Kentucky Lake trip

[nate4023]

Hey all,
My dad and I have finally decided to make the trip down to Kentucky lake to try out ledge fishing , which from reports seems to be in full swing. Just looking for any kind of advice that might be helpful since we've never done it before. Are these ledges very hard to find and is there a trick to knowing which ledges should produce or not produce?

Thanks in advance,
Nate

[jdw174]

My suggestion to you would be to book a reputable guide for your first day. It will be an immense help to you.

[nate4023]

That would have probably been a good idea, but the trip was a "spur of the moment thing" and we're leaving today. When it comes to ledge fishing do you all usually find one specific spot that shows fish on the graph and just cast into it or do you all actually fish along the ledge? Not looking for any honey holes, we're just driving around 4 hours and would like to have some luck! I was also reading about a "dock bite" and then a bite back in the creeks? Are either of these things very productive?

Thanks,
Nate

Oh yeah, We're staying at Sportsman's Lodge in Jonathan Creek, if that would change in fishing tactics.

[Fishin is life]

There are some productive secondary ledges at the mouth of jonathan creek if the winds too rough to fish the main lake ledges. You have to find bait and fish on the ledges, or you wont catch anything. You can fish a mile down a ledge and not catch a single fish, but when you find em there will be a bunch. Absolutely use your electronics

[Dave Stewart]

Here is a link to my reports page on this site....look down the left column and you will see an article I wrote a number of years ago about ledge fishing....should help get you started: Kentucky Lake Fishing Report - Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Shellcracker, Catfish

If you really want to learn ledges, I do a ledge teaching trip that involves 7-8 hours classroom and 3 hours on the water...but the article will certainly get you pointed in the right direction.

Dave

[nate4023]

Thanks for the replies! That article really helped!

[Dave Stewart]

Thanks for the replies! That article really helped!

Glad the article helped you out. I wrote that article about 20 years ago and of course it still applies....with the advent of more modern electronics ledge fishing has become somewhat easier but the electonics still do not find fish...they just show you fish after you fine them, finding the highest percentage spots to hold fish more often is done with knowledge...hence my class that I teach on how to do this. Have a good time this week. If you are going out today, be very careful, there are lake wind warnings out for the lake. This lake can get very nasty win the wind is coming from the south or north..we have a strong frontal passage today with lots of wind starting from the south and switching to the nnw later today...it is gonna be nasty. I will be cancelling my trip today for this reason.....and if I am cancelling my trip with all the experience I have here...that should tell you something. Friday and the weekend are looking good right now.

Dave

[nate4023]

Yeah it's pretty windy today so we'll probably stay around Jonathan's Creek, some of the ledges around there. If the wind gets too bad, would we be wasting our time fishing around docks or in the backs of creeks?

[Dave Stewart]

There are some fish feeding on fry around some docks and in the backs of the creeks around wood cover.

[Fishin is life]

If you cant get on the ledges in jonathan, take a left out of the marina cove that youre staying in an start fishing those docks. They hold pretty good depth and the bridge will shelter you from a lot of the wind. If you go out toward the main lake and ho under the bridge there are some rip rap banks on your tight that weve had some decent sucess on. Again these spots wont be as good as ledges but should put you some fish in the boat in less than ideal conditions

[nate4023]

So we tried out some ledges around Jonathan's creek with some luck. First ledge we felt showed enough fish/baitfish on we casted on too and ended up catching three until it slowed down. (We were throwing 6Xd's). And dad caught a catfish. Then the next one I caught a decent sized crappie. after that (around 11ish) we had no more luck. We went to the local bait store and picked up a couple 10XD's and plan on going out after we eat. Hopefully with better results, but so far it hasn't been that bad!

Nate

[nate4023]

Still aren't having any luck finding fish off the ledges but are catching quite a few fish with some decent sized ones in the creeks around mayfly hatches (I believe). Dave, we're going to need to book a trip the next time we're down so we can learn how to ledge fish! How early in advance do we need call for the class?

Nate