My Trip to Cumberland

I had a great time…other than that (and believe this or not) there were no fish boated between my partner and I over the course of the three and half days we were there (Sun, Oct 29th thru Wed, Nov. 1st). Water temps were 63 degree’s and holding steady each of the three days we were there. We got skunked but it was still a great time!

The first day (Sunday), there was a tourney taking place out of Pumpkin Creek. It looked like there were 30 boats or so that were signed in. We were at the ramp about the same time they were weighing in and from what I saw it didn’t look like very many people were holding any bags of fish, although we did see a couple of bags with a few fish. I have no idea what it took to place in this particular tourney. Anyways, on with our first day, first day in we discovered the boat had a very nice leak in it where the inlet for the live-well enters the boat. My buddy had just put some new automatic controls on it and hadn’t had any problems prior to this, we believe the water was coming through the aerator pump itself. At any rate, we discovered this while sitting in about 120’ of water. Also, his trolling motor was on its last leg and may as well have been used as a boat anchor. It still “worked” (sort of) and it was working fine the last time he had the boat out which was back in the spring. Oh well, ”stuff” happens. We high tail it back to the ramp, pull out and try to seal up the leak, take the lower unit of the trolling motor apart and try to fix it. It was caked with mud on the inside. My buddy said he had this problem before and cleaned it out and put it back together and it worked fine. Please remember this is old equipment we’re dealing with here, the O-rings were probably shot which is the reason for the mud on the inside I would assume.

Day two (Monday). Put in at 5:00 am, we don’t take the boat off the trailer but instead choose to simply back the boat in the water and see if the leak issue has been resolved…no luck, our bucket still had a hole in it. Back up the ramp we go to the BP to see if there is something there for us. At last, problem solved, we found a plug that would fit inside the inlet and away we go. Back down the ramp, boat does not leak, problem #1 solved. The trolling motor issue (Problem #2) was still a problem however. While in Pumpkin creek there was another guy in a bass boat fishing alone so we asked him if he had any idea’s as to where we could get a new/used trolling motor at close by. He suggested Bill’s Boat Barn across from the same BP we had just left. (This goes out to the gentleman in the bass boat, if you’re reading this and remember two guys in an older Procraft fish/ski asking you about a trolling motor we thank you for your suggestion because it turned out being fruitful.) We were eager to fish though so we fished till late morning, pulled out and went to the Boat Barn. Good news was they had a trolling motor but the bad news was we’d have to wait till 2:00 pm as the guy was getting ready to leave for a few hours. Day #2 was basically shot but we did manage to finally get back in the water before nightfall and we fished on up until around 9:00 or so with no luck.

Day three (Tuesday), everything is lovely, boat does not leak, new/used trolling motor works like a champ, we’re ahead of a frontal system moving in, we’re thinking today is our day…HA,, HA…Not so…still no fish caught. What a difference a day makes for in the morning and early afternoon we were in our tee shirts and by end-o-day we were in howling rains and fairly cool temperatures, (thank goodness for raingear for it was coming down in droves there for awhile, we were beginning to wonder if it was going to start sleeting).

Last day (Wed), heavy fog and NO WIND!!! Man, what a relief to have calm weather because up to this point we were battling the wind each day we were there. We fished all around the island, etc…it was raining off and on and it just felt right, everything felt good, there was surface activity as far as fish busting the surface was concerned. I’m fairly certain it was stripers busting the water. At any rate we couldn’t even get a strike. Although there was a Tracker with three guys in it dragging lines and after they got about 150 yards away from us they had a fish on. I’m under the impression that this was the same single fish that was causing all the commotion in and around the area we were in at the time.

I can’t remember which day or days it was for all of the bad luck we had but we did have a couple of nice hits and I even had a small mouth on at one point. This happened in Pumpkin Creek. I know it was a smallmouth because that sucker pulled hard, came up out of the water and shook its head as if it was laughing at me while saying just before he spit out my Silver Buddy: “Ha, Ha, you’re not catching me today sucker!”

All in all it was tough fishing for us. I was warned about it before heading down by Elwood and Mhall…Oh well, we had a great time anyway, it didn’t spoil our Pinto Beans one bit and I’ll definitely return. The island area looks great to me, in my opinion it looks like it should be infested with Stripers.

In closing I have a question just to get your all’s opinion. Do you all think Cumberland is pretty much a striper only lake? It seemed like everyone we saw was striper fishing and everyone there was down rigging or using deep diving lures, one of the two, we didn’t see very many at all fishing for bass. I like Cumberland, I like Cumberland a lot but at the same time I want to catch fish. I realize Dale is a better fishery for smallmouth, but what about Cumberland, is this just a bad year for it as far as largemouth/smallmouth are concerned?

