How does KY rank?

[know1]

The only other state with which I have personal experience is Minnesota and I have to say that there isn't much of a comparison. Of course, there is a lake everywhere and everybody fishes.

KY is great, but there are several others that are probably better.

[LarryG]

How do you measure fishing pleasure? Minn.very good all natural lakes, some of them huge, but will not compare in size to cumberland.But the upper peninsula of mich. great, but tomany mosquitos.Ill.&ind. fair, but acsese to many lakes limited, but lake michigan, at times a fishing paradise, and a grave yard,but these corp of engineer lakes are the best. No houses, no docks all over the shores,so to me peace and quiet count a lot. Come to think of it, if the ohio and indiana fleets would stay home, this would be paradise.

[Redskeeter]

I would say for all around fishing Kentucky is my favorite. I have a camp on Sebec lake in Maine and when I am there we can catch 50 to 100 smallies a day with "my" lure of choice. Meaning what ever I throw. The water is crystal clear and never gets muddy. The only downfalls are the water gets too hard in the winter, so hard I cant even get the boat to plane out, and the second is variety. Variety is not a big downfall if you have the ability to switch from casting to trolling. Maine has great bass, trout, and salmon fishing but they all take very different techniques and tackle. In Kentucky if I get tired of bass fishing I tie on a wire leader and a larger spinner and start fishing for muskie or I down size for crappie etc. etc. The cost to fish here is cheaper, boat registration is cheaper, gas is cheaper(cant believe I said gas and cheaper in the same sentence). I would rank Ky and Maine in a tie for 1st place depending on season. You cant beat Maine in July. 50s at night low 80s on the hot days.

[fishincreek]

Guess it depends on what species you are after and ones overall fishing experiences. Take bass for example. Ever wonder why our parking lots are not filled with bass fishermen from Tenn, Ala, Geo or even Fl? Cuz the fishing is better there. Won't see many of the northern folks taking a weeks vacation walleye(or perch) fishin Ky. Catfish are catfish, as are panfish. So what we have is a good striper fishery and some great trout fishing( and we share that with TN). The Dept. does a pretty good job keeping what we have, but let's face it, there are plenty of better places to catch fish.

[RoadToad]

Sure, there are places where you can catch more fish, but the problem is, they're not in Kentucky. Kentucky River isn't the most productive fishery in the world, but when you're motoring upstream at sunup, and the water is like glass with mist rising from it, well... there's no place else I'd rather fish.

[riverrat12]

Gettin back to the most running water, other than Alaska and more shore line than Fla. And home of the alltackle world record brown fish. And our entire northern boundry being the real Ky. oh I mean Ohio river , me being a riverrat... I'm in heaven... tops my list and I've fished all over north America, but no place like home.

[offdtop]

I have fished many many lakes throughout the midwest and I finally called KY lake home. You know I can jump in the car and make a 20 minute drive and put in somewhere else if I am looking for change in scenery. I know the dept of wildlife is doing OK, water patrol - ok, I can go out and catch some of the nicest crappie and the 5 to 6 pound bass are nothing to be ashamed of and most would be proud to fish and or hunt here as I am. compared to? don't care to compare it's home, I love it.

[kylakenitro]

I would say Ky has to rank in the top 10... IMO i rank it #1. Ky offers such a wide variety of fishing that alot of other great states don't. You southern states have some great LM fishing but no SM. The northern states have great SM and walleye and Trout but can,t keep up with the southern LM. In KY you can pick a species, then all you have to do is pick a lake for that fish. Alot of other places you choose what you want to fish for then pick which state you want to fish...JMO!!!

[artcarney_agr]

I think Kentucky is great, but our KDFWR could do a much better job with better funding. I think our funding program for KDFWR stinks when compared to other states. We're way behind on that aspect! I say let KDFWR get funding from our state taxes and quit this dependency on license sales...jacking up the price of a license each year is getting to be retarded and not the answer!

More money to KDFWR would mean more pay to the currently underpaid employees, enhanced facilities, more public fishing and hunting opportunities, and the quality of our fisheries could be enhanced more than where we're at now. Most states have a budget for their Fish and Wildlife Resources that triples that of our budget! It's a subject that not many people think about, and one that doesn't come up often, but money does make the world go round and directly impacts the quality of our hunting and fishing more than you could ever imagine.

[DJD]

I read your post and while I can see your commitment I couldn't help but think higher taxes for us to get where you want to be. My ears perk up when someone feels that a program can do better with more money...I always ask where does that money come from? How do other states do it?

[geobass]

I have heard this statement before about fishable water and Kentucky. Lakes, streams, rivers. Second only to Alaska. Where is this information coming from? Not saying it is wrong, but I would like to know. I'm from Michigan and it has over 10,000 lakes plus 1000's of miles of rivers and streams. And lets not forget 4 of the 5 great lakes. Minnesota has over 11,000 lakes, as well as 1000's of miles of streams and rivers. Both of those states I would bet have more registered boats then Kentucky. I spent 9 plus years in Kentucky and have fished all the major lakes, and they all have something to offer. I have fished in about 15 different states and I would rate Kentucky in the bottom half, sorry if I have offened anyone.jmo

[riverrat12]

I have heard this statement before about fishable water and Kentucky. Lakes, streams, rivers. Second only to Alaska. Where is this information coming from? Not saying it is wrong, but I would like to know. I'm from Michigan and it has over 10,000 lakes plus 1000's of miles of rivers and streams. And lets not forget 4 of the 5 great lakes. Minnesota has over 11,000 lakes, as well as 1000's of miles of streams and rivers. Both of those states I would bet have more registered boats then Kentucky. I spent 9 plus years in Kentucky and have fished all the major lakes, and they all have something to offer. I have fished in about 15 different states and I would rate Kentucky in the bottom half, sorry if I have offened anyone.jmo

Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Geo, check out rivers and lakes just one that I found quick. I to have fished many states and maybe I catch alot of fish here because I fish it every week. And no offense taken, I just happen to rank it as one of my favorites. Chuck