Fall Crappie on Lake Cumberland

[FlyLie]

Good luck there! Never met a crappie fisherman who would give up the location of good fishing holes, come to think of it, most fishermen guard their waters and are very protective. You got to spend the Dime and put in the Time.

However, in this case, not to worry, as there are no crappie in Lake Cumberland! He...hee! They all went down the Cumberland river to Lake Barkley and some even crossed over through the canal to Kentucky Lake, then swam up the TN river to the Blood river. JK you!!!!

Suggest you hire a guide, but to my knowledge, there are zero crappie guides on LC. Suggest you contact Conley Bottom Marina Staff, maybe they can be of assistance or point you in the right direction. OR, YOU COULD HIRE A GUIDE AND GO STRIPER FISHING!!!!

[UK_Angus]

Good luck there! Never met a crappie fisherman who would give up the location of good fishing holes, come to think of it, most fishermen guard their waters and are very protective. You got to spend the Dime and put in the Time.

However, in this case, not to worry, as there are no crappie in Lake Cumberland! He...hee! They all went down the Cumberland river to Lake Barkley and some even crossed over through the canal to Kentucky Lake, then swam up the TN river to the Blood river. JK you!!!!

Suggest you hire a guide, but to my knowledge, there are zero crappie guides on LC. Suggest you contact Conley Bottom Marina Staff, maybe they can be of assistance or point you in the right direction. OR, YOU COULD HIRE A GUIDE AND GO STRIPER FISHING!!!!

True enough I suppose. Sometimes you will ask a questions and not get an answer but you will NEVER get answer if you don't ask the question.

[FlyLie]

True enough I suppose. Sometimes you will ask a questions and not get an answer but you will NEVER get answer if you don't ask the question.

True, but it takes some BRASS BALLS! Good crappie prospecting to you.

[crappiepappy]

Considering two facts ... one being that Cumberland is back at full pool, after 6yrs of being down 40ft --- and two being that by mid Oct, Cumberland may be down to Winter Pool (or on its way) ... then I'd suggest the following :

Pull up Lake Cumberland on Google Earth ... click on the year tab at the bottom left border of the map (just a small box with a year in it, usually 1997). This brings up a sliding menu, where you can look back over several previous years & see what that particular area looked like in that year. Go back to the 2008 -2012 timeframe & look at the banks around the area you want to fish. See where the trees/brush has grown up on those banks, while the lake was down 40ft from Summer Pool.

Then look in the creeks for those cuts that have "green" growing from the water to the treeline (in the 2008-2012 images).
If the lake is around Winter Pool depth ... those will still have up to around 20ft of water over them. At Summer Pool they'd have about 40ft of water over them. Check where the water level is, before you go, and you can estimate the water depth covering those young trees/bushes. That'll give you a starting point, at the very least.

Cumberland is basically a (almost) "new" lake, now that the water levels are back to normal. Tree & brush growth has had about 6yrs to take hold ... but, it's not going to be on every bank, or all along any particular bank. The Google Earth timeframe images will show you the transformation, and GPS coordinates of those spots. All the brushpiles & cover that have been placed there since the water was drawn down, now have an extra 20-40ft of water over them ... rendering them basically useless. The new growth that sprouted during the drawdown is now the prime areas ... and Google Earth's map will show you where those areas are.

White Oak Creek might be a good place to start looking.

Understand, also ... that if you are fishing during Oct 16-18th ... you'll likely be sharing the area with the Crappie USA Classic Tournament anglers, whom will be launching out of Burnside.

... pappy

[UK_Angus]

Considering two facts ... one being that Cumberland is back at full pool, after 6yrs of being down 40ft --- and two being that by mid Oct, Cumberland may be down to Winter Pool (or on its way) ... then I'd suggest the following :

Pull up Lake Cumberland on Google Earth ... click on the year tab at the bottom left border of the map (just a small box with a year in it, usually 1997). This brings up a sliding menu, where you can look back over several previous years & see what that particular area looked like in that year. Go back to the 2008 -2012 timeframe & look at the banks around the area you want to fish. See where the trees/brush has grown up on those banks, while the lake was down 40ft from Summer Pool.

Then look in the creeks for those cuts that have "green" growing from the water to the treeline (in the 2008-2012 images).
If the lake is around Winter Pool depth ... those will still have up to around 20ft of water over them. At Summer Pool they'd have about 40ft of water over them. Check where the water level is, before you go, and you can estimate the water depth covering those young trees/bushes. That'll give you a starting point, at the very least.

Cumberland is basically a (almost) "new" lake, now that the water levels are back to normal. Tree & brush growth has had about 6yrs to take hold ... but, it's not going to be on every bank, or all along any particular bank. The Google Earth timeframe images will show you the transformation, and GPS coordinates of those spots. All the brushpiles & cover that have been placed there since the water was drawn down, now have an extra 20-40ft of water over them ... rendering them basically useless. The new growth that sprouted during the drawdown is now the prime areas ... and Google Earth's map will show you where those areas are.

White Oak Creek might be a good place to start looking.

Understand, also ... that if you are fishing during Oct 16-18th ... you'll likely be sharing the area with the Crappie USA Classic Tournament anglers, whom will be launching out of Burnside.

... pappy

Awesome pappy, thanks for the guidance.