover nicely with the warming period next week.

Catfish: Channel catfish are now being taken on rocky points and banks on night crawlers fished both under bobbers and on bottom rigs. Some nice catches of numbers of these fish are now being reported. A number of these catfish are also being taken on the flats just off the shallow spawning areas by anglers while jug fishing with minnows and worms.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:
Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures, Pro Tungsten weights, and All Pro Rods. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

FLASH: AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY FAVORITE SOFT PLASTICS LURE BRANDS HAS BEEN THE CHARMER LINE FOR MANY YEARS. I LIKE THESE BAITS BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL FLOATERS, HAVE A NATURAL TEXTURE AND ARE IMPREGNATED WITH GARLIC SCENT. WELL, I HAVE FOR A LONG TIME WANTED THEM TO MAKE ADD A JIG TRAILER TO THEIR LINE OF BAITS.

I AM HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE NEW CHARMER "SLIM DADDY" JIG TRAILER IS NOW AVAILABLE AT "FISHERMAN'S HEADQUARTERS" THIS WEEK. I HAVE CHECKED THIS NEW TRAILER OUT AND IT HAS GREAT ACTION AND OF COURSE AS EXPECTED, THE CLAWS FLOAT UP IN A NATURAL DEFENSIVE POSITION.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.


GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

May: Sorry, I am booked up.
June: Sorry, I am booked up.
July: 13, 15, 19, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

I am also taking reservations through November with a number of available dates. Make your reservatios now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"