Kentucky and Barkley Fishing reports

[Dave Stewart]

July 21, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 358.36 Surface Temperature - 90
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 358.40 Surface Temperature - 90

Both lakes are about one half foot below summer pool and on a slow draw down. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 27,600 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 17,400 cfs this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: Hot, humid, light wind and no current says it all for this past week. The TVA has not drawn enough water since last week to produce any noticable current. We have been under heat advisories all week with heat indexes above 100 each day. As you can see the water temperatures are high and there has been very little wind except for around an occassional afternoon thunderstorm. The ledge fishing this week has reflected these conditions. We have some nice fish but the numbers are down and the ledge bite is slow and scattered. Slow techniques such as Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, slow dragging jigs, shaky heads and drop shots have been the best producers. There has been some activity in the creeks and bays on secondary creek channel points and banks where some schools of smaller bass have been feeding on schools of fry early and late in the day.

There is currently an excessive heat advisory out for the lakes area thru Sunday with heat indexes forecasted to be well above 100 degrees. My best advice is get out early or wait and go out late in the evening to avoid the nasty afternoon temperatures. Make sure you have plenty of water, sports drinks and sunblock. The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 96/low of 74 with a 20% chance of thunderstorms and wind SW at 4. Saturday is forecasted to have a high of 92/low of 76 with a 20% chance of thunderstorms and wind SSW at 5. Sunday the heat continues with a high of 96/low of 77 with a 20% chance of thunderstorms and wind SW at 6. The extended forecast into mid next week is showing high's in the low 90's/ low's in the mid 70's with a 60% chance of thunderstorms each day. Keep an eye out for approaching storms. These summer storms come up quick, move fast and have a lot of cloud to ground lightning as well as localized high winds.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the ledges as well as on main lakes points and secondary creek channel points with swim baits, Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points and creek channel banks in the creeks and bays early and late in the day where they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken on top water lures, medium running crank baits, chatter baits, Texas rigged worms and finesse jigs.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth now being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.


PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Big Hammer swim baits in sexy smelt and bay smelt, Keitech swim baits in pro blue and pearl, Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemon, Strike King splash bait in white, Slong’s football jig Cumberland craw, D&L football head jigs in Cumberland craw and Oops patterns, Slong’s shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Yamamto senkos and Yum dingers in green pumpkin, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs.



White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. Some whites are also being taken near mayfly hatches early and late in the day near overhanging trees in the creeks and bays on small topwater poppers and inline spinners. I did witness a few short lived jumps on top of some ledges in the 12-15 foot depths this week. I am sure these fish could have been taken with small topwater lures, lipless crank baits or in line spinners.

Bluegill: Bluegills are being taken near mayfly hatches early and late in the day near mayfly hatches around overhanging trees in the creeks and bays as well as around docks at night. These fish are being taken on red worms and wax worms fished under bobbers.

Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.


IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures, Pro Tungsten weights, and All Pro Rods. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.


GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.


Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.



If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

July: Sorry, I am booked up.
August: I still have some available dates...book now.

I am also taking reservations through November with a number of available dates. Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

July 29, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 358.93 Surface Temperature - 90
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 358.90 Surface Temperature - 90

Both lakes are just below summer pool and on a draw down. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 13,800 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 8,400 cfs this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: This has been another week of hot weather with heat indexes over 100 each day and flat water with little breeze except when we have had some nasty summer thunderstorms come through the area, mostly in the afternoons. The TVA is still not pulling much water through the dam so there is no current. Overall the ledge bite has continued to be slow although you can catch a few fish, you need to fish slow and be patient. Slower moving techniques such as Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, dragging jigs, shaky heads and drop shots continue to be the best producers for bass. It looks like there will be a little reprieve from the higher heat indexes over the weekend before we return to higher temperatures early next week. Keep an eye on the sky for these fast moving thunderstorms we have been having. They contain a lot of lightning, locally heavy rains and high winds.

The forecast for Saturday is for a high of 84/low of 69 with a 60% chance of scatterend thunderstorms and wind WSW at 6. Sunday's forecast is for a high of 86/low of 70 with a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms and wind SW at 4. The extended forecast into mid next week is calling for a return of high's in the 90's/low's in the 70's with light winds and a chance of scattered thunderstorms each day.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the ledges as well as on main lakes points and secondary creek channel points with swim baits, Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points and creek channel banks in the creeks and bays early and late in the day where they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken on top water lures, medium running crank baits, chatter baits, Texas rigged worms and finesse jigs. There are also some bass being taken around docks where there are schools of fry. These fish are being taken on unweighted senko type baits and finesse jigs.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth now being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Big Hammer swim baits in sexy smelt and bay smelt, Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemon, Strike King splash bait in white, Slong’s football jig Cumberland craw, D&L football head jigs in Cumberland craw and Oops patterns, Slong’s shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Yamamto senkos and Yum dingers in green pumpkin, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs.


White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. Some whites are also being taken near mayfly hatches early and late in the day near overhanging trees in the creeks and bays on small topwater poppers and inline spinners. White Bass have been very active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges on the main lake. These fish are being taken on inline spinners and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish.


Bluegill: Bluegills are being taken near mayfly hatches early and late in the day near mayfly hatches around overhanging trees in the creeks and bays as well as around docks at night. These fish are being taken on red worms and wax worms fished under bobbers.


Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:


Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures, Pro Tungsten weights, and All Pro Rods. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.


GUIDE SERVICE:


For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.



Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

July: Sorry, I am booked up.
August: I still have some available dates...book now.

I am also taking reservations through November with a number of available dates. Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.


Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[fishinghype]

Lake Conditions:

Barkley – 358.60, 8,400-27,000 CFS, water is stained in color, with water temps running in the mid to upper 80’s
Kentucky – 358.60, 20,400-36,100 CFS, water has light stain in color, with water temps running in the upper 80’s to low 90’s

Weather: The heat and humidity has made it’s presents felt here around the lakes the past week and half. Then again it is the end of July and we are in the middle of summer. Our typical summer pattern has set in with the heat and humidity during the day and isolated thunderstorms popping up in the late afternoons and early evenings. Some of these storms diminished as fast as they developed. Last night though we had a front push through and bring some storms with it. Lots of lightening and rain with 3’’ here at the house. For the upcoming week we are looking at highs running in the low to mid 80’s with night time temps dropping back into the mid 70’s and looks to be a chance of rain most everyday till midweek but scattered.


