Cave Run Crappie Guide?

Hello All,

I'm trying to find a professional guide, or a kind local fisherman, to help me with a trip to Cave Run in the spring. My dad is 87 years old and lives in Paris, KY. For the last 30 years he's gone to Florida for the winter to crappie fish. However, the drive is getting to be too much for him and he's no longer going to Florida. I was hoping to find a guide who can show us how to fish Cave Run. It's only an hour from his house and is probably the easiest trip for him at his age. I live in Cincinnati and would like to come down and fish with him 4-5 days this spring/summer. He's pretty much a crappie or panfish guy. Would like to get him on some keeper crappie that he could keep and put in the freezer.

Anyone know a guide service that covers crappie fishing at Cave Run? If not, know anyone who might be nice enough to take us out or give us some pointers? No worried about us stealing your honey hole or cleaning out you spot. We would only fish a few days/yr there, spread over several months.

Thanks for any guidance you can provide. My dad will really appreciate it.

Tom

[QUOTE=TIC;559724]Hello All,

I'm trying to find a professional guide, or a kind local fisherman, to help me with a trip to Cave Run in the spring. My dad is 87 years old and lives in Paris, KY. For the last 30 years he's gone to Florida for the winter to crappie fish. However, the drive is getting to be too much for him and he's no longer going to Florida. I was hoping to find a guide who can show us how to fish Cave Run. It's only an hour from his house and is probably the easiest trip for him at his age. I live in Cincinnati and would like to come down and fish with him 4-5 days this spring/summer. He's pretty much a crappie or panfish guy. Would like to get him on some keeper crappie that he could keep and put in the freezer.

Anyone know a guide service that covers crappie fishing at Cave Run? If not, know anyone who might be nice enough to take us out or give us some pointers? No worried about us stealing your honey hole or cleaning out you spot. We would only fish a few days/yr there, spread over several months.

Thanks for any guidance you can provide. My dad will really appreciate it.

Tom[/QUOTE]

I dont have a guide for you and i"ve never fished Cave Run. However i can suggest looking at Crappie.com.Go to the Kentucky state forum.You can search that forum for Cave Run and see reports and posts from the past.You can also post and ask for help.This is a very helpful community that i know can help you and your dad get started on Cave Run.Good luck!

This guy is likely your best bet : [url]http://www.justinmullinsoutdoors.com/[/url] ... as far as a guide goes.

Should he not be available, anytime during your stay, and if you have a depth finder with GPS capability ... you might want to look at this site : [url]https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=11yuOQESZ2lp9IQ3TcEivEh8mjmk&ll=38.090386938852994%2C-83.49018999999998&z=13[/url]

Depending on when you go, and the conditions of the lake at that time & what stage the fish are in at that time ... longline trolling jigs, casting jigs to standing timber and brush in the coves, spider rigging with jigs/minnows, or using a float/minnow around shallow shorelines & brush or laydowns should cover most of the productive methods.

If you don't know the lake, I'd probably stay out of the river end and concentrate my efforts on the coves and creeks ... and the northern shorelines of Scott and Caney Creek, and the main lake shoreline between Twin Knobs and Shrout Hollow (and the creeks off the East end of that shoreline). That is, provided you are there during the spawning period. If you're there anytime before or after the spawn ... you might also consider some of the offshore brush piles across the main lake from the Alfrey boat ramp, as they are placed on a flat that usually has some emerging weed growth.

If you're there during the peak period of the Crappie spawn ... you're likely to see where & how fish are being caught, just by observing where and how the many other anglers are fishing.

I would, however, avoid the lake on Apr 1st (and maybe even several days prior to that) as the Crappie USA Tournament Trail will be having a tourney there on Apr 1st ... but, that's your call.

I've crappie fished this lake my entire life. The crappie fishing has been good the last couple of years. The biggest crappie are usually caught in the river portion of the lake. The easiest way to find spots is to look for slides on the steep hills. This will have good brush so then it's just a matter of how deep it is. Slip float with a minnow or dead line right into the brush. The warmer the water gets, casting 1/16oz jigs produces good. When casting, never drop anchor or tie up. Keep moving and find active fish. When they are getting close to spawning, head to Leatherwoods, Longbow, and Beaver. In the summer, which I don't crappie fish then, they catch a lot of fish on Zilpo flats trolling roadrunners. The key for us has always been good cover near a creek or river channel.

All,

Thank you for the information so far. My preference is to get a guide for the first visit because I don't know the lake and I'm not a crappie fisherman. Also my dad is aging and is not the fisherman he once was. Also, his boat's fishfinder does not have GPS.

However, if I can't get a guide for the dates we would need, I think we can figure it out based on your information. We might not get on a perfect spot, but we should be able to catch a few.

I think I'll reach out to Justin to see his availability and recommendations. I'll also go to the Crappie.com forum and search Cave Run.

Thanks again for you help.