Lake Cumberland Report

[Mean Morone]

Went down to Lake Cumberland Wed. through Sat. My buddy and I were looking for some striped bass action. First place we went to was Greasy. We went all the way back to where the water was 6-11 ft deep and the water temp was 57 deg. Shad were all on the surface and as we pulled up to them the stripers and white bass started busting. We threw Flitterbaits and caught big white bass and stripers up to 28 inches. We fished after dark but the stripers just weren't on the banks good. We threw Gizz 4's and Gizz 3's but only managed three stripers with the biggest being 24 inches. We fished Caney one day and couldn't find any big schools of shad but did manage one short striper on a Flitterbait. We did see some birds working and saw some stripers boil but it was scattered. We tried the main lake at night casting Gizz 4 deep divers but the water was up and all the banks we usually fish had trees growing on them(in the water). Very frustrating getting hung up in trees all the time. Water temp was 54.8. So back to Greasy the next day where we tried to get some shad but couldn't catch any. We used the trolling motor to look for schools of bait and then drop our Flitterbaits to the bottom and then crank it back through the school. We caught 5 stripers, one walleye, one crappie and several white bass using that technique. Saved the trip for us. We saw some jumps up in Greasy but they didn't stay up long. We did hook a couple of stripers including one keeper buy casting Flitterbaits in the jumps. I guess we had a pretty good trip even though we didn't catch many keepers. The night casting was a bust, maybe in a couple of years it will get back to what it was. Oh if anyone wants a Gizz 4 deep diver, there is one in a small tree on the back of the island near the pump station in Greasy. That one came from my personal stash. Good luck.

[mhall]

Nice report Scott, I'm glad you guys caught some fish. Also good to hear more positive feedback about the Whites as well. That flitterbait is a neat little deal, I love mine. Ya know that late evening thing seems to be better than after dark the last couple of years??? The lake being held down sure has changed things alot...

[RICHYD4U]

Thanks for the report! Sounds like a good trip!

-Rich

[Mean Morone]

I was really impressed with the white bass. The first one I caught was probably around 17 inches. I thought I had a hybrid or something because I'm not used to catching whites that big. They were right in with the small stripers too. The 28 inch striper my buddy caught was right with the whites.

We caught a couple of largemouths too on the Flitterbait but they were closer to the bank. Our catch rate wasn't as good as it should have been on the stripers because my buddy was using Fireline and his knot kept failing on him. We would have easily had 20 or more stripers if not for the bad knot.

The lake sure has changed. It has been steadily changing over the last 4 or 5 yrs. I do see some good changes though. We heard more big gizzards flipping against the bank at night. You have to have big bait fish before you can have big fish feeding on them. If we ever get the lake back to normal and can get the stripers through the summer, there should be some really big fish prowling the banks at night again.

[Tim_T]

That sounds like a lot of fun catching those whites with some backbone to them. Was there Thursday. We bottom fished and caught several stripers but no keepers. I had a big one on for about 30 seconds before he hung me up and broke me off.

[Mean Morone]

We used to bottom fish but didn't on this trip. We couldn't catch any shad and forgot to bring some cut skipjack so all we had were lures. They seemed to work pretty well but it wears you out fishing that way during the day and then casting half the night. I'm still kinked up in my neck and shoulders.

[stripernut]

owww, ouch, oooch im all sore from catching fish.....c'mon scott you loved every minute of it ! lol

the night bite WAS on for a minute, funny thing is we used wait for the cold nasty december/january nights, now it seems to really die off at night as it gets colder ????????? i dont know????

glad you had a good trip.

[Mean Morone]

Wait till you get to be my age. You will kink up and charley horse just walking to the boat. Second night out we quit at 11:30 p.m. because my legs gave out. I just cant stand like that all day.

[anthonyroberts]

I appreciate posts like these, I have been out of the fishing scene for a while, and am trying to get back into it. Can anyone please tell me where I can get some of these baits that are mentioned such as the flitterbait and the Gizz 4. Thanks in advance...tony

[PRO V LE]

I appreciate posts like these, I have been out of the fishing scene for a while, and am trying to get back into it. Can anyone please tell me where I can get some of these baits that are mentioned such as the flitterbait and the Gizz 4. Thanks in advance...tony

Go up the road on 90 to Cumberland ProBass in Bronston and take a bunch of money.

[Bucketmouth10]

Cumberland ProBass doesn't have the striper sized Flitterbaits, they only have the smaller ones used for bass. I was in there yesterday and asked the guy at the counter about the bigger model. Says they can't get rid of them when they've got them but I have a pretty tough time imagining that.

[Bucketmouth10]

ProBass did have the Gizz 3 and 4 in multiple colors though. Might want to try ProBass in Russell Springs or Backwaters on the 914 in Somerset for the bigger Flitterbaits. All of them are darn good looking baits though, SmackTackle makes some nice stuff but Pro V Le is definitely right about bringing some extra money, they sure don't come cheap.