Barkley Lake Fishing in April

[thehunterswife]

We have a fishing trip planned for Barkley Lake in Eddyville April 19-26. We are hoping to fish crappie. The past 2 years we went the end of March and were too early. Got lots of bluegill but were hoping for crappie. Do you think we will be alright in April? And also, I read the limit is now 20...is that correct?

Thanks for your help.

The Hunter's Wife - http://www.thehunterswife.net

[Dave Stewart]

Not sure why you had a bad year here at the end of March last year. The Black Crappie were spawning around the end of March last year and reports from guides and anglers all indicated a very good bite on them on both lakes. Maybe it was just the area you were fishing or techniques you were using.

Normally you will find the White Crappie spawning here around mid April so you should be ok unless the water levels or water temps play havoc with the White Crappie spawn here again this year as it has the past couple of years. The poor spawns on the Whites the past two or three years is why a 20 fish limit has been enacted here on these lakes this year...not enough of the younger year class fish being taken in the fish counts.

So, yes there is a 20 fish limit on Crappie here this year. Good luck and hope the weather and water conditions are in your favor here this year.

[thehunterswife]

I think it had to be the area we were fishing. It seemed there wasn't anyone catching crappie. Three years ago we caught a ton of crappie. So don't think it was technique.

[mhall]

We have a fishing trip planned for Barkley Lake in Eddyville April 19-26. We are hoping to fish crappie. The past 2 years we went the end of March and were too early. Got lots of bluegill but were hoping for crappie. Do you think we will be alright in April? And also, I read the limit is now 20...is that correct?

Thanks for your help.

The Hunter's Wife - http://www.thehunterswife.net

Welcome aboard to a female to our site. I think you are the only one. Welcome, and not a bad little site you put together yourself there, I'm glad the water didn't get into your house. We need a long break from all this rain.

[Moose1am]

The fish may be in POST spawn by the 3 rd week of April but you never really know for sure what the weather will be like. I prefer to fish the 1 st or 2 nd week in April on KY or Barkley Lake.

I think you are looking for the spawning crappie that are in shallower water and easier to reach. Note I didn't say easier to catch as if you can find crappie anywhere they are easy to catch. The trick is finding out where they are. They have to be hungry to bite and we can find them but we can't always make them bite the baits. That's why we call it fishing.

In Late March and early April the crappie are in PRE Spawn mode. They will be staging near the first drop off near the spawning areas. They are easier to locate and therefore catch during the late prespawn and the spawn itself because they must be in warmer water where sunlight can help ripen their eggs.

The males will be in the shallows first preparing the nest and then they will also stay longer to guard the nest until the crappie fry hatch out and venture out on their own following the plumes of plankton which float across the main part of the lakes or bays. That's basically the only thing small enough for the crappie fry to feed on. A minnow (even a baby minnow) may be too big to get into the crappie Fry's mouth. That's why crappie fry have such big eyes compared to the rest of their tiny bodies. They have to be able to see and catch microscopic zoo plankton.

Now you will catch fish in the 3 rd week of April but they may be more scattered.

Also remember that not all the crappie spawn at the same time. They may spawn in waves. And they may not all spawn along the shoreline. some may spawn in the deeper waters out near underwater humps that reach up close enough to the surface that when the water is clear there is enough sunlight filtering down to the top of the hump to help hatch the eggs.

A lot depends on the water levels too. Rising lake levels can encourage the crappie to rush into the Bulrushes or Buck brush to spawn. Newly flooded land can warm the water and encourage the crappie to spawn.

I use to fish Barkley years ago and we caught many big crappie right in the buck brush. Just beware that a lot of water snakes like to climb up on the buck brush and sun themselves. I have caught crappie Slabs in as little as two feet of water or less sometimes in the buck brush. Put a bait down next to the roots and if there is a crappie there he will let you know PDQ.

