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Thread: Ky lake crappie

  1. #1
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    Ky lake crappie

    Heading to Ky lake this weekend and next week. Searching for crappie. Planning on using minnows with slip bobbers and jigs. I usually fish with black/chartreuse and do well. I am planning to fish near Midlake. My assumption is they should be moving towards the shallows. I have never fished at Ky in the last 25 years. Any words of wisdom? Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
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    I have never been there it is on my bucket list I know a group of guys that go down every spring I believe they start looking on the stake beds you can go to Kentucky wildlife website and they will have on there maps of the stake beds and brush piles. They said it takes a couple of days to find them sometimes but when they do they clean up . I would check the creeks.

  3. #3
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    Crappie pappy would be the crappie expert

  4. #4
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    Hire a guide and have more fun catching more fish

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob1678 View Post
    Heading to Ky lake this weekend and next week. Searching for crappie. Planning on using minnows with slip bobbers and jigs. I usually fish with black/chartreuse and do well. I am planning to fish near Midlake. My assumption is they should be moving towards the shallows. I have never fished at Ky in the last 25 years. Any words of wisdom? Thanks in advance.
    Serioulsy my advise to some one who's not fished the lake in the last 25 years is to hire a crappie fishing guide before you make plans to go to KY Lake.

    other wise it's hit or miss. The guide are on the fish year round if they are good. So they will know where the fish are located.

    Other wise I would say get a good map of the lake and fish with minnows. Add Berkly Crappie NIbles or some type of scent to your baits. Make sure that you wash any traces of gasoline off your hands. THIS IS a MUST. Ever wonder why hte little women outfished the men in the boat? The men are the one gassing up the truck and boats. A few PPM gasoline on the baits can stop the bite fast.

    Fish the shallows and if they are not there move off the bank to the first drop off. Fish it throughly. Early in the year during March the black crappie will be the first into the shallow water. Fish for them in the back of the bays and along the shore line. The White crappie will not be as far back as the black crappie for the most part. That's not to say that they won't be back in the back ends of the bayss in shallow water. Black crappie like to hang around the grass so if there is any grass where you plan to fish check it out with some maribou jigs in chartruse color and add scent to the baits

    If you can't find them in the shallows then check the creeks and any hard bend in the creeks.

    Look on the maps for where the State Fish guys put in public brush piles and check them out with minnows Minnow work best when the fishing is tough and it's cold. Jigs will work also but some times minnow work better. Ad a minnow to your jigs and add scents too.

    This time of the year on a nice sunny day anyone should be able to catch some crappie at KY lake.

    Note: some of the brush piles are marked with buoys. The Stake beds can be seen in the winter time when the lake is a winter pool. But by this time of the year with all the rain they are under a few feet of water and harder to find unless they are marked with a long poie that sticks out of the water or a buoy. Some brush piles are from the shore line out into deeper water and are are marked with a tree on the bank with a sign or some type of marking on the tree.

    I fished in Cypress Bay which is just to the North of Paris Tennesse and right on the TN/KY boarder on the West Bank of KY lake. I've seen the guy that was President of the Crappie USA fish that area and come in with a lot of nice crappie on November day. He must live in that area as he could have fished anywhere but he chose to fish on Cypress Bay. And the tournament was run out of a resort south of Paris landing so he drove a ways to fish Cypress bay that day.
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob46 View Post
    Crappie pappy would be the crappie expert
    LOL ..... uhhh, no. Not an "expert" by any stretch of the imagination. And I haven't fished KY/Barkley Lake in decades.

    What I can say is : according to this ( http://www.gokentuckylake.com/Level/ ) the lake is back below Summer Pool by about 4ft, and is scheduled to start filling back up to Summer Pool starting April 1st & at Summer Pool by the end of April. With the lake still down that low ... be very careful running the lake !!

    All the reports I'm hearing are : spider rigging producing fish - fish also being caught trolling jigs in 8-12fow - most guides I know are booked solid. I've also heard that water temps are starting to inch up into the mid 50's ... so the Crappie should be on the move into the spawning areas (which is probably why various trolling methods are being used).

    There's no law that says you can't watch the guides (from a safe distance) & see how they're fishing ... then get like'em and try the same techniques in your own favorite creeks/bays. Or for that matter, talk to their clients when they get back in and ask "how" they caught the fish & on "what" ... that should be enough to put you on the right track.
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  6. #6
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    Great information. I am downloaded navionics maps and read through several years of fishing reports based on water temp. I tried to hire a guide a month ago, it ain’t happening. Most already booked through early June. I am observant of other people fishing and if they offer info great, but I really try to give the guides their space. That’s what they do for a LIVING and I respect the hard work and studying they put in on keeping up with the fish. Thanks for the info. I’ll let you know how I do. I WILL get WET!!
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  7. #7
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    Crappie are deep

    Struggled yesterday and most others did as well who I talked to. Did much better today. Minnows in about 20’ about 2-3’ off the bottom. Be patient. Found a spot with shallow water nearby. Seems like singles just moving in from the main lake. Water temp is 55.8.
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  8. #8
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    They are still in pre spawn I guess But that can change fast

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob1678 View Post
    Struggled yesterday and most others did as well who I talked to. Did much better today. Minnows in about 20’ about 2-3’ off the bottom. Be patient. Found a spot with shallow water nearby. Seems like singles just moving in from the main lake. Water temp is 55.8.

    They are still deep but can comer up to the beds if the water warms the shallow surface wates. In clear water they can spawn deep. In Muddy water they may come up and spawn in 1 or 2 ft of muddy water in the back of the bays if the water is warm for a while.

    If we get another cold front they may stay deep.

    The lenght of the day also has a pronounced effect on both them and the rest of the life cycle that they feed on. Insects and other pry items are also affected by the weater and the water temperature as well s the length of the day light.

    When the Dogwood trees bloom it's time for the crappie to spawn, Right now the Bradford pears trees are blooming.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by crappiepappy View Post
    LOL ..... uhhh, no. Not an "expert" by any stretch of the imagination. And I haven't fished KY/Barkley Lake in decades.

    What I can say is : according to this ( http://www.gokentuckylake.com/Level/ ) the lake is back below Summer Pool by about 4ft, and is scheduled to start filling back up to Summer Pool starting April 1st & at Summer Pool by the end of April. With the lake still down that low ... be very careful running the lake !!

    All the reports I'm hearing are : spider rigging producing fish - fish also being caught trolling jigs in 8-12fow - most guides I know are booked solid. I've also heard that water temps are starting to inch up into the mid 50's ... so the Crappie should be on the move into the spawning areas (which is probably why various trolling methods are being used).

    There's no law that says you can't watch the guides (from a safe distance) & see how they're fishing ... then get like'em and try the same techniques in your own favorite creeks/bays. Or for that matter, talk to their clients when they get back in and ask "how" they caught the fish & on "what" ... that should be enough to put you on the right track.
    They were up close at Nolin ...we were jig bobbing at 2 ft deep and doing well..

  10. #10
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    Nolin crappie on easter sunday

    Got these sunday...they were up shallow
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  11. #11
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    Nice mess! Here is my final report for you guys going to Ky lake this week. Spider rigging is the most productive, BUT it is slow! Guys were catching 6-10 keepers for the day and that was the story in Jonathan creek. Most people were in the deeper holes. Fish in 21’ of water with minnow or jig/minnow rigs. The fish were biting in 17-19’ range NOT 16’ OR 20’. It was that critical. Spent hours at different depths in different water columns. Fish are scattered. The fish want it slow 0.4mph but not just dead sticking. The white bass were a lot of fun. Caught pretty good messes each day of them. Find riprap banks still in the water. Put your boat in 8-10’ and fish 2-6’ with road runner heads and jig bodies. I used pearl or clear with red flake. Some guys found some blacks in the shallows, from the mouth of Jonathan creek to the bridge. Fished under the bridge several times and never had anything to write home about. I bass fished several hours each morning but did not catch anything with any size. I threw crankbaits, arigs, jerk baits and jigs. There is a BFL going out of Moor’s in the morning so be careful. There are plenty of boaters in the mouth of the creek. This morning I counted 38 boats within 500 yard radius. GOOD Luck and watch running in creeks. Follow the channel buoys, there is lots of 2.5’ water in the middle of the creek.
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