Thread: Kentucky Lake

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  1. #1
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    Kentucky Lake

    Nobody talking about fishing Kentucky Lake this fall? Those that have, how has it been?

  2. Member RANGER487's Avatar
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    #2
    I have a High School fishing team that I coached fishing the National Championship there right now. I could not make the trip and they did to catch a keeper yesterday. There were like 107 teams that did not catch fish but the leader has 22 lbs with 4 big smallmouth and 7lb largemouth that team has also won the National Championship 2 years in row. There were a few limits but many 1 and 2 fish bags. It's on the Bassmasters website if you care to follow.

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    #3
    In my opinion the lake is fishing better than it has the past 2 or 3 years. Still nowhere close to what it once was though

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    #4
    Quote Originally Posted by RANGER487 View Post
    I have a High School fishing team that I coached fishing the National Championship there right now. I could not make the trip and they did to catch a keeper yesterday. There were like 107 teams that did not catch fish but the leader has 22 lbs with 4 big smallmouth and 7lb largemouth that team has also won the National Championship 2 years in row. There were a few limits but many 1 and 2 fish bags. It's on the Bassmasters website if you care to follow.
    Had breakfast with one of the boys father this am, he said the two leading it ran 140 miles one direction and fished for two hours, from Ky Dam thats a long haul, that would put them down pass the I40 bridge or farther!!

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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Will Seyler View Post
    In my opinion the lake is fishing better than it has the past 2 or 3 years. Still nowhere close to what it once was though
    I dont know if we will ever see it that good again, the carp would have to be eliminated and grass growing again i would think!!

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    #6
    The lake just kicks my butt

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    #7
    It is actually out of Paris Rodney. Not sure if you can even run 140 miles south from Paris can you?

  8. Member RANGER487's Avatar
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    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by RangerRodney View Post
    Had breakfast with one of the boys father this am, he said the two leading it ran 140 miles one direction and fished for two hours, from Ky Dam thats a long haul, that would put them down pass the I40 bridge or farther!!

    They got it figured out on that lake they backed it up with a 17lb bag on day 2

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    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by RangerRodney View Post
    I dont know if we will ever see it that good again, the carp would have to be eliminated and grass growing again i would think!!
    Grass would certainly help a lot. Ky was a total different lake when we still had grass

  10. Member
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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by RangerRodney View Post
    Had breakfast with one of the boys father this am, he said the two leading it ran 140 miles one direction and fished for two hours, from Ky Dam thats a long haul, that would put them down pass the I40 bridge or farther!!
    Not sure where he got his info but it was wrong from what the two kids said afterword!! Blame me for fake news i guess

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    #11
    Quote Originally Posted by jgorrell.tcp View Post
    It is actually out of Paris Rodney. Not sure if you can even run 140 miles south from Paris can you?
    Yes, to Pickwick i would think!!

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    #12
    I haven’t fished it but I keep up with the guys still at murray. They have been catching some good fish here and there but not like it used to be. Still some big fish to be caught though. 2 more years or so it will be fun.
    Murray State Alum
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    #13
    I believe you are right bloodriverbandit. I think two years and you will see a huge difference. When we came down late summer we caught a ton of fish from 12-15 inches.

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    #14
    I fished Berkeley this past weekend, I was shocked with the numbers of Asian carp in the lake, Unreal!!, Fishing was really bad, but interesting was the number of smallmouth that were caught.
    Eric Beaty
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    #15
    Just my opinion. Yes the carp have an effect. Yes the lack of weeds has an effect. Lack of largemouth spawn for several years because of wildly fluctuating water levels has a HUGE effect. Why so many smallmouth? Their spawning activity is not nearly as affected by water level as they generally spawn offshore. I've had days the last 2 years when I caught literally dozens of 10" to 14" smallies. I also watched the netters take thousands of pounds of carp in a couple of hours and all were big ones. They had the opinion that maybe they also had bad spawns a few times as there don't seem to be any small to medium fish.

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    #16
    11,000 pounds in this boat yesterday!!

    [IMG][/IMG]

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    #17
    maybe we are looking at a good smallmouth experience in a few years....

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    #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Lykins Tr21 View Post
    maybe we are looking at a good smallmouth experience in a few years....
    Last few years I’ve seen a lot of good browns come out of the lake. I don’t think the carp affect them as much as the largemouth
    Murray State Alum
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    #19
    Quote Originally Posted by BloodRiverBandit View Post
    Last few years I’ve seen a lot of good browns come out of the lake. I don’t think the carp affect them as much as the largemouth
    My personal opinion is that the carp have clean the plankton out of the water more efficiently than the shad ever did. This leads to higher water clarity (less partials) which gives and advantage to sight feeders like smallmouth and spots. Another sight feeding fish is the skipjacks which I believe are a primary forage for smallmouth in late spring through summer when the fingerlings are still small enough for them. More prey=more predators. I'll also agree with you in the opinion of smallmouth spawning offshore and therefore being less affected by the fluctuating water levels.

    The issue with the Largemouth is complex and multilayered. First off was bad spawns dropping the population of the fish. Secondly was the carp out competing the natural forage. Thirdly is the heavy fishing pressure and tournaments during the spawn. I feel that the LM have began relating to roaming schools of shad rather that setting on a point or ledge where we used to be able to easily target them. Without learning a new way to target them fish we will continue to struggle. Last July I found a school on top of a hump in 46' that's deeper than I've ever seen a bass on that lake. We went on to catch 26lbs on that spot (catch weigh release)they weren't there the next day.

    I saw many more bait schools this past year than I've seen in the previous 4 and caught a ton of 14-16 inchers so I'm still optimistic about the future of the lake.

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    #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy3 View Post
    My personal opinion is that the carp have clean the plankton out of the water more efficiently than the shad ever did. This leads to higher water clarity (less partials) which gives and advantage to sight feeders like smallmouth and spots. Another sight feeding fish is the skipjacks which I believe are a primary forage for smallmouth in late spring through summer when the fingerlings are still small enough for them. More prey=more predators. I'll also agree with you in the opinion of smallmouth spawning offshore and therefore being less affected by the fluctuating water levels.

    The issue with the Largemouth is complex and multilayered. First off was bad spawns dropping the population of the fish. Secondly was the carp out competing the natural forage. Thirdly is the heavy fishing pressure and tournaments during the spawn. I feel that the LM have began relating to roaming schools of shad rather that setting on a point or ledge where we used to be able to easily target them. Without learning a new way to target them fish we will continue to struggle. Last July I found a school on top of a hump in 46' that's deeper than I've ever seen a bass on that lake. We went on to catch 26lbs on that spot (catch weigh release)they weren't there the next day.

    I saw many more bait schools this past year than I've seen in the previous 4 and caught a ton of 14-16 inchers so I'm still optimistic about the future of the lake.
    Yes I would be interested to see someone from a spotted bass lake like Lanier come up and fish how they normally do for suspended fish and see how they do.
    Murray State Alum
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