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  1. #1
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    What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    Comin down for a tourney on the 30th and 31st of October, outta the Moor's, and I'm wondering what's happening on the lakes. I've been reading Capt. Dave Stewart's reports as well as the recent tourney results, etc. but I'f like some pointers on where to fish and what to use specifically. I'd prefer to stay above the 68 bridge but if need be I'll make a run towards the Paris area. Heard one of the events this past weekend was won on Barkley using carolina rigs, don't know exactly where, e.g., main lake or coves/runs.

  2. #2
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    I would be on the east side for sure. Many of the points/bars in the mouths are holding fish, just not many big ones. Carolina rigs and texas rigged creature baits caught plenty of fish for us. The bigger fish seemed to be with the balls of shad in the shallows near vegetation. They were difficult to target, but if you were around when they started busting the shad, a fluke/spinnerbait/rattletrap would catch them. When they werten't busting the shad, the surrounding gravel banks and points seemed to work. Spinnerbaits if the points had weeds, and rigs if they didn't. Don't hesitate to throw the rig in very shallow water (which I had never done before). It produced our biggest fish. We had one nice fish on a sammy on top of a channel drop on the main lake. If you have a run of drops you are familiar with, it could get you a nice limit fishing the the shallow water on top of them. As you have seen everyone else mention, be careful and know where you are running. It would not be difficult to run aground in the middle of the lake.

  3. #3
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    the "skinny" as I see it:
    I have fished the hardest I have ever fished in my life over the last month and I have had great days and cruddy days (more cruddy), I have tried to be on the lake 4 to 5 times a week and the best day I have had came off of a bank my buddy told me about and there was absolutely nothing there to hold fish other than the contour of the bank (I have a sidescan). We caught 3 fish with the biggest kicking 5+ lbs. For "specifics" geeze!!?? throw what you have cofidence in, I have caught them on: Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, shaky heads rigged with t-Mac's, sammies, rattle traps, xcalibur rattle traps, buzzbaits, DD 22's, DT6's, Heddon Sonic's, flukes, C-Rigs with Baby brushhogs get the idea? Just prepare to "Go Fish", patterns right now are hard to come by especially one that will last a couple days. Run and Gun, but have fun you can load the boat in 15 minutes and go dry for 5 hours.

  4. #4
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    I will be putting up a new report later today...but won't be a lot different than my last report. We are still in a fall transition bite. As I said in my last report...patience is the key. I have only had one day in which we fished 8 hours in the past month without a limit in the boat...and we are not doing a lot of running and gunning. I am as I said in last report...concentrating on ledges and also back in shallow water. You find the fish and you fish them..but have patience. I had two clients win tournaments this past weekend and they were not running and gunning. One client told me he fished the area I told him to fish for two days...only had 5 keeper bites each day...but that was all he needed to win a few thousand dollars.

  5. #5
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    Quote Originally Posted by DaveStewart View Post
    I will be putting up a new report later today...but won't be a lot different than my last report. We are still in a fall transition bite. As I said in my last report...patience is the key. I have only had one day in which we fished 8 hours in the past month without a limit in the boat...and we are not doing a lot of running and gunning. I am as I said in last report...concentrating on ledges and also back in shallow water. You find the fish and you fish them..but have patience. I had two clients win tournaments this past weekend and they were not running and gunning. One client told me he fished the area I told him to fish for two days...only had 5 keeper bites each day...but that was all he needed to win a few thousand dollars.
    You know Dave I wish I was more patient for this kinda of thing. Your post really hit home with me because I know I leave fish alot that are present because I convince myself they aren't going to bite, when maybe I should just stay put. I'm gonna make myself do this more often in the future, it's just hard to do sometime.

  6. #6
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    I fished the mid-Kentucky Classic down there this past weekend (18-19)and caught one keeper the first day. Went out on the ledges and bluff walls and caught 4 limits on the second day to win the tournament. Barkley both days.

    Eddie

  7. #7
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    Mark: I am a firm believer that when fishing LM that you go find the fish and then fish them. Now I have to run and gun now and then if I am doing teaching trips or tournament preps...but those trips are not designed to catch a lot of fish..they have other goals such as seeing a number of good spots and patterns for the tournament folks or showing a number of different areas and techniques for the pure learning trips. But, when I am just out there with a client to catch fish we are not going to do a lot of running...if you know the fish are there, you just have to wait them out and try to figure out what technique is going to work on them today. Now when I am fishing SM I do run and gun because they like to travel...but I may hit the same spots a number of times during the day to try to catch them up there feeding.

    The best example I can think of is to watch the guys on the BASS Elite tour or FLW tour on tv...you don't see a lot of running and gunning...they go out in practice and find what they think are the best fish and they fish them...they always have that back up plan in case of weather/condition changes but rarely do you see those guys fish more than a couple of spots during the day and many times during the entire tournament. Now some folks like to run and gun and that is their thing...some even do well now and then doing it...but it is not my style...I just don't see a lot of sense in leaving fish to find fish if I am trying to put fish in the boat.

  8. #8
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    I took some nasty weather to show me about not running I was fishing a tournament earlier in the year out of mid barkley, and wind picked up something awful about the time of take-off. Instead of running to Ky (as I had planned and 90% of the rest of the fishermen did) I decided to go down to a small bay that was sheltered from the wind. I fished that bay all day slow and methodical and culled about 15 fish. I was the only one with a limit that day, and had two over 6. After thinking about it I knew if the weather had been better I would have fished several spots, and not had near the luck of really concentrating on one. Now in tournaments I rarely will fish more than 3 spots in a day, and will give each one at least an hour, especially a ledge holding some baitfish.

    Now when it is jerk bait season I will hit a ton of spots, and may not fish half of them. I just cruise a series of about 10-15 points and only fish the ones holding baitfish. I will hit some of them 3 or 4 times a day (Dave taught me that trick earlier this year, and it works for spring smallies).

  9. #9
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    Quote Originally Posted by DaveStewart View Post
    Mark: I am a firm believer that when fishing LM that you go find the fish and then fish them. Now I have to run and gun now and then if I am doing teaching trips or tournament preps...but those trips are not designed to catch a lot of fish..they have other goals such as seeing a number of good spots and patterns for the tournament folks or showing a number of different areas and techniques for the pure learning trips. But, when I am just out there with a client to catch fish we are not going to do a lot of running...if you know the fish are there, you just have to wait them out and try to figure out what technique is going to work on them today. Now when I am fishing SM I do run and gun because they like to travel...but I may hit the same spots a number of times during the day to try to catch them up there feeding.

    The best example I can think of is to watch the guys on the BASS Elite tour or FLW tour on tv...you don't see a lot of running and gunning...they go out in practice and find what they think are the best fish and they fish them...they always have that back up plan in case of weather/condition changes but rarely do you see those guys fish more than a couple of spots during the day and many times during the entire tournament. Now some folks like to run and gun and that is their thing...some even do well now and then doing it...but it is not my style...I just don't see a lot of sense in leaving fish to find fish if I am trying to put fish in the boat.
    Mark-GonFishn,

    I did exactly what Dave is saying here I fished two spots all day went back and forth. There was no need to look else were. I left mid day (when the bite died) to find a kicker but ended up catching it later were I caught the others just off the ledge a little shallower.
    Eddie
    Last edited by fishing4kids; 10-23-2008 at 03:44 PM.

  10. #10
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    Good thoughts Guys for sure. Yea I do run and gun alot on my smallmouth as Dave said they are roamers for sure. But also like Dave said I can hit a spot do a little damage then leave, come back later and catch fish again sometimes. Largemouth tend to be more of a home body and that's where I need to teach myself to be more patient and stick with a spot, and this at times will apply to the smallmouth also. Didn't mean to highjack this fella's post but this is some good stuff right here.

  11. #11
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    Thumbs up Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    Quote Originally Posted by fishing4kids View Post
    I fished the mid-Kentucky Classic down there this past weekend (18-19)and caught one keeper the first day. Went out on the ledges and bluff walls and caught 4 limits on the second day to win the tournament. Barkley both days.

    Eddie
    Good job Eddie, it makes a guy feel good when he can adapt and get it done, that's more gratifying to me than finding fish straight out of the shoot.

  12. #12
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    Re: What's the skinny on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

    Thanks bunches guys, I really appreciate it. Dave, are there any baits from
    Venom that you want me to bring down to you? Let me know type and colors. skirby@insight.rr.com Steve Kirby

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