Hey Chub I had no idea you were a fellow from this site. I am the guy you were talking to at the ramp. I'm sorry you had problems and sorry for no fish. Fishing was extremely tough. I had a few on Sunday with one keeper. On Monday I broke a pretty good fish off in the mouth of Harmon creek, probably four or five pound, and caught one decent Ky to save the skunk for the day. Don't feel bad, nobody was catching fish that I heard of, it was just dead. I hope all the problems worked out and hey there is always next time. Cumberland can humble the best bass fisherman in the world. Earlier this year at the Walmart tourney names like Larry Nixon, and many others never weighed a keeper for three days work. But believe me they are there, I've had some days you dream about on that lake and when it's on it's really good. Don't give up and give the lake a try in early spring, March, April and May. Had a few trips early this year that were awesome. One day I had a 20lbs in five fish all released of course after taking good pictures. Only one was a good spot and the rest brown bass including three over four and one that went 5lb 5oz. Hang in there and I'll see you at the lake. My name is Mark and I fish out of a blue and white Champion with a 150 Yamaha on the back. And yes to answer youR question I think that Cumberland is overall having a very bad year for the bass fishing IMHO. :-)

Sorry Tim for not catching any fish but I think Cumberland has been down ever since 2004. The April Showers did not come until May/June and flooded the dam parking lot under about 4 feet of water. Drought all summer that followed kept the lake level low, then the lake rose 13 feet in September (I think) one day when the hurricane rains came thru. Then they pulled the water down and had that Walleye Fish kill for the water that was being pulled was basically from the "Now" thermocline and fish were floating everywhere. Even killed the trout in the fish hatchery. I was told they rented dozers to bury the dead and brought in trout from North Carolina to help start back up the population in the hatchery. I remember driving over the dam in December and January and the water was at the edge of the concrete barrier next to the Dam parking lot. All of this fluxuation can't be good for the fishery as a whole and when you factor in that the lake is 30 feet below the treeline currently, what cover and structure is there to hold the fish. Tough lake to catch Largemouth is all I know. They had the FLW there in November a couple of years ago and I think it was 10lbs that won a 2 day tourney. Deon Hibdon finished 7th with 3lbs and the reason I know this is that I caught a 4 lb smallie on a jig with my Dad that day. I laughed at how tough a fishery it is when a moran like me lucks into a fish that would have put me 7th with some of the best in the world. I won't even go into the fact that I think the Striper population is basically taking over the lake. Freshwater Sharks that do nothing but swim and eat. Consider there are over 100 Liscensed Striper Guides that fish the lake and some of them have multiple boats and there is not one single liscensed Black Bass guide that works the lake. You see where the local money is, therefore the lake is being steered towards Stripers and Joy Boaters in my opinion.

Dude i dont know wat ya talking about i have been there twice in the last 2 weeks and had lots of good spots and lots of smallmouth with 9 of em being keepers. if ur there day after tomorrow looh around and ya might just see the lil bumblebee boat and 2 crazy guys in it pullin in fish lol. We goin down daylight saturday morning and goin to fish til about 10 am sunday. Sorry ur having bad luck with the stripers tho. Maybe next time u will kill em GL.

Mhall - What a small world it is sometimes...we had our long sleeves on so we couldn't see each other's fishin.com tattoo's. Kind of makes me think the guys that run this site should come up with some decals to sale for a buck or two a piece or something.

As for my trip there, hey that's why it's called fishin'. I'll be back though, I gaurantee I'll be back! I assume you live down around that area somewhere, maybe we can hook up with each other for a day the next time I'm down there...what's your email address?

I would love to see some fishin.com hats!!! I have some hats from another website... bassfan.... that I wear, and would love to wear some fishin.com hats as well.

I'd even buy one of the fishin.com hats, which is more than I will normally do. I hate to buy something to advertise for someone else, usually insist that my advertising for someone else be compensated, but I do love this site and would support it.

I'd love to see some hats at the spring get together!!! How cool. Maybe the top three could win a hat, the rest of us poor smucks would have to PAY for them... LMAO


Tight lines and God Bless

Danny

>Mhall - What a small world it is sometimes...we had our long
>sleeves on so we couldn't see each other's fishin.com
>tattoo's. Kind of makes me think the guys that run this site
>should come up with some decals to sale for a buck or two a
>piece or something.
>
>As for my trip there, hey that's why it's called fishin'. I'll
>be back though, I gaurantee I'll be back! I assume you live
>down around that area somewhere, maybe we can hook up with
>each other for a day the next time I'm down there...what's
>your email address?


Actually Chub I live in Oldham county, 20 minutes outside east of Louisville. It's a long drive for me but I love the lake and have for many years now. My e-mail address is [email][email protected][/email]. Sounds like gettinggone is catching them, there is always somebody that is. When I go, it's when I can, and if all these fronts we have are treating you wrong, then well it can either be good or not so good. This I know about Cumberland for sure and anybody that denies it is telling stories. Of all the lakes in this state almost none will change patterns quicker than the big C. Also if you fish the deep clear highland lakes such as Dale or Cumberland with regularity it will make you a better fisherman elsewhere in my opinion. Use flouocarbon line and lighten up on the test. In my opinion it helps, alot will disagree with that, but it helped me get bit more. I was looking at 10lb low-vis green trilene the other day 5 feet down with polarized glasses, that's not a good thing to an ole wary brown bass.

I have never fished Cumberland before. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like I read several reports this spring where it was taking around 25 lbs in a couple tourneys to win. And that was smallmouth. Was I just dreaming this??? Is this lake only good in the spring months?

to bassing 101 yes yes yes late winter & spring is when cumberland is best & the smallmouth fishing is improving with the 18 inch size limit, expect cumberland to produce big bags of s.m. next spring jmho

>I have never fished Cumberland before. Correct me if I'm
>wrong but it seems like I read several reports this spring
>where it was taking around 25 lbs in a couple tourneys to win.
> And that was smallmouth. Was I just dreaming this??? Is
>this lake only good in the spring months?


It's all about timing and conditions down there and of course a little luck never hurts.