Bass Fishing: It’s summer time and again not much has changed over all. The ledge bite is still hit or miss depending on what the TVA is doing with the water generation. As normal with little or no current the bite can be pretty fickle but when they get it ramped up the same spots can be incredible. When there has been water movement the main lake ledges and flats have been the place to be as these areas are much more affected by what the current is doing. Swimbaits, crankbaits, big spinnerbaits have been catching the active fish while we’ve had to pull out the football jigs, Carolina rigs, shaky heads and Texas rigs along with a drop shot to pick away at the inactive fish. Our most effective baits overall again this week have been a 1/2oz Picasso lures football shaky head paired with a 8’’ Big Bite Baits finesse worm in either black blue fleck or candy apple colors. We are throwing this on a Powell 734 MH baitcasting rod with 14lb Sunline sniper fluorocarbon line. When there hasn’t been much current we’ve been fishing in the mouth of the bays with large flats and soaking a Texas rig worm in the brush along them. For this we are using a 10’’ Big Bite Baits candy apple Juice worm paired with a 4/0 Gamakastu worm hook and 3/8 or 1/2oz Bag 5 Baits tungsten worm weight.


White and Yellow Bass: I didn’t have any trips for them this week but seen plenty in the jumps out on the main river flats. Using a blade bait like a Steel Shad or a rooster tail dropping them over the side of the boat and hopping them off the bottom and letting them flutter back down will get you bit and most of your bites with happen as the bait falls back to the bottom. I don’t personally troll for them but have seen plenty of anglers doing so with deep diving crankbait and with curly tail jig or rooster tail running off the back of it catching both white and hybrids.

**************HOT SUMMER SAVINGS book and take your trip in August and save $50 off the trip!******************


DO NOT get left on the dock because you forgot to book a trip. Call us today and setup your next fishing adventure and possibly catch the fish of a lifetime at 612-889-2423. Some awesome summer fishing and weather is ahead so be sure to get your dates booked today.

*****Don’t forget about our on the water electronics classes. We have run the Lowrance products the past 10yrs and now are running the NEW Humminbird Helix units. So if you’re stumped as what you’re looking at or how to navigate through the units we can help you. Got a unit and need it installed get in touch with us and we can get you hooked up and finding fish like the pros.

Anyone needing any boat work done or looking for a new boat be sure to stop by and see the guys at Legacy Marine 270-928-3253 they have you covered for any of your boating needs.

Be sure to check us out on Facebook along with our YouTube Channel and KentuckyLake.com tip of the week videos






























































Brian Brown
Fishing Hype Guide Service
612-889-2423
www.fishinghype.com

[Dave Stewart]

August 5, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 358.95 Surface Temperature - 89
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 358.90 Surface Temperature - 89

Both lakes are at summer pool and on a slow draw down. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 32,000 cfs early this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 27,600 cfs early this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: Another week of hot summer heat with some brief localized heavy downpours from scattered thunderstorms in the lakes area this week. The run off from these storms have kept the lake levels higher than they normally would be at this time in August. Normally we would have levels about one foot lower than present levels with the water on a continuous slow draw down to reach about 2 feet below summer pool by the end of the month.

The TVA did increase the flow rate somewhat this week with a couple of days having drawn more than 40,000 cfs during the heat of the day and at night. Although the bass bite has remained somewhat scattered and slow over all, the bite did increase some during the periods of heavier draw at the dams. We are catching fish, but we are still in those summer doldrums of lower oxygen levels and slower catch rates. The best bite has been early in the morning before sun rise and late in the evening just before sun set. Slower techniques such as Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged worms, dragging jigs, shaky heads and drop shots continue to be the best producers. The key to boating some bass is to be patient and fish slow. I am still getting reports of a good night bite on the ledges and on the main lake points on most nights with dark skirted spinner baits, Texas rigged worms, jigs and tube jigs.

The weather forecast for today is for a high of 93/low of 74 with heat indexes near 100 and wind WSW at 7. A cold front will be passing through the area late tonight into tomorrow giving us some reprieve from the higher heat levels but of course coming with the frontal passage, more storms for tomorrow. Saturday's forecast is for a high of 85/low of 68 with a 60% chance of thunderstorms with wind N at 6. Sunday is showing post frontal with a high of 85/low of 68 with sunny skies and wind NNE at 7. The extended forecast into mid next week is showing high's near 90/low's in the 70's with a slight chance of scattered thunderstorms and light winds. Keep an eye on the sky for approaching thunderstorms. These thunderstorms we have been having are producing a lot of cloud to ground lightning, localized high winds and heavy down pours. Seek a safe port when you see these approaching storms as most of them are fast movers.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the ledges as well as on main lakes points and secondary creek channel points with swim baits, Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points and creek channel banks in the creeks and bays early and late in the day where they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken on top water lures, medium running crank baits, chatter baits, Texas rigged worms and finesse jigs. There are also some bass being taken around docks where there are schools of fry. These fish are being taken on unweighted senko type baits and finesse jigs. The night largemouth are being taken on dark skirted spinner baits, Texas rigged worms, shaky heads, jigs and tube jigs.


SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth now being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Big Hammer swim baits in sexy smelt and bay smelt, Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemon, Strike King splash bait in white, Slong’s football jig Cumberland craw, D&L football head jigs in Cumberland craw and Oops patterns, Slong’s and Charmer shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon purple, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin blue and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners, live minnows fished vertically and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. White Bass have been very active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges as well as on the main lake flats. These fish are being taken on inline spinners and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish.

Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.


IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.


GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.



Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

August: I still have some available dates...book now.


I am also taking reservations through November with a number of available dates. Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[fishinghype]

Lake Conditions:
Barkley – 358.85, 17,600-27,600 CFS, water is stained in color, with water temps running in the upper 80’s to low 90’s
Kentucky – 358.83, 13,300-46,700 CFS, water has light stain in color, with water temps running in the upper 80’s to low 90’s

Weather: It’s been an interesting week of dodging thunderstorms. As is typical this time of year it starts out looking beautiful but by midday with the heat and humidity pop up thunderstorms roll in. While most are short lived this week’s storms stayed together with some wild lightening and flooding rains. The forecast for the upcoming week is looking good with a small chance of rain on Saturday and dry most of the week. Highs look to run in the upper 80’s but will have some humidity around yet.