Minnows (Tuffies about 1.5 to 2" long or chubs or even shiners) are your best bet. They use the Kentucky Lake Crappie rig which consists of a long leader with a 1/2 oz lead sinker and two hooks tied to some 20 lb test mono fishing line. One hook is tied to the very bottom and then the sinker is threaded onto the line and the line is put though the hole down the middle of the lead sinker and wrapped around the sinker again and back though that hole. The line extends back up above the sinker where it's tied onto a stand out metal arm that has another fishing line that's shorter and sticks out at a right angle from the main fishing line. This short line is where the second hook is tied. Then there is a two way swivel at the standing end of the setup. This rig will catch crappie in muddy water or very stained water. But in very clear water I would use 6 lb test Stren Magnithin line and a #2 or #4 thin gold wire Aberdeen hook tied on with a Palomar knot. The Palomar knot gives the best line knot strength of most knots. You will get less line breakage at the knot with this knot.

Even when fishing with live minnows it helps to add a small crappie nibble to the hook. Chartreuse crappie nibbles are my favorites. But other colors may work too. It depends on the strength of the sunlight and the angle that the light enters the water and the water color or clarity. All these factor into which light waves reach the bait and bounce off the bait into the crappie's eyes. Not all wave lengths of light pass through deep water that's very muddy. Red light waves are the longer wave lengths and they are filtered out by the particles in the water before the Blue wave lengths of light. Blue is a much shorter wave length and can pass though the water farther than red light. But in shallow water most wave lengths of light will get though the water and bounce off the bait an into the crappie's eyes. Color can make or break a fishing trips some times and as the sun changes it's angle to the earth the color required to entice the fish to bite may change thorough out the day. Also it helps to match the hatch. In early spring the minnows are spawning also and they may have lots of baby minnows in the area. So the spawning crappie may be looking for very tiny minnows. So maybe try matching the hatch.

It's been years since I fished for crappie on Lake Barkley with my Dad, Uncle and my younger Cousin. We went down to that area and camped out and fished for a weekend and we had a blast.

Look for areas that warm up first if you fish early in the year.

Also look for an area where there is a deep water channel that swings close to some shallow flats that have wood cover on the bottom. Bottom material that's best for spawning is a marl type bottom. Not too hard and not so soft that the mud covers the eggs after they are laid. Sand and marl type bottoms are best for spawning crappie. If you find a good spot one year the crappie will use that spot every year if the water levels are consistent.

Changing water levels do more to ruin the crappie spawn on Lake Barkley or any other Corp of Engineer Lake that's used for flood control vs recreation. If the crappie move into the shallows to spawn in the 2 nd week of April and the Corps let the water out at the **** really fast and drops the water level by 10 ft the eggs can be left on dry land and die. There goes a lot of the next generation of crappie. But that's why not all the crappie spawn at the same thing. This helps give the rest of the crappie eggs a chance to survive water level fluctuations. Crappie are very sensitive to falling water levels. They can sense the lessening of water levels (water pressure) above them and they will move out of shallow water into the creek channels that connect back to the main river channel. They use these creek channels and ditches to move form deep water to the shallows and back again. If you fish there late in April they may already be back in the creeks and moving back out of the bay using the creeks like highways. They still have to eat and if you can find them you can catch them.

My last fishing trip to KY lake was in the last week of April and we found the fish scattered. But in two days we still caught about 15 nice crappie. One went 1.5 lbs and was caught right of the dock when we came back off the main lake. We fished all day long on the main lake and didn't catch anything that big all day long. That trip was fun as the lake was clear as glass the second day and it was possible to fish anywhere on the main lake without the wind blowing us all over the lake. That can be a lot of fun when KY lake is that calm.

Hope you have a fun trip and catch a lot of fish.

Remember don't forget the Crappie Nibbles. LOL I won't leave home without them

You might also consider hiring a guide for the first day and then let him figure out where the crappie are located. After that you can go fishing on your own and do better.

We have a fishing trip planned for Barkley Lake in Eddyville April 19-26. We are hoping to fish crappie. The past 2 years we went the end of March and were too early. Got lots of bluegill but were hoping for crappie. Do you think we will be alright in April? And also, I read the limit is now 20...is that correct?

Thanks for your help.

The Hunter's Wife - http://www.thehunterswife.net

[thehunterswife]

Thank you all so much for your advice and much detailed information. It is greatly appreciated.