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Hey fellow anglers, I'm always looking for new places to fish that doesn't require a boat. Nothing too big, somewhere I can go after work and catch bass. My go to ponds at idlewild park in Burlington have been fished out I believe...anyone know of any public ponds in nky? Apartment ponds? Church ponds? I know most of us like to keep this kind of info private but ANY help would be appreciated.
Good luck with this. The only fish I've seen at Idlewild are Koi. Camp Ernst is always packed, the fishing pressure is the highest of any lake/pond I've ever been to. There may be 3 fish in the fairground pond. I haven't fished Big Bone Lake lately, but I do remember catching bluegill there 3-4 years ago. There are 3 pay lakes in the area. One is down Idlewild, I don't know if it is still open, but there were signs posted as late as last year. The next pay lake is by Weaver/25 I think, it has been there for years. About 20 miles down 42, Crystal Lake Bar has a pay lake that is supposedly stocked with Catfish. Kincaid has some spots to fish from the bank. Southgate was dirty/crowded last time I went there. Boltz Lake has a dock to fish from and a decent amount of shoreline. Elmer Davis has plenty of shoreline and a floating dock. Corinth is a little further away, but it will probably be less crowded.
Check out
[url]https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=http://www.fw.ky.gov/kfwis/google/Fins.kmz&sll=37.97933,-85.602625&sspn=6.233882,9.854736&ie=UTF8&z=7[/url]
to see a map of the stocked FINS lakes in the whole state.
I live in the area too... A few places that come to mind:
Big Bone - The lake is not big - maybe 10 acres. But there are some pretty big bass in there. Most people fish off the dam but you can walk around the lake if you are able to get around. The dam area gets fished alot but not the back of the lake.
Conservancy Park down off Rt. 18 on your way to Belleview. They actually just opened this last year. It's an old reclaimed pit. I only caught a few small ones last year (they had just stocked it). Probably not a lot of great fish yet.
Sperti Woods - most people don't know about this place. Back in the Hanover Park subdivision. It helps to be somewhat fit to walk down and back up the trail that leads to Gunpowder creek. The climb back up from the creek to your car probably keeps a lot of repeat visitors away. Anyway - there are a few pools there that hold bass, smallmouth and largemouth. Nothing huge more than likely. But it's a fun place to fish.
[QUOTE=mbk;513248]I live in the area too... A few places that come to mind:
Big Bone - The lake is not big - maybe 10 acres. But there are some pretty big bass in there. Most people fish off the dam but you can walk around the lake if you are able to get around. The dam area gets fished alot but not the back of the lake.
Conservancy Park down off Rt. 18 on your way to Belleview. They actually just opened this last year. It's an old reclaimed pit. I only caught a few small ones last year (they had just stocked it). Probably not a lot of great fish yet.
Sperti Woods - most people don't know about this place. Back in the Hanover Park subdivision. It helps to be somewhat fit to walk down and back up the trail that leads to Gunpowder creek. The climb back up from the creek to your car probably keeps a lot of repeat visitors away. Anyway - there are a few pools there that hold bass, smallmouth and largemouth. Nothing huge more than likely. But it's a fun place to fish.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the info! I've been to sperti park for smallmouth and you are right about that hill, I will check out conservancy park and big bone.
I fish Sperti pretty often and the walk back up never gets any easier. Good fishing down there but man if they could just install an escalator or something it'd be much better! Haha.
Most ponds or lakes in the area are very heavily pressured. One of my favorites though is the Old Alexandria Reservoir. It gets crowded at times but it is very well taken care of and I usually catch fish (bass in the warmer months or trout in the colder) every time I'm out there.
The Oakbrook area off of KY 18 has a ton of neighborhood ponds throughout it. I've never had a problem fishing any of those. Never catch anything big (1-2 lbs) but its still fun.