Bass Fishing: Well unfortunately nothing has changed and this report will sound like a broken record but it is that time of year. We did change up a little and fished a few more docks with a 1/4oz Outkast Tackle swim jig and wacky rigged Big Bite Baits 6’’ trick stick and caught a few fish. The ledge bite is still hit or miss depending on what the TVA is doing with the water generation. As normal with little or no current the bite can be pretty fickle but when they get it ramped up the same spots can be incredible. When there has been water movement the main lake ledges and flats have been the place to be as these areas are much more affected by what the current is doing. Swimbaits, crankbaits, big spinnerbaits have been catching the active fish while we’ve had to pull out the football jigs, Carolina rigs, shaky heads and Texas rigs along with a drop shot to pick away at the inactive fish. Our most effective baits overall again this week have been a 1/2oz Picasso lures football shaky head paired with a 8’’ Big Bite Baits finesse worm in either black blue fleck or candy apple colors. We are throwing this on a Powell 734 MH baitcasting rod with 14lb Sunline sniper fluorocarbon line. When there hasn’t been much current we’ve been fishing in the mouth of the bays with large flats and soaking a Texas rig worm in the brush along them. For this we are using a 10’’ Big Bite Baits candy apple B2 worm paired with a 4/0 Gamakastu worm hook and 3/8 or 1/2oz Bag 5 Baits tungsten worm weight.



White and Yellow Bass: With the extra current being pulled through Lake Barkley this bite did pick up for us with a couple descent trips. Using a blade bait like a Steel Shad or a rooster tail dropping them over the side of the boat and hopping them off the bottom and letting them flutter back down will get you bit and most of your bites with happen as the bait falls back to the bottom. I don’t personally troll for them but have seen plenty of anglers doing so with deep diving crankbait and with curly tail jig or rooster tail running off the back of it catching both white and hybrids.

DO NOT get left on the dock because you forgot to book a trip. Call us today and setup your next fishing adventure and possibly catch the fish of a lifetime at 612-889-2423. Some awesome summer fishing and weather is ahead so be sure to get your dates booked today.

******Hot summer deal, book and take your trip in the month of August and save $50 on the trip********

*****Don’t forget about our on the water electronics classes. We have run the Lowrance products the past 10yrs and now are running the NEW Humminbird Helix units. So if you’re stumped as what you’re looking at or how to navigate through the units we can help you. Got a unit and need it installed get in touch with us and we can get you hooked up and finding fish like the pros.

Anyone needing any boat work done or looking for a new boat be sure to stop by and see the guys at Legacy Marine 270-928-3253 they have you covered for any of your boating needs.

Be sure to check us out on Facebook along with our YouTube Channel and KentuckyLake.com tip of the week videos

Capt. Brian Brown
Fishing Hype Guide Service
www.fishinghype.com
612-889-2423

[Dave Stewart]

August 11, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 358.32 Surface Temperature - 87
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 358.35 Surface Temperature - 87

Both lakes are nearing one foot below summer pool and on a slow draw down. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 37,000 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 27,900 cfs this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: After a slight reprieve from the heat last weekend, the heat returned with heat indexes over 100 every day this week with wind light and variable. The TVA did step up the flow of water a little over the past two days as is reflected in the flow rates above. We could use more but we will take what we can get. The day time bite continues to be scattered and slow on the bass during the day. The better bite is reported to be late in the evening and at night. We took fish both on the ledges and back in the shallows this week but as I mentioned, the bite is still scattered and slow, so patience is the key to having some success during the day.

It looks like we are in for some heavy rains over the weekend and into early next week. The current forecast is calling for as much as 4 inches of rain on the north ends of the lakes by Monday as a cool front moves into the area and is expected to stall out over the area. The forecast for tomorrow (Friday) is for a high of 89/low of 75 with a 20% chance of scattered thunderstorms, heat indexes above 100 with wind SSW at 8. Saturday's forecast is for a high of 86/low of 72 with an 80% chance of thunderstorms with wind SSW at 8. Sunday's forecast is for a high of 81/low of 69 with an 80% chance of thunderstorms and wind WSW at 6. The extended forecast into next mid week is calling for high's in the 80's/low's in the 60's with a continued 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms each day and south quadrant winds.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the ledges as well as on main lakes points and secondary creek channel points with swim baits, Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points and creek channel banks in the creeks and bays early and late in the day where they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken on top water lures, medium running crank baits, chatter baits, Texas rigged worms and finesse jigs. There are also some bass being taken around docks where there are schools of fry. These fish are being taken on unweighted senko type baits and finesse jigs. Some Largemouth are also being taken around isolated wood in the shallows with spinner baits, lipless crankbaits and Texas rigged creature baits. The night largemouth are being taken on dark skirted spinner baits, Texas rigged worms, shaky heads, jigs and tube jigs.


SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth now being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Big Hammer swim baits in sexy smelt and bay smelt, Slong’s football jig Cumberland craw, D&L football head jigs in Cumberland craw and Oops patterns, Slong’s and Charmer shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon purple, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin blue and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners, live minnows fished vertically and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. White Bass have been somewhat active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges as well as on the main lake flats, but the jumps are short in duration. These fish are being taken on inline spinners and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish.

Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:


Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.


No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.


If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

August: I still have some available dates...book now.

I am also taking reservations through November with a number of available dates. Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

August 18, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 357.10 Surface Temperature - 84
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 357.10 Surface Temperature - 84

Both lakes are two feet below summer pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 25,500 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 29,100 cfs this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: In last week's report, the weather forecast for last weekend showed that we were supposed to get up to 4 inches of rain in the lake's area by this past Monday. This did not happen as the stalled front stalled out further north of us and all the heavy rains stayed to our northwest. We did receive some scattered rain over the past few days but this did not amount to much. The scattered and slower bite on the bass I have been reporting has continued this week. The better pattern has been what I call "junk" fishing, that is, fishing isolated wood cover on the top's of the main lake ledges near deep water or shallow wood cover located on main lake points near deep water as well as isolated shallow wood cover on the flats in the creeks and bays. It has been a one or two fish here on this cover and one or two fish there on the next spot. Slower techniques such as Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged worms, jigs, shaky heads and drop shots have been the most productive.

