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  1. #1
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    Barren river near bowling green

    I have a jet boat and was wondering if anyone knew of any sections near bowling green that I'd be able to run a bit of the river? I'm not from the area but am traveling thru seeing if it would be worth a days stop.

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    #2
    Mammoth cave used to have good water. Not sure about the elevation after our severe drought. Yeah, you can find some water in Bowling Green or above Barren River Lake

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    #3
    You can basically run the entire river with a Jet boat from dam to green river (minus the falls right in downtown BG). However, the drought we have right now may restrict some places, haven't been out there under this dry of weather. Lots of great stretches for fishing. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions.
    Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades

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    #4
    Not until next year probably. Dam release starting.

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    #5
    Stopped by and it was pretty muddy. Tried it out for a few hours caught a couple skellies. But it did appear to be too muddy for most my favorite tactics.

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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by merc115 View Post
    Stopped by and it was pretty muddy. Tried it out for a few hours caught a couple skellies. But it did appear to be too muddy for most my favorite tactics.
    Did you fish under i65 bridge Friday by chance?

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    #7
    Yes I did.

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    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by merc115 View Post
    Yes I did.
    4:30 -5:00 ish? I always check the river and I seen a boat, it hit me about corvette musuem. Catch any

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    #9
    Yeah that was me. Yeah I caught a 17in smallmouth 4 or 5 dink spots. Water was flowing not too bad. River was stained pretty good. So we didnt go back on saturday. Although I think we still could have pulled some out. Really liked what I saw though. River seemed up a tad although hard to say for sure being my first time out. Does the river fish well into the winter?

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    #10
    The lower section below spillway is more dependable in the winter. The drawdown of the lake is starting and usually lasts through mid December.

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    #11
    So when they are letting water out you want to be by the spillway? Sorry I've never fished many rivers that have dams like this.

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    #12
    Quote Originally Posted by merc115 View Post
    So when they are letting water out you want to be by the spillway? Sorry I've never fished many rivers that have dams like this.
    Barren River Lake is flood control, like most of our lakes in Kentucky. They draw down the lake 30 ft from summer pool to winter pool starting in mid-October. This usually takes a couple months or about .5 ft of water level per day with no rain. The section of the river below the spillway is wider and can still be fished during the draw down. The closer you get towards the dam, generally the shallower it is and more gravel bars, so the high flows basically make it un-fishable until the draw down is over.

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    #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Sokyangler View Post
    Barren River Lake is flood control, like most of our lakes in Kentucky. They draw down the lake 24 ft from summer pool to winter pool starting in mid-October. This usually takes a couple months or about .5 ft of water level per day with no rain. The section of the river below the spillway is wider and can still be fished during the draw down. The closer you get towards the dam, generally the shallower it is and more gravel bars, so the high flows basically make it un-fishable until the draw down is over.
    I live on Barren they used to drop it from 552 ft (summer pool) to 525 ft, now they drop it to 528 ft.(winter pool) The part I hi-lighted in red is confusing - the spillway is beside the dam so that the dam is never topped by water in a flood. The river is a lot wider in Bowling Green if that is the area below the tailwater (some call it spillway) you are referring to, but it is a loooooong way.
    Last edited by jeffblanton; 10-18-2019 at 07:27 AM.

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    #14
    Quote Originally Posted by jeffblanton View Post
    I live on Barren they used to drop it from 552 ft (summer pool) to 525 ft, now they drop it to 528 ft.(winter pool) The part I hi-lighted in red is confusing - the spillway is beside the dam so that the dam is never topped by water in a flood. The river is a lot wider in Bowling Green if that is the area below the tailwater (some call it spillway) you are referring to, but it is a loooooong way.
    Agree with you.... It was confusing and misleading.

    The actual river is fishable year around down near bowling green.
    Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades

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    #15
    Thanks guys. I appreciate it.