Barren is a great lake with a lot of 4+ pound fish. But if you have never been on the lake, i would fish for fun and watch the locals. it nornmally takes a 20 pounds to get in the money. if you are interested in fishing some bass tournaments check out USAbassin there are several held in the local area (several on the Ohio river,Ky river Gratz, Guist creek lake and taylorsville lake. This is a good place to start fishing tournaments,in my opinion...if you have any questions send me a PM.