Kentucky Paylakes...

[waterdog101]

I love to fish also, and like to keep good catfish thats safe to eat. but I would like to pass this story alone to you guys thats eating the pay lake catfish. first let me say, the pay lakes were you fish, may get their fish from someone that has clean safe to eat catfish.but I worked with this guy, that told me a story about these guys, that he new that went to tennessee, and took an old refrigerator and laid it down in the back of their pickup. and would catch catfish on trot lines, from the holston river. and bring them back to ky and sell them to pay lakes. the catfish from the holston river are like the ones in the ohio river. they'er not safe to eat. the river where he said these guys got their fish was near rogersville tn. I went their with my brother-in-law to fish for cats for fun. and the river is full of catfish. we had a blast catching them.but i didn't eat them. now were these guys did this or not, I can't say for sure, but the guy told me they did and gave me directions to the fishing place. and it was a dandy place to catch catfish.and it makes a guy wonder, if holston river cats are in paylakes, some from the ohio river are to.

[FishFry]

As far as West Wind goes, there is no limit and it costs $15 for a 12 hour ticket. I do best in the far end of the back lake where the water is shallow and the moss is thick around the edges. Best baits are any types of chicken, burger, cut bluegill, worms, crickets, etc. but when the bluegill are bad its all cut bait for me. There are some huge bluegill and crappie that you can keep but the bass are catch and release to help with the bluegill overpopulation. I won't have a chance to go again in the next week or two but I will PM you on here if something changes and I can get out.

As for the river fish being in paylakes, there is no doubt that some river fish are stocked in some of the paylakes around here. I used to fish at Bennetts a long time ago and there were river fish and even spoonbills in there. People started finding out that the fish weren't farm raised and stopped going. The lakes I fish get their fish from hatcheries in Mississippi and Arkansas. The only river fish stocked in these lakes are flatheads and blues that are catch-and-release. Also the channel cats that are farm raised have a different look from those that are taken from the river.

[BassBandit35]

I'll admit I've used to fish paylakes and I think it is real pathetic! More than often I have seen bunch and bunch of 50+ lbers of dead blues and flatties afloat in the paylake and dumped in the dumpster like they're garage. Not a pretty sight! That's the main reason I quit fishing paylakes! You buy state license to fish public waters but then pay to fish a paylake to catch OUR fish that they're raping our rivers and lakes fishery? All these owners care about is M O N E Y not the fish. Sooner or later the blues and flatties will become exotic and endangered. Seriously something to think about!

[BEAVERSCREEK44]

Where is West Wind located and what days are they open?

[FishFry]

West Wind is open 24/7 and it's out towards Finchville off Taylorsville Road. Not sure of an address though but their number is in the phonebook I believe.

[walkeraviator]

Anyone ever fish Cedar Lakes out of Zoneton Road in Bullitt County???