Barkley lake turtle bay

[Castin_A_Jig]

I will be staying there the fourth of july weekend . Can anyone give me some tips on fishing around this area?

[fishingfreak89]

fished there all week and wore them out. red eye shad on the points

[offdtop]

I will be staying there the fourth of july weekend . Can anyone give me some tips on fishing around this area?

Keep your life jacket on!!!! Fish early and late get off the water during the day the traffic around there will be ridiculous. That being said Nickle Branch, Demumbers and Willow are all awesome bays.

[publican57]

Nice place to stay. Good fishing all around there.

[Castin_A_Jig]

How deep do u guys think they will be by that time?

[bassman_ky]

When the boat traffic picks up I would head back to green turtle bay and fish inside the retaining walls. Go flip the slips, fish behind the slips or go back and fish around the area where they unload houseboats. There are plenty of fish in that bay and you don't have to deal with all the cabin cruisers.

[artcarney_agr]

...and you don't have to deal with all the cabin cruisers.

I predict a little bit smaller turnout than last year. The price of gas/diesel has cut down the traffic considerably over the past few years. 10 years ago it was madness, and I was right there in the middle of it on the jet ski, catching monster air off of those monster waves!!! Yee haw!!!

You're right there in some great fishing waters. Find out which way the current is rolling through the canal, and fish the downstream side for smallies - they tend to stack up on the first flat towards the dam right at the mouth of the canal. Small jerkbaits, crankbaits, flukes, etc. should get you bit. Usually white bass and even sauger can be found on those flats - white curly tail grubs or white lead spoons are good ones to try for these guys.

Fishing in the canal along the riprap with a crankbait is another good thing to try for bass, early and late. A topwater is another good option if you get there early enough or late enough. There is a little pocket in the canal on the north side, close to the Barkley side, that is fairly shallow - largemouth and smallmouth will move up in there in the evenings to feed.

The catfish are in full swing with their spawn - small minnows under a bobber, fished along riprap/rocks should get you bit. In the canal is usually a hot spot for this, you'll probably see lots of catfishermen there in the early evening giving it a try - usually hook up on some good smallies on those minnows as well in the process.

[artcarney_agr]

Whoops, forget about the catfish on the spawn then, I was thinking about this weekend. D'OH! The rest though is good info. The white bass should be starting to get in the jumps then, so keep an eye out for them and a rod with a lead spoon on the deck so you can make a long cast into them. The islands near Barkley Dam are sitting on a huge flat that tends to draw the whites as well - if you venture over to them, be sure to stay in the channel. I duck hunt those flats in the winter, and they are usually out of the water then.