We have another cold front that will be passing through the lakes area over the weekend. The forecast for Friday is for a high of 81/low of 71 with a 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms and wind SSW at 6. Saturday's forecast shows a high of 82/low of 67 with an 80% chance of thunderstorms and wind SW at 15. We will be post frontal on Sunday with a high of 77/low of 60 with wind NNW at 8. A post frontal cool down is forecasted from Sunday through next mid week with high's around 80/low's in the lower 60's with post frontal light winds beginning on Monday.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the tops of the ledges as well as on main lake points where there is shallow wood near the deep water. These fish are being taken on Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs There are also some bass being taken around docks where there are schools of fry. These fish are being taken on unweighted senko type baits and finesse jigs. Some Largemouth are also being taken around isolated wood in the shallows with spinner baits, lipless crankbaits, square billed crankbaits, jigs, shakey heads and Texas rigged creature baits.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth are being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Bag 5 custom painted Strike Red Eye Shad in blue glimmer, Stike King Red Eye Shad in sexy shad and chrome sexy shad, Slong's spinner bait in blue glimmer, Slong’s football jig with a blue craw skirt, D&L football head jigs in Cumberland craw and Oops patterns, Slong’s and Charmer shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon purple, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin blue and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners, live minnows fished vertically and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. White Bass have been somewhat active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges as well as on the main lake flats, but the jumps are short in duration. These fish are being taken on inline spinners and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish.

Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.


No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an emial.

Available Dates:

August: 25, 26, 29, 30, 31
September: 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 26, 27, 28
October: 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 29, 30, 31
November: A number of dates still available


Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

August 26, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 356.95 Surface Temperature - 87
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 357.05 Surface Temperature - 87

Both lakes are two feet below summer pool and on a slow draw down. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 58,000 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 28,800 cfs this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: We enjoyed some nice cool days earlier this week behind the strong cold front that passed through the lakes area last weekend but the heat of summer returned this week with daytime heat indexes around 100 the past few days. This of course raised the water temperatures by about 3 degrees back to normal deep summer levels. The lake levels rose with the heavy rains south of us last weekend and the TVA has been pulling the levels back down the past few days which has given us a little current which we have not seen in a while. The ledge bite has picked up a little with this current but the bite has still remained scattered and slow for the most part overall with the lower oxygen levels of deep summer water temperatures.

There has been some speculation that we are now in the transition from summer to fall patterns. I believe this may be due to the fact that some fish are being taken shallow feeding on schools of fry. Fact is that seasonal migrations are based on water conditions, particularly water temperatures and not calendars. We are in the middle of summer with summer water temperatures and low oxygen levels. Historically we always have a tougher bite this time of year with the prevailing environment conditions of deep summer. Fact is we have been taking fish shallow feeding on these schools of fry since June as a back up pattern through the summer as we do every summer and has been in my weekly report all summer. What is disturbing though is that what we are seeing is that most of these large schools of shallow fry are not shad, but asian carp fry. We are not seeing large schools of threadfin shad yet in the shallows that will be the first to show up when the fall transition begins. These fish will be larger than the fry that are shallow now and you will notice large dark schools, not the spead out schools of small fry that are now there in the shallows. Typically the fall transition starts sometime in September, based on falling water temperatures. I have seen it start as early as the first week or two of September and as late as the end of September. According to my over 30 years of detailed logs, it will begin when the morning water temperatures on the main lake fall to the mid 70's.

That being said, the same conditions that I have been reporting over the past few weeks of an overall slow bite continues to be true. The bite is spotty and now and then we get into some active feeding fish but the numbers are low and most days the bite is slow and scattered. Wood cover has been the most productive pattern whether we are fishing ledges or back in the creeks. Slower techniques such as Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, jigs, shaky heads, drop shots and dead sticking senko type lures have been the most productive with some early morning and late evening bite in the shallows on topwater lures, spinner baits and square billed crank baits producing some fish, especially on cloudy days.

The forecast for Saturday is for a high of 90/low of 74 with a 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms with wind SSE at 4. Sunday is showing a high of 92/low if 73 with a 20% chance of scattered thunderstorms with wind E at 3. The extended forecast through next mid week is calling for high's around 90/low's in the 70's with sunny skies and light winds. Looks like we are in for some more deep summer days of high heat indexes and flat water next week.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the tops of the ledges as well as on main lake points where there is shallow wood near the deep water. These fish are being taken on Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs There are also some bass being taken on secondary creek channel points with wood cover and around docks where there are schools of fry. These fish are being taken on unweighted senko type baits, tube jigs and finesse jigs. Some Largemouth are also being taken around isolated wood in the shallows with topwater lures, spinner baits, lipless crankbaits, square billed crankbaits, jigs, shakey heads and Texas rigged creature baits especially early in the morning and late in the evening.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth are being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.


PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemom, buzz baits in white and also black, Bag5 custom painted Strike Red Eye Shad in blue glimmer, Stike King Red Eye Shad in sexy shad and chrome sexy shad, Slong's spinner bait in blue glimmer and chartruese/white, Slong’s football jig with a blue craw skirt, Slong’s and Charmer shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon purple, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin blue and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail and paddle tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs and dead sticking Yamamoto Senko's in green pumpkin and green pumpkin magic.


White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners, live minnows fished vertically and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. White Bass have been somewhat active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges as well as on the main lake flats, but the jumps are short in duration. These fish are being taken on inline spinners and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish.


Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:


Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.FLASH: I am happy to announce that Fisherman's Headquarters has received and now has in stock a large shipment of Lucky Craft 100 series Sammy's and 115 series Gunfish lures in the ghost pearl lemon pattern. These two lures have always been very productive top water lures on these lakes but very difficult for the tackle shops to obtain in any numbers each year. As a matter of fact, every year I have had to loan some of my personal stock of these lures to my tournament clients to use in the fall because what few are available each season are always sold out early. If you do not have any of these lures and want to stock up on some, now is the time while they are readily available. You can get them by stopping by Fisherman's Headquarters or call them and have them shipped to you. 270-527-5938. Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.



Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.


Available Dates:

August: 29, 30, 31
September: 6, 7, 8, 11, 26, 27, 28
October: 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26, 29, 30, 31
November: A number of dates still available

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.


Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

September 1, 2016


Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 356.38 Surface Temperature - 88
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 356.65 Surface Temperature - 88

Both lakes are two and one half feet below summer pool and on a slow draw down. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 34,000 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 8,900 cfs this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: The heat of deep summer continued this week with daily heat indexes in the 100 degree range. The water temperatures are slightly higher than normal for this time in September but not surprising considering the hot summer we have had in this region. The deep summer patterns we have been reporting continues to prevail. The bite is spotty but now and then we get into some actively feeding fish but the numbers are low and most days the bite is slow and scattered. Wood cover has been the most productive pattern whether we are fishing ledges or back in the creeks. Slower techniques such as Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, jigs, tube jigs, shaky heads, drop shots and dead sticking senko type lures have been the most productive with some early morning and late evening bite in the shallows on topwater lures, spinner baits and square billed crank baits producing some fish, especially on cloudy days.
The forecast for the holiday weekend shows a reprieve from the current heat behind a cold front that is passing through the area this morning. The forecast for Friday is for a high of 81/low of 60 with wind NNE at 11. Saturday's forecast is showing a high of 83/low of 63 with wind NE at 6. Sunday's forecast is calling for a high of 89/low of 66 with wind ESE at 4. The heat is forecasted to return on Monday through next mid week with high's in the low 90's/ low's in the 70's with south quadrant winds.

Expect the lakes to be very crowded this holiday weekend so drive your boat defensively and please be courteous to the other boaters. Wear your PFD's and use your kill switches. Let's make this holiday weekend accident free!



LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the tops of the ledges as well as on main lake points where there is shallow wood near the deep water. These fish are being taken on Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs There are also some bass being taken on secondary creek channel points with wood cover and around docks where there are schools of fry. These fish are being taken on unweighted senko type baits, tube jigs and finesse jigs. Some Largemouth are also being taken around isolated wood in the shallows with topwater lures, spinner baits, lipless crankbaits, square billed crankbaits, jigs, shakey heads and Texas rigged creature baits especially early in the morning and late in the evening where they are feeding on schools of fry.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth are being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemom, buzz baits in white and also black, Bag5 custom painted square billed crankbaits in blue glimmer, Bag5 custom painted Strike Red Eye Shad in blue glimmer, Stike King Red Eye Shad in sexy shad and chrome sexy shad, Slong's spinner bait in blue glimmer and chartruese/white, Slong’s football jig with a blue craw skirt, Slong’s and Charmer shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon purple, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin blue and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail and paddle tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs and dead sticking Yamamoto Senko's in green pumpkin and green pumpkin magic.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners, live minnows fished vertically and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. White Bass have been somewhat active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges as well as on the main lake flats, but the jumps are short in duration. These fish are being taken on inline spinners and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish.

Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.


IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

FLASH: I am happy to announce that Fisherman's Headquarters has received and now has in stock a large shipment of Lucky Craft 100 series Sammy's and 115 series Gunfish lures in the ghost pearl lemon pattern. These two lures have always been very productive top water lures on these lakes but very difficult for the tackle shops to obtain in any numbers each year. As a matter of fact, every year I have had to loan some of my personal stock of these lures to my tournament clients to use in the fall because what few are available each season are always sold out early. If you do not have any of these lures and want to stock up on some, now is the time while they are readily available. You can get them by stopping by Fisherman's Headquarters or call them and have them shipped to you. 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

September: 7, 8, 26, 27, 28
October: 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26, 29, 30, 31
November: A number of dates still available

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

September 8, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 355.40 Surface Temperature - 86
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 355.55 Surface Temperature - 86

Both lakes are 3 and one half feet below summer pool and on a slow draw down. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 22,650 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 8,700 cfs this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: After a nice cooler holiday weekend, day time temperatures returned to the 90's this week with heat indexes running around 100 each day. The cooler weather last weekend did drop the water temperatures a couple of degrees but we are still running a few degrees above normal for this time in September. The good news is that another cold front is forecasted to pass through the area this weekend, bringing with it more cooler temperatures and less humidity. The long range forecast looks good to start dropping the water temperatures to more seasonable levels.


The deep summer patterns we have been reporting continues to prevail. As I mentioned in my report 2 weeks ago, we will remain in the deep summer patterns until the water temperatures reach the mid 70's upon which time the transition to early fall patterns will begin. Migrations, spawns etc are not based on calendars but by environmental conditions, especially water temperatures. The bite is spotty but now and then we get into some actively feeding fish but the numbers are low and most days the bite is slow and scattered. Wood cover has been the most productive pattern whether we are fishing ledges or back in the creeks. Slower techniques such as Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, jigs, tube jigs, shaky heads, drop shots and dead sticking senko type lures have been the most productive with some early morning and late evening bite in the shallows on topwater lures, spinner baits, lipless crank baits and square billed crank baits producing some fish, especially on cloudy days.

