• Fishing Report For Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley

    Bass Buster Guide Service
    (270) 362-9987 http://www.kentuckylakeguide.com dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
  • "Specializing in Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Lake Familiarization, Tournament Preparation, and Technique Instruction"

  • Fishing Report For Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley

    May 11, 2018

    Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 359.41 Surface Temperature - 70
    Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 359.20 Surface Temperature - 70

    Both lakes are at summer pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 37,500 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at average rate of 29,700 cfs this morning. 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.

    Current Conditions: Well, we went from late winter conditions one month ago with snow to now summer with record and near record temperatures this week. The little bit of normal spring weather we had was short lived. As I mentioned in last week's report, we still have some bass spawning and still a few that have not spawned and some on post spawn patterns. We caught bass shallow, deep and in between this week with the bite being slow some slow days and some fair bite days. We had some hot days with blue skies and flat water and some hot days with high winds which kept us from being able to cover much water. We have lake wind warnings out again today so my clients and I made the decision to wait for more favorable conditions. Although there are still some shallow spawning fish and there will still be a few late spawners, I believe most of the bass are now on post spawn banks and points. We did manage to catch a few fish on early ledges this week also and I expect the ledge bite will picking up over the next week or so.

    The weekend forecast is calling for record high temperatures in the 90's with night time low's in the 70's. This pattern is forecasted to continue into early next week. Winds are forecasted to be south quadrant. Be sure to check your latest wind forecasts before venturing on the lakes and take plenty of sunscreen and stay hydrated.

    LARGEMOUTH BASS: Prespawn and post spawn Largemouth are being taken on creek channel banks and secondary points as well as on flats near the spawning areas in the creeks and bays on lipless crank baits, jigs, Carolina and Texas rigged creature baits, vibrating jigs and whacky rigged worms. Largemouth are also being taken in the flooded brush and wood in the creeks and bays on jigs and Texas and Florida rigged creature baits. Some largemouth are now being taken on early ledges on Texas rigged large worms, jigs and Carolina rigged creature baits.

    SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on main lake points and secondary points in the mouths of the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, tube jigs, Texas and Carolina rigged creature baits.

    PRODUCTIVE LURES: Rapala DT 10 and DT 6 crank baits in shad and bluegill patterns, Bandit 200 and 300 series crankbaits in rootbeer and rootbeer/chartreuse, Strike King Red Eye Shad in sexy shad and chrome sexy shad, D&L jigs in Cumberland craw and oops patterns, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer and vibrating jigs in blue glimmer and white with pearl white swim bait trailer and Charmer 6" lizards and timber pups in watermelon/red. green pumpkin/blue and green pumpkin.

    Crappie: Crappie are still being reported as scattered with most of the fish still being taken in the 10-15 ft range over submerged cover by vertically fishing with minnow rigs and small jigs tipped with Crappie nibbles. Some Crappie are being taken in 5-10 ft depths over brush piles with small jigs tipped with minnows.

    Bluegill/Red Ears: Blue gills and Red Ears are now starting to spawn in the shallows. These bluegills are being taken on red worms fished under bobbers. The Red Ears are being taken on split shot rigs baited with small jigs tipped with worms slowly reeled along the bottom.

    Channel Catfish: Channel Catfish are now moving up on shallow rocky banks and points on the main lake to spawn. These fish are being taken on night crawlers fished under bobbers.

    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 and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

    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 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.

    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: A number of dates still available.

    I am also taking reservations also for August, September, October and November.

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