There's the Willis Music pond on Industrial Rd. I've caught 3 lb bass out of that one and no one has ever said I couldn't fish there. There's also a pond behind it on the right (DO NOT fish the pond on the left or you will get fined). That's where I take my kids to catch bluegill. Never tried for anything else there.
Southgate community lake is regularly stocked. If you walk the trail behind that lake it takes you to another lake that holds bigger fish and isn't AS pressured but they both see their fair share of fishermen.
There's a lake by the White Castle distribution center off of KY 17. I've fished there many times without a problem. I even talked to a guy who knew the owner and he said he doesn't mind if people fish it. He also told me that it used to be a pay lake back in the day and still had some monsters in it. I've caught a number of nice bass and crappie out of there.
Big Bone lake is ok if you walk all the way to the back. If you fish by the dam you're not going to have much luck unless you're targeting bluegill. Use CLEAR lures or live bait. The water is crystal clear so anything else will just go ignored. I've never caught anything huge out of there but I've seen some monster bass swimming around in there.
This should keep you busy for a little while. I used to fish ponds a lot but now I focus mainly on the creek and river smallmouth. The fish are less pressured and waders cost a lot less than a boat. Might be something you want to consider.
Much luck to ya!
Thanks for all the info. I've heard about the White Castle pond and Willis music but was always concerned they are private...as for sperti, I wish there was another way to get down there I've caught decent smallies down there. Idlewild pond used to be my go to spot, biggest was 4 pounds, that was 2 years ago. Too many people keep bass there, and there really isn't anything but koi fish now...
Ive heard Prisoner's lake has 8 pounders in it, but everytime I go its crowded with catfisherman.
[QUOTE=vgeek;513244]Good luck with this. The only fish I've seen at Idlewild are Koi. Camp Ernst is always packed, the fishing pressure is the highest of any lake/pond I've ever been to. There may be 3 fish in the fairground pond. I haven't fished Big Bone Lake lately, but I do remember catching bluegill there 3-4 years ago. There are 3 pay lakes in the area. One is down Idlewild, I don't know if it is still open, but there were signs posted as late as last year. The next pay lake is by Weaver/25 I think, it has been there for years. About 20 miles down 42, Crystal Lake Bar has a pay lake that is supposedly stocked with Catfish. Kincaid has some spots to fish from the bank. Southgate was dirty/crowded last time I went there. Boltz Lake has a dock to fish from and a decent amount of shoreline. Elmer Davis has plenty of shoreline and a floating dock. Corinth is a little further away, but it will probably be less crowded.
Check out
[URL]https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=http://www.fw.ky.gov/kfwis/google/Fins.kmz&sll=37.97933,-85.602625&sspn=6.233882,9.854736&ie=UTF8&z=7[/URL]
to see a map of the stocked FINS lakes in the whole state.[/QUOTE]
Map helps little. I do need some helpful info.
AJ Jolly lake has good bank access. 200 acre lake. I have caught bass up to 6lbs in there. Decent crappie and catfish lake too. Doe Run lake in Kenton Co has some nice bass too and decent bank access.
Bassky
[QUOTE=Baitcaster8;513300]Ive heard Prisoner's lake has 8 pounders in it, but everytime I go its crowded with catfisherman.[/QUOTE]
My twin had a largemouth he guesstimated to be at least six pounds jump onto the bank after the stocker trout he had brought in. Always suspected they where there. If you hang out in the shade and watch a particular minor point, you can see some of the larger bass cruising by from time to time in the late evening.
See ya around.
[QUOTE=colonelmeyer;513313]My twin had a largemouth he guesstimated to be at least six pounds jump onto the bank after the stocker trout he had brought in. Always suspected they where there. If you hang out in the shade and watch a particular minor point, you can see some of the larger bass cruising by from time to time in the late evening.
See ya around.[/QUOTE]
I'll bet once the water temp gets up in the high 70's and the trout become lethargic and start dying a big soft plastic to imitate them would be a killer bait to use for those lunkers.