Sympsons Lake (Bardstown, KY)

[QUOTE=kc;370038]Do you have to have a permit to put it a non-motorized boat like a canoe or jon boat?[/QUOTE]
yes,you have to have for any boat,horsepower determines the price of your permit,plus if you are in county or out..it has some very good fish in it,and at times they are picky..they hired a fellow to check for prmits,buddy of mine from lou. has pulled out there 3 times and he has been there,and run him off..the permits are about double for foreigners..there will likely be no ramp or parking upgrades,the water company is wanting to close it to folks period but i think that is on hold for now.they are also limiting permits..

Keep it legal folks, buy your permits or go somewhere else. I buy mine and you should have to buy yours too if you choose to fish there! Game Warden can and will issue a fine if your caught!

I agree with keeping it legal however why buy the permit when later in the summer you can't even get your boat in the place because the water is down so low? If they would extend the ramp or something to where you could get your boat in and out and even put some money into the lake. That boat ramp is one of the worst I have seen, the design of it anyway. I'm sure the ramp was an after thought but still, if you want to change people to use the place at least make your facilities worth while and accessible.

[QUOTE=CrankBaitKilla;370087]I agree with keeping it legal however why buy the permit when later in the summer you can't even get your boat in the place because the water is down so low? If they would extend the ramp or something to where you could get your boat in and out and even put some money into the lake. That boat ramp is one of the worst I have seen, the design of it anyway. I'm sure the ramp was an after thought but still, if you want to change people to use the place at least make your facilities worth while and accessible.[/QUOTE]

extending the ramp would be useless,when it drops enough the ramp is unuseable,it is real shallow until you get down the lake to where the power lines cross,unless you have a small aluminum boat to just slide in.last year it was dry past the first right turn,so they would basically have to move the ramp all together..and yes i personally like to see it kept legal,that normal drawdown is what keeps the fishery as good as it is.if it was made to be able to fish year round it would be just another water hole with small fish..

I agree guys that it does stink as far as access but to say your not gonna buy a pass because your not satisfied with conditions but your gonna go anyway is like saying your gonna steal gas if it goes up past $3.00 a gallon. Remember we have young adults watching this site for our guidance! Not trying to stir anything just keepin it good honest fish talk!

We just don't even go over there anymore it's usually a dead sea everytime we have been there. Rather just go to Taylorsville 30 minutes away where maybe at least we have a shot at catching something.

I agree that we need to keep it legal. There are four things that can happen when you go to fish it. 1. No permit and guard working means no fishing. 2. Permit but no parking means no fishing. 3. No water means no fishing. 4. Putting the sticker on your boat which is not water proof to find it missing by the time you get to the lake means no fishing...haha.

We just chose not to fish there because of the price. They really hose you if your not from that area. $115 buys alot of gas to Rough, and T-ville. We never put the sticker on, kept it in a zip lock bag with the receipt, no one wants that thing on their boat and nothing was ever said about it either. If you choose to fish there, by all means pay the cost but think twice about it , it's not worth it ( to me anyway)

This is how I see it and who agrees with me on this? I pay my annual fishing license every year to fish all of the public lakes and for the most part they are kept up very nice. Boat ramps always usually in good condition and everything is usually very accessible. So I feel that it's worth it forsure and I never go without buying a fishing license at the same time I'm getting something back for it. Sympsons Lake wants you to pay all that money to fish there which is fine, however take care of the place as far as the boat ramp and what not is all that I'm asking. You guys have to agree if the ramp was nicer and they actually had some parking instead of having to park on the road then it would be wroth paying the money for the permit. However they want you to pay this money then don't want to do anything to keep people satisfied, for that money like others have said I could go to T-Ville, Rough, Cedar Creek or Nolin.

"We never put the sticker on, kept it in a zip lock bag with the receipt, no one wants that thing on their boat and nothing was ever said about it either."

I was told not to put it on my boat when I bought it this year because they are not water proof. Which I already knew from past experience. Then a friend of mine went up there in last couple weeks and the guard told him they are telling him that they want them on the boats. If I put it on mine I will have it lamenated first then then use box tape. But If I was running a nice bass boat that would not happen. Just an FYI but I would say you will get by with the zip lock bag as long as the old man does not have to tell you like every trip you make. It seems he has a pretty good memory. haha

The ramp is not perfect but I have put in on worse. The parking is the only thing that bothers me. I would prefer not to get killed on that road because people don't slow down. The water levels does some but if I know before hand I will take the 12 foot jon and slide in. The only time I get upset is when I make the trip and find that there is not enough water to drop the G3 in once I get to the ramp. So yes it does **** but for me I have figured out that I can still get my moneys worth if I know what the water level is and I think if you fished it often it could be worth it. But for out of towners it would not be.