The forecast for tomorrow (Friday) is for a high of 90/low of 72 with a 40% chance of evening thunderstorms and wind SW at 10. Saturday is calling for the frontal passage during the day with a high of 81/low of 58 with an 80% chance of a thunderstorm in the morning. Wind is forcasted to be WNW at 11. Sunday's forecast show's post frontal conditions with a high of 81/low of 57 with wind NE at 6. The extended forecast through next mid week is showing post frontal conditions with high's in the 80's/low's in the 60's with light wind and sunny skies.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the ledges as well as on main lake points where there is shallow wood near the deep water. These fish are being taken on Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs There are also some bass being taken on secondary creek channel points with wood cover and around docks where there are schools of fry. These fish are being taken on unweighted senko type baits, tube jigs and finesse jigs. Some Largemouth are also being taken around isolated wood in the shallows with topwater lures, spinner baits, lipless crankbaits, square billed crankbaits, jigs, shakey heads and Texas rigged creature baits especially early in the morning and late in the evening where they are feeding on schools of fry.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are being taken on the ledges with Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs. Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on jigs, Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs and shakey heads. Smallmouth are being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemom, buzz baits in white and also black, Strike King spash baits in white, Bag5 custom painted square billed crankbaits in blue glimmer, Bag5 custom painted Strike Red Eye Shad in blue glimmer, Stike King Red Eye Shad in sexy shad and chrome sexy shad, Slong's spinner bait in blue glimmer and chartruese/white, Slong’s football jig with a blue craw skirt, Slong’s and Charmer shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon purple, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin blue and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail and paddle tail worms in plum and green pumpkin on Texas rigs and dead sticking Yamamoto Senko's in green pumpkin/black flake and green pumpkin magic.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners, live minnows fished vertically and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. White Bass have been somewhat active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges as well as on the main lake flats, but the jumps are short in duration. These fish are being taken on inline spinners, small poppers and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish. There are some active smaller White Bass in the bays feeding on schools of fry, these fish are being taken with inline spinners and blade baits.


Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

FLASH: I am happy to announce that Fisherman's Headquarters has received and now has in stock a large shipment of Lucky Craft 100 series Sammy's and 115 series Gunfish lures in the ghost pearl lemon pattern. These two lures have always been very productive top water lures on these lakes but very difficult for the tackle shops to obtain in any numbers each year. As a matter of fact, every year I have had to loan some of my personal stock of these lures to my tournament clients to use in the fall because what few are available each season are always sold out early. If you do not have any of these lures and want to stock up on some, now is the time while they are readily available. You can get them by stopping by Fisherman's Headquarters or call them and have them shipped to you. 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.


No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.


If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.


Available Dates:

September: 26, 28
October: 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26, 30, 31
November: A number of dates still available

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

September 16, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 355.97 Surface Temperature - 84
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 355.65 Surface Temperature - 84

Both lakes are about 3 and one half feet below summer pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 26,000 cfs early this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 9,000 cfs early this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

FLASH: I will not be pubishing a report next week as my wife and I will be on vacation. My wife told me that this year we are going to see what it is like to vacation during the summer rather than in the winter as we have during my off season for the past 20 years. Hmmm...I wonder what those salt water fish are doing down in Florida next week. If you wish to book a trip with me for the up coming fall bite while I am gone, just send me an email as I will be checking my email each day.

General Conditions: We have had another week of cooler fall like temperatures early in the week and then a return to summer temperatures the past few days with heat indexes around 100 each day. The water temperatures did drop to around 82 earlier in the week but climbed back up to present levels with the return of the heat. The forecast looks good though with another cool front coming in this weekend and hopefully getting the water temperatures to start dropping again over the next week.

The scattered bite patterns continued this week with some good days and some slow days as has been the norm the past few weeks. Exemplifying this is the fact that we had some days with as much as 19lbs on the best 5 fish in the boat and some days it was a struggle to put a few fish in the boat. I noticed that in the first day of the FLW BFL tournament last weekend, that the top weight was around 20lbs but half the field of about 100 boats had 2 fish or less. It only took about 12 lbs to get a check in the 2 day tournament. So, basically it has been feast or famine lately. We had a pretty fair week ourselves on Largemouth and Smallmouth fishing finesse baits and some topwater on secondary creek channel points and banks in the front halves of the creeks and bays on the north ends of both lakes.

The forecast for Saturday is calling for a high of 84/low of 68 with a 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms with wind S at 8. Sunday is calling for a high of 85/low of 63 with a 40% chance of thunderstorms with wind NNW at 5. The extended forecast thourgh next mid week is calling for post frontal conditions with high's in the 80's/low's in the mid 60's with light winds and sunny skies.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the ledges as well as on main lake points where there is shallow wood near the deep water. These fish are being taken on Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, drop shots, shaky heads and jigs. The ledge bite has been scattered and slow. There are also some bass being taken on seconday creek channel points and banks in the creeks and bays. These fish are feeding on schools of fry and are being taken on medium running crank baits, finesse jigs, dead sticking senko baits with some early morning and late evening topwater lures. This was our most productive pattern this week. Some Largemouth are also being taken around isolated wood in the shallows with topwater lures, spinner baits, lipless crankbaits, square billed crankbaits, jigs, shakey heads and Texas rigged creature baits especially early in the morning and late in the evening where they are feeding on schools of fry. This bite is working best on overcast days with wind.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on medium running crankbaits, finesse jigs, shaky heads, dead sticked senko type baits with some early and late topwater lures. Smallmouth are being taken on the rocky points on the main lake and in the front halves of the creeks and bays at night on large dark skirted spinner baits and jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures this week have been: Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemom, Strike King spash baits in white, Bag5 custom painted square billed crankbaits in blue glimmer, Bag5 custom painted Strike Red Eye Shad in blue glimmer, Stike King Red Eye Shad in sexy shad and chrome sexy shad, Slong's spinner bait in blue glimmer and chartruese/white, D&L baby advantage jigs in "oops" and Cumberland Craw patterns, Slong’s football jig with a blue craw skirt, Slong’s and Charmer shaky head jigs with Charmer shaky head worm in green pumpkin as well as Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon purple, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin blue and watermelon/purple on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs, and dead sticking Yamamoto Senko's in green pumpkin/black flake and green pumpkin magic.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken along the old river channel ledges by vertically fishing with inline spinners, live minnows fished vertically and blade baits as well as trolling inline spinners behind deep diving crank baits. White Bass have been somewhat active this week in the jumps along the river channel ledges and creek channel ledges as well as on the main lake flats, but the jumps are short in duration. These fish are being taken on inline spinners, small poppers and small spoons cast into the surface feeding fish. There are some active smaller White Bass in the bays feeding on schools of fry, these fish are being taken with inline spinners and blade baits.

