Licking River questions?

[engineer]

I have been fishing the licking river since I was a young boy and I have never had such bad luck fishing as I do now.And every body I know that fishes it says the same thing.Before a person could go and catch several 12to 16 inch smallmouths and 10 or 12 nice redeyes in a several hour wading trip and now I struggle to catch a single bass.Can anybody tell me whats going on???? I fish the licking from ruddles mill to cyhnthiana.

[chasmo]

I have been fishing the licking river since I was a young boy and I have never had such bad luck fishing as I do now.And every body I know that fishes it says the same thing.Before a person could go and catch several 12to 16 inch smallmouths and 10 or 12 nice redeyes in a several hour wading trip and now I struggle to catch a single bass.Can anybody tell me whats going on???? I fish the licking from ruddles mill to cyhnthiana.

I have not made it down there this year but I was there last year and had borderline luck with only a few smallies but saw my greatest fear there-river otters. I used to fish another creek outside of Louisville and ALWAYS caught good numbers of bass until 3 years ago when I went and ran into a family of otters and fished for 4 hours with not one hit at all.

That stretch that you fish was my favorite as I had caught plenty of smallies in the range you listed, some days 50+. IF the otters have moved in, it doesn't stand a chance.

[nonamesleft47]

Same here, I used to fish it all the time. It wasn't uncommon to catch 40-60 smallies in a day under the dams. I've been twice this year between the dams in Cynthiana, caught very few smallies and saw otters both times.

[Bassky]

Otters definitely affect the fishery. The drought the past couple of years has hurt all of the fisheries in this small body of water too.
Bassky

[engineer]

Yes I have not seen otters but I have seen a abundance of crawfish in the last few years.I guess this is due to the lack of fish to eat them or the droughts.

[kyfanatic]

While I enjoy the return of all the wildlife in Kentucky and give props to KDF&W for all their hard work,I for the life of me cannot understand stocking otters,they eat the heck out of Small Mouths and other fish.Short of giving trappers something new,and a little wildlife viewing the otters are more of a liability than an asset.

[BOURBONBALES]

i have been fishing the licking river since i was a young boy and i have never had such bad luck fishing as i do now.and every body i know that fishes it says the same thing.before a person could go and catch several 12to 16 inch smallmouths and 10 or 12 nice redeyes in a several hour wading trip and now i struggle to catch a single bass.can anybody tell me whats going on???? I fish the licking from ruddles mill to cyhnthiana.

i am an avid smallmouth angler and have fished alot of the licking river as well as stoner and hinkston creeks and i have to agree with you that over the years these fisheries have become less and less productive. I remember the days not longer than five years ago where you could catch countless numbers of quality smallmouth, largemouth, redeye and numberous other species of fish on a good day. I prefer wading or canoeing areas that are not often fished and even these pools are becoming less productive.
One of my favorite stretches of water that is only accessible by alot of wading and access through private property, or a good 7 mile canoe trip from the closest put in has declined. This was an area, believe it or not where i had caught and released several good smallmouth in the 20 inch range and had days of 60 plus fish. I thought that i had been blessed to have found such a good pool that offered me great fishing year after year. About 4 years ago i had come across two adult otters playing in that pool. I didn't think much of it at the time but in the past two years i haven't caught a keeper or multiple fish the times i have been. In fact i have given up on the spot all together. I don't know if it has anything to do with the otters in that pool of the creek but i had discussed with a conservation officer earlier this year about it and he said that the otters definately could have deplenished that whole stretch of good fish.

I trust in the fact that the kdf&w knows what they are doing and will make good decisions regarding the otter situation on our smaller waterways.

I believe we should definately take a closer look into what other problems that could be causing the decline in these fisheries. There could be water quality issues as well as numerous other problems that could be affecting things. I would also really like to see a slot limit applied to smaller waterways such as some sections of the licking river, stoner and hinkston creeks simular to what is used on elkhorn creek.

[stoner]

The otters have been a problem for 3 or 4 years, I complained on here before about the numbers of otters above the water plant. Fishing has declined tremendously. I haven't been out much this summer, but I've seen them everytime, I plan on getting out one night soon.
They are very bad in all the local streams.

Stoner

[kyfanatic]

I fish the northern section of the Licking from Pendleton county to Kenton/Campbell alot,I still find most areas productive,but there has been a slight decrease I'm thinking.I haven't seen a river otter,but I'm sure they are there as well,because I have seen them in a tributary creek albeit aways from the river and what appeared to be slides on the bank.I thought water quality had improved in the past few years as we see alot more live mussel beds and such.I haven't fished it as much this year due to the continuos heavy rains and high water.I hope KDF&W knows what they are doing,as I have no interest in an otter,but I do in my favorite fishery.

[fcfishman]

Otters are becoming a big problem all over. I fished 6 Mile Creek a few weeks ago for the 2nd time this year with very limited results. This is a creek that 5 years ago still gave up 50-60 fish a day, with excellent size for stream smallmouths. I have fished this creek for 25 years and in its heyday we had 100 fish days. Still as remote, no homes, big pools, lots of riffles, good water, only difference is otters. We saw 4 on our last trip. Hope KDFW takes another look at it and hope the fur market gets back up to where people can at least get their gas money back trapping and clean them out a little.

[etcfishin]

This seems to be a real problem when there's multiple reports on this board. The fisherman (myself included) may have to start trapping.

[stoner]

Just dont get caught shooting them.

Stoner