Barkley Lake Crappie

I am going to Barkley lake the first of April with my wife and 10 yr. old daughter. I am not familiar with the lake so I did contact a guide. The fee was $275 per boat and I am choosing not to hire a guide.(please understand i am not needing someone to justify why I should ---time vs money...)
I am planning to fish for 4 days and am wondering. Typically would an unfamiliar angler be better off casting small jigs towards Pea gravel banks or dunking minnows attempting to find brush while looking at depth finder?

Can I expect to see lots of fisherman mid week?

Also are there any archived fishing reports from April of 08 and 07.

Thanks in advance! [URL="http://www.fishin.com/forums2/images/icons/icon11.gif[/IMG"] [/URL][IMG]http://www.fishin.com/forums2/images/icons/icon11.gif[/IMG]

either way will probably catch fish, but be sure to keep an eye on the finder for brush on ledges, than I would jig that area to see what bite was better.Crappie.com has a ky discussion board. Good luck

That is spring break week and every year I usually do several days at Barkley with my family during that week. It is a good time for crappie with many bedding and staging fish. I do best when the water is still low (they raise it around the first of April) and if you hit it still down 2 or 3 feet key on gravel banks that transition into deeper water in the bays. We usually catch them on 1/8 oz road runners with curly tails or 1/16 crappie tubes just casting the banks in 3 to 5 feet of water. It is a fun family bite in that throwing small baits like that you catch not only crappie but bass, sunfish, bluegill, yellow bass, drum, etc. -- lots of action especially on a sunny warm day up on these gravel flats.

I also make a small 1/4 oz #2 colorado blade bass spinner that I will fish slow rolled in that time frame and catch bass and crappie both on. I have also caught crappie on a small suspending crank bait fished very slowly and erratically at that time of the year. If they seem like they don't want to bite jigs that can be a good choice to trigger them to bite. Also a good way to catch a few wayward bass too.

If the water is up to summer pool (or beyond like last year) the crappie will spawn in the bushes (or tree tops last year!) on gravel flats which makes casting jigs kind of tricky. Most guys fish minnows on floats around the bushes. Once again I have caught some on that small spinner fished slow around the bushes but that is not one of my favorite bites.

kc

If it's your first time on Barkley in the spring, get a map. Subtract 5 ft from the depths on the map and you'll see that there are some really shallow spots in the middle of the lake, so be careful. Where the fish will be is anybody's guess. Weather varies so much this time of year that you can't count on anything plus or minus 2 weeks. Like others have said, you'll probably catch fish either way. Try a few things and see what works. I'll be on Kentucky that week.

If you will email me I will give you information where you can find back copies of my report for the past 6 years or so. Not trying to get you to take a guide trip...I only guide for bass.

Kentucky Mark, if you have never been to Barkley or Kentucky lake, i would recommend you hire a guide on your first day their. I understand your their with family and $275 isn't chump change, but from my own experience it's well worth it. The guide will put you on fish and the rest of your trip you should be able to catch fish on the pattern you used with your guide. But the most important thing is your going to learn from the experience and you can pick his brain all day, it's really priceless i think if you've never been their. And if you decide not to hire, i still think you'll catch fish because these lakes are just that good......fyi i would fish Kentucky over Barkley??

There are (or were) plenty of brush piles that KDFWR has put in and marked with a single white pvc pole coming out of them. Get a fishing hotspots map of the area and save the $275 for dinner (actually a bunch of dinners with 275) at Ms. Pattis. If you can find fish and pattern them on your home lake then you should be able to on Barkley or KY for that matter. They are probably just a lot bigger. Pick a bay or couple of creek arms and concentrate in those. There is lots of water over there so you have to break it down into smaller chunks first. Good luck, I hope you load the boat.

[QUOTE=slowride;359064]Kentucky Mark, if you have never been to Barkley or Kentucky lake, i would recommend you hire a guide on your first day their. I understand your their with family and $275 isn't chump change, but from my own experience it's well worth it. The guide will put you on fish and the rest of your trip you should be able to catch fish on the pattern you used with your guide. But the most important thing is your going to learn from the experience and you can pick his brain all day, it's really priceless i think if you've never been their. And if you decide not to hire, i still think you'll catch fish because these lakes are just that good......fyi i would fish Kentucky over Barkley??[/QUOTE]

I completely AGREE.

A guide will give you more information than you can gather from 100 fishing boards.

AND he will show you just HOW serious the lake can get.......

Barkley can be VERY, VERY dangerous, and you WILL lose a prop, if you don't understand when, where and HOW to navigate the lake.

I've only fished it a couple times, and EVERY time, I end up dinging up the prop a little. Take it slow, stay in the channels...........cross ONLY where you can, and don't take any chances.

I've not fished the lake for crappie too much, but have had GREAT luck on bass fishing from donaldson creek. Lots of good areas, without having to get too far out of your comfort zone in that area.

Later,

Geo

25 OR 30-- Crappie with A guide @ $275 a day NO WAY! ! Me CATCHING 9 OR 10 Crappie { priceless} ;)


Not a lot of fisherman mid week

And Geo is right the lake can be dangerous,, get a map and go slow.

GOOD LUCK eH........ Tim