whats happened

[stevec]

I think its getting a little pressured...its been a weird summer bite down there...we have been the past 3 weeks...and only had 2 keepers...we also fished the big fish tourn. this past sat...managed 3 short fish..and when I say short I mean 8 inchers..off spots we have been catching big fish on..for years

[fishbum]

I think its getting a little pressured...its been a weird summer bite down there...we have been the past 3 weeks...and only had 2 keepers...we also fished the big fish tourn. this past sat...managed 3 short fish..and when I say short I mean 8 inchers..off spots we have been catching big fish on..for years

I am seeing the same "Basic" posts that I saw a few years back when Barren was again LOW all summer.
It is one of 2 things..
1. You are fishing in the same spots you normally fish which are 5 feet shallower..
2. The thunder storm that went through last night did put the fish off a bit.. plus the Ale wife shad are all over the place at around 15 feet deep. Bass are moving out to feed on them. Hybrid guys are not seeing jumps because the Hybrids are going after the Alewife Shad as well.

Editorial Comment:
DO NOT MOVE BAIT from Cumberland or Barren to other lakes in the area PLEASE! Alewife shad significantly change the habits and the places fish hold in summer, and they also feed on the eggs of other fish at times.
WE DO NOT NEED ALEWIFE in other lakes.. IF you net your own bait and you toss at a school of gizzard shad.. you might get alewife or you might not.. Do not take the chance.. If you are not going to fish at Cumberland or Barren do not take bait from these lakes to other lakes.
Jim Dicken

[Bobby Headrick]

Hey Jim when did the Alewife get in Barren? That explains alot, as this is a totally different bait fish, it changed the bite at Cumberland, and what is next gobies? tilapia? flying carp? These non-native species are going to ruin our waters, those jumping carp are also dangerous, almost got beemed by one on the Ohio river, and this was a huge fish! Yes all need to be careful when using live bait, as a matter af fact I would almost be in favor of banning some live bait. If people are going to use live bait such as these shad and such only get them from the waters that you are fishing in. And also visting fisherpeople from other states need to check and clean their boats before putting them into other waters.

[fishbum]

Hey Jim when did the Alewife get in Barren? That explains alot, as this is a totally different bait fish, it changed the bite at Cumberland, and what is next gobies? tilapia? flying carp? These non-native species are going to ruin our waters, those jumping carp are also dangerous, almost got beemed by one on the Ohio river, and this was a huge fish! Yes all need to be careful when using live bait, as a matter af fact I would almost be in favor of banning some live bait. If people are going to use live bait such as these shad and such only get them from the waters that you are fishing in. And also visting fisherpeople from other states need to check and clean their boats before putting them into other waters.

No one knows for sure when they got there.. Assumption is they came from Cumberland Via Dale Hollow.. thanks to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency which put them in for smaller forage for trout and walleye.. ONLY to discover that they EAT Walleye and other species eggs..
OR just came straight from Dale by someone who had fished there and stopped on Barren on the way home..
You should never dump bait in the lake.. throw it on the bank and let the raccoons and birds eat it.
Worse yet is the Yellow Bass in Barren.. They are good to eat but do not get to great sizes.. I think the world record from Indiana is around 2 something pounds at best.. How did they get into the lake?? Kentucky Lake has those..
We need to ask Fish and Wildlife to pass a law that says you can not take baitfish from one lake to another.. I REALIZE it is a tough thing to prove.. but at least people would read it and ask..
Jim

[bereabasser]

yea we only caught 2 fish all night and one was 3lbs even and the other was a 10incher...broke off one good fish though...next time i think were gunna try the shallow water flippin bite

[stevec]

yea we only caught 2 fish all night and one was 3lbs even and the other was a 10incher...broke off one good fish though...next time i think were gunna try the shallow water flippin bite

actually I thought about the same thing...tried everything else deep...and Jim it may have something to do with the shad..not sure..but the spots Im talking about catching big fish on are the same spots I caught them on the last time barren was low all summer..I have been fishing down there for about 12 years..I know all lakes go thru down periods..but the way things started the year down there with the HUGE sacks of fish I wouldnt have thought it would have gotten so tough in the warm months..alewifes??? quite possibly

[dh]

dale hollow has had alewives in the lake since the mid seventies & if anything it has improved the bass populations, same thing for laurel lake & you can still catch fish in the same spots that they used before alewifes were in the lake. i have no problem with alewives & i do not think that the problem at cumberland is alewives. jmo

[Bobby Headrick]

Thanks Jim, I agree with you on your suggestion, there's a conservation issue for both BASS/KBFN & FLW/KBF. I guess just like the bass and other fish will do is we as fishermen and fisherwomen will have to adapt, start throwing alewife colored baits. As they do frequent deeper water, and at this time of year, the bass have a great food source, that is in easy reach, since most bass are deep anyway. And also since there has been a lot of big sacks weighed in earlier this year, in most tourneys it took over ten lbs just to look at the leader board, lot of high teens and 20lb sacks this year, most of the fish are at release spots,lol. Barren is like that, always has, probally always will be, up and down, I was raised on that lake, just wish that they would leave it full or almost full, year round. Also I heard today that B.A.S.S writer Tim Tucker was killed in an auto accident in Fla, so sad, he was a great writer and photographer.