Catfish: Catfish are being taken along the old river channel ledges in 20-30 feet of water on bottom rigs baited with cut baits, shrimp and leach combinations and yellow tails. This bite is reported as slow with the lack of current this week.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:


Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

FLASH: I am happy to announce that Fisherman's Headquarters has received and now has in stock a large shipment of Lucky Craft 100 series Sammy's and 115 series Gunfish lures in the ghost pearl lemon pattern. These two lures have always been very productive top water lures on these lakes but very difficult for the tackle shops to obtain in any numbers each year. As a matter of fact, every year I have had to loan some of my personal stock of these lures to my tournament clients to use in the fall because what few are available each season are always sold out early. If you do not have any of these lures and want to stock up on some, now is the time while they are readily available. You can get them by stopping by Fisherman's Headquarters or call them and have them shipped to you. 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.


Ledge Teaching: I have been providing a focused learning experience trip for a number of years to teach bass anglers how to find the most productive ledges and also how to fish them. This learning experience features both classroom and on the water instruction. You cannot learn everything you need to learn "in the classroom" nor can you learn everything you need to learn "on the water". This experience features both aspects. After this experience with me, you should be able to successfully find and fish the ledges here or on any body of water with ledges. If you would like to really learn how to find and fish the ledges as well as make the right lure selections etc, give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

September: 26, 28
October: 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26, 31
November: A number of dates still available

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

September 29, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.91 Surface Temperature - 78
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.70 Surface Temperature - 78

Both lakes are 4 feet below summer pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 18,000 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 8,900 cfs this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

General Conditions: Thanks to everyone that sent well wishes for my wife and I to have a nice vacation last week. We had great weather at the beach and I gained about 5 lbs eating all the fresh seafood I possibly could. I must say though I am glad to be back on the water again this week.

I mentioned in my last report 2 weeks ago that we were having some good days and some slow days with the bite still scattered but we were taking a few nice bags of largemouth. The results that I saw of tournaments last weekend pretty much reflected that with a few nice bags coming in but a lot of folks struggling to put keepers in the boat. Like everyone, I have been praying for cooler weather to get the water temperatures down to get the fall transition started. We have had 2 cold fronts in the past 4 days and the water temperatures are finally coming down, as a matter of fact the water temperatures have dropped 6 degrees in the past 4 days. Although this fast cooling of the water temperatures with post frontal conditions has made for some slow fishing this week, it will pay dividends in the near future. The forecast indicates the water temperatures should continue to drop over the next few days and I expect we will see the beginnings of the fall transition within the next few days.

The fish were still scattered this week but some fish were taken on main lake points and also on secondary creek channel points and banks in the creeks and bays. There is some early morning and late evening top water bite on the main lake points where some fish are feeding on schools of fry. There is also some of the same in the backs of some of the creeks and bays although this shallow bite slowed considerably with the cold fronts and water temperature drops. We are getting our best daytime bites on main lake points as well as secondary points and creek channel banks in the creeks and bays with finesse techniques this week.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on main lake points as well as secondary creek channel points and banks in the front halves of the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on top water lures early and late in the day and on medium running crank baits, spinner baits, jigs, shaky heads and dead sticking unweighted senko baits. Largemouth are also being taken on main lake ledges dragging football head jigs, Carolina rigged creature baits, drop shot rigs and shaky heads. The bite has been scattered and slow this week.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on medium running crankbaits, finesse jigs, shaky heads, dead sticked senko type baits with some early and late topwater bite.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Bandit crank baits in rootbeer and rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baits in blue glimmer and green gizzard shad, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer and white/chartruese, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns, Charmer shaky heads worms in green pumpkin, Charmer timber pups in green pumpkin on Carolina rigs and dead sticked Yamamoto senko's in green pumpkin/black fleck and green pumpkin magic.


White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some short lived jumps on both the main lake and in the creeks and bays.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.


No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

October: 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 31
November: A number of dates still available


Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want. I am also taking reservations now for next season.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

October 13, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.48 Surface Temperature - 71
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.15 Surface Temperature - 71

Both lakes are just slightly over winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 12,800 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 6,200 cfs this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

FLASH: Thanks to all the folks that contacted me over the past week to see if I was o.k. since I did not publish a report last week. I failed to mention in my last report 2 weeks ago that I would be attending my annual military reunion last week and that there would be no report. I apologize for failing to mention that, but it is nice to know so many good folks are thinking about me.

General Conditions: I mentioned in my last report 2 weeks ago that the water temperatures indicated we should see the fall transition start within the next few days. As it happens, the next day I saw that the transition indeed was underway in that a number of the creeks and bays I visited that day had large schools of the small threadfin showing up in the shallows which is always the first shad to show up shallow in numbers in the fall. So, we are definitely in transition and since my return to the water this week, I have found these schools of shad in every creek and bay I fished. The transition got a late start this year and we are still about 3 degrees above normal on our water temperatures, but we are headed in the right direction.

This transition normally lasts about 5-6 weeks, depending on water temperatures of course, and one can still expect a lot of scattered fish as they are traveling now but it is nice to see us moving toward the true fall patterns. Our best bite this week came from top water lures in the shallows in the creeks and bays but we also took fish on spinner baits, lipless crank baits and square billed crank baits on the flats. Finesse jigs on secondary points in the creeks and bays also put fish in the boat. I saw the first day results of the FLW BFL Regional tournament which started today and the results were about what I expect to see during the transition period. First place was 18lb 14 oz with 15lb 7 oz in 10th place. Out of 180 boats, over 100 boats had 2 fish or less. This is indicative of the scattered bite of the transition period but it also indicates one can catch some nice fish if you are on the right place at the right time.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 71/low of 60 with a 20% chance of rain with post frontal E wind at 4. Saturday's forecast is calling for a high of 80/low of 65 with a 30% chance of showers with wind S at 9. Sunday is showing a high of 83/low of 66 with wind SSW at 12. The extended forecast into next mid week is showing daytime high's in the 80's/low's in the 60's with south quadrant winds.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on main lake flats, main lake points and shallow pockets on the main lake near deep water. These fish are being taken on top water lures, spinner baits, lipless crank baits and jigs. Largemouth are being taken on shallow flats in the backs of the creeks and bays as well as the coves in the creeks and bays on top water lures, lipless crankbaits, spinner baits and square billed crank baits. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points in the creeks and bays on medium running crank baits, finesse jigs and shaky heads.



SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on medium running crankbaits, finesse jigs, shaky heads, dead sticked senko type baits with some early and late topwater lures.


PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Whopper Ploppers in natural shad patterns, Bandit crank baits in rootbeer and rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baits in blue glimmer and green gizzard shad, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns, Charmer shaky heads worms in green pumpkin.


White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some short lived jumps on both the main lake and in the creeks and bays.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

October: 20, 21, 24, 26, 31
November: A number of dates still available.

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want. I am also taking reservations now for next season.


Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

October 20, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.17 Surface Temperature - 71
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.00 Surface Temperature - 71

Both lakes are at winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 20,000 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 9,000 cfs this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm

Current Condtions: The water temperatures dropped down to 69 late last week but then here came near record high temperatures and high south winds last Sunday and this continued all through this week until today. The warm up brought the water temperatures back up to present levels. I reported in last week's report that we were in the early stages of the fall transition with the first large schools of young threadfin in the creeks and the larger shad roaming the main lake which has the bass scattered as is the bite. I also reported last week that after day 1 of the FLW BFL tournament, that over 100 boats out of 180 boats weighed 2 fish or less as indicative of this scattered bite. The final results of the tournament after 3 days of fishing showed that it only took just over 15lbs a day average to win the tournament. It only took a little over 13 lbs a day average over the 3 days for 5th place. Only 3 boats in the top 12 weighed in a 5 fish limit each day over the 3 days. I read one recent report that said there were a lot of huge bags weighed in that tournament. Obviously, we have different standards. I expect this scattered bite will continue until the water temperatures finally cool down enough to get more fish into the creeks and we start seeing some schooling.

The high winds kept us off the water a couple of days this past week but we did manage to get on the water a few days. As I stated before, we are still in the early stages of the fall transition and the fish remain scattered. Our best patterns this week were some early morning top water, finesse baits on seconday points in the creeks and bays and working under the schools of surface feeding White Bass in the creeks and on the main lake flats where there are some bass taking advantage of the injured shad being knocked down to them by the Whites.

Two cold fronts moved through the lakes area today. The forecast for tomorrow is for a day time high of 62/ night time low of 39 with wind NNW11. Saturday's forecast shows a day time high of 65/ night time low of 47 with wind W7. Sunday's forecast shows a warming trend back to our normal temperatures for this time of year with a day time high of 74/ night time low of 51 with wind SW11. The extended forecast is showing day time high's in the low 70's/ night time low's in the 50's with light winds.


LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on main lake flats, main lake points and shallow pockets on the main lake near deep water. These fish are being taken on top water lures, spinner baits, lipless crank baits and jigs. Largemouth are being taken on shallow flats in the backs of the creeks and bays as well as the coves in the creeks and bays on top water lures, lipless crankbaits, spinner baits and square billed crank baits. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points in the creeks and bays on medium running crank baits, finesse jigs and shaky heads.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on medium running crankbaits, finesse jigs, shaky heads, dead sticked senko type baits with some early and late topwater lures.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Whopper Ploppers in natural shad patterns, Bandit crank baits in rootbeer and rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baits in blue glimmer and green gizzard shad, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns, Charmer shaky heads worms in green pumpkin.

Crappie: Crappie are being taken over brush piles and submerged stake beds in 9 - 12 ft of water in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken by spider rigging with small jigs tipped with minnows.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some jumps on both the main lake flats and in the creeks and bays where these fish can be taken by casting inline spinners, blade baits and small topwater lures into the surface feeding schools.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

ELIMINATING WATER CLASS: I will be offering my class on how to Eliminate Water again this winter during the months of January and February and I will also teach a few classes next month in November. These classes are limited to one or two people per class. The classes last approximately 8 hours. The cost of the class is 200.00 which covers one or two people. These classes have been very popular with my clients over the past few years and all the feedback I get is very positive. Here is some examples of that feedback:
**Dave ... Harry and I took your "Eliminating Water" class and it has helped both of us like you wouldn't believe! - J. Harris

**In the past 3 tourney's I have managed to get a limit on 3 separate lakes. Old Hickory, Barkley, and Barren. Managed a 3rd place finish Sunday on Barkley with a 6lb kicker. I have a lot more confidence when I hit the water now. I no longer pull the old "that bank looks good, lets waste a few hours here". Thanks Dave - M. King

**Well worth the money - and probably the most valuable thing I have purchased in the terms of fishing. - K. Stephens

**The eliminating water class is without a doubt the best money I've spent on fishing in my life. - D. Page
Here is a short description of the Eliminating Water Class:
"How to Eliminate Water": This class is done in a classroom environment. In this class you learn the most important thing that you can learn as a bass fisherman, that is, how eliminate water to find the Bass by finding the highest percentage spots during all the different seasons of the year that will hold more fish, more often. In this class you will learn what information you need to know in order to eliminate water to find these high percentage spots during your preplanning for a trip and how to apply this information as well as current environmental conditions to make decisions on which techniques you should be using when on the water that day and how to adjust to environment changes that can move your fish or change the pattern from day to day, season to season.
Basically, what I teach you in this class is how to use knowledge of mother nature by using scientific knowledge, logic and common sense to develop a system to find your fish as well as make decisions before you get on the water and while you are on the water to be a more consistent bass angler. What I teach you in this class is what I do every day as a bass fishing guide when I am trying to find and catch bass with my clients. What you will learn in this class will apply anywhere you go bass fishing, this is not specific to just Ky and Barkley Lakes.

Finding bass and making decisions as how to catch bass is not done solely by looking at electronics, it is accomplished with knowledge. There is no button on your sonar unit or mapping unit that says "Go Find Fish". Sonar units show you fish AFTER you find them. Mapping units show you just that, a topographical map of the body of water you are on. The mapping unit allows you to mark spots on your electronic map where you have found fish and assist you in navigating back to those spots. Just as with a paper topographical map, you can scan over an electronic map and mark "places of interest" or as I call them "looks good" spots to go check out when you get on the water...but finding high percentage spots are not "looks good" spots. High percentage spots are selected by having the knowledge of what type spots have the highest percentage chance of holding bass during the different seasons of the year coupled with how to apply what is going on in the environment that will affect the fish.
Call or email me to book your class date while dates are still available.

Available Dates:

October: 24th
November: A number of dates still available


Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want. I am also taking reservations now for next season.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

