Just got a New Boat

Hi Everyone -

I just bought my very first fishing boat! It is an older Triton fish and ski model. It runs well has a good trolling motor and a good gps/fish finder recently installed.

I have never had a fishing boat before and am looking for advice you guys might have, especially on cave run and laurel lakes. lll probably spend most of my time at those two lakes. I always loved to fish from the bank, ponds, or maybe a john boat on Elkhorn or something - but never was able to get a larger boat until now. Now I need to figure it out!

I had it out this weekend on Cave Run. The licking river headwaters looked kind of shady withall the barely submerged timber!!!
Thanks!!

I've fished Cave Run since the 1970's (Bass & Crappie) and have never found a reason to run my boat up in the river end of the lake.

With all the fish habitat stuff that the KDFWR has put out in Cave Run, I wouldn't have any reason to go there now, either.

If you don't already know, here's the link to Cave Run fish attractors (complete with GPS coordinates / 3 versions) : [url]https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=11yuOQESZ2lp9IQ3TcEivEh8mjmk&ll=38.08071170843126%2C-83.47113000000002&z=13[/url]

Here's the page to check for other lakes : [url]https://fw.ky.gov/Education/Pages/Department-Lakes-with-Fish-Attractors.aspx[/url]

Thanks for the input and link! Really appreciate the insight. Does anyone actually go up into the licking river? It seems dangerous and the only way to learn where stuff is would be to bump into it (ie, learn the hard way). Maybe its easier to see at winter pool who knows.

We went to the lake again this past weekend and we went up the other side, buckcreek/leatherwood/carpenter branch area. It was bouyed but i still saw a couple of stumps in what seemed to be areas that were marked safe. We took it slow and trolled some too. Caught a couple of fish. But we did better out on the main lake in deeper areas where water was cooler.

PS- after looking at the structure info you passed along, I realized we did well right by the reef area up by the dam on the left. Cool!

[QUOTE=Lush;575693]PS- after looking at the structure info you passed along, I realized we did well right by the reef area up by the dam on the left. Cool![/QUOTE]

Good deal !! I think I have all the fish attractor spots in my depth finder, but I haven't been to Cave Run in a few years. Last time I was there it was in Oct and there were quite a few boats out in the middle of the lake (across from Alfrey ramp area) and I didn't really know why they'd be out there. Well, at least until I got home and looked at that link & realized they were fishing the habitat drops on that flat in front of the Zilpo Rec. Area.

Most of my Crappie fishing friends that fish Cave Run have been Spider Rigging at night, out in open/deep water. When I used to Bass fish it, I mostly fished the bank from the marina ramp to the dam. Caught some decent Smallies on cranks & the usual run of the mill LMB on worms ... but, that was decades ago. I don't fish for Bass but maybe once/twice a year, and that's usually in June at Herrington. As per my screen name ... I'm more into Crappie fishing, and most of that is done on Green & Taylorsville.

Enjoy your new boat. I remember the day I bought by first boat. Come to think if it, I also remember vividly the day I bought my second, third, fourth, and fifth boat.

Somehow things to do with boats are memorable.

The licking river portion of the lake can produce some great fishing. I spend 90% of my time in the river if I'm fishing caverun. But I would recommend not to run the river if you do not know where the boat lanes are at. It is very dangerous and narrow at spots.

[QUOTE=Lush;575692]Thanks for the input and link! Really appreciate the insight. Does anyone actually go up into the licking river? It seems dangerous and the only way to learn where stuff is would be to bump into it (ie, learn the hard way). Maybe its easier to see at winter pool who knows.

We went to the lake again this past weekend and we went up the other side, buckcreek/leatherwood/carpenter branch area. It was bouyed but i still saw a couple of stumps in what seemed to be areas that were marked safe. We took it slow and trolled some too. Caught a couple of fish. But we did better out on the main lake in deeper areas where water was cooler.[/QUOTE]

The bouys up Beaver creek to longbow marina are no longer safe to go by. With the recent floods the past couple years the bouys have drifted off and away from their original location. I would be careful when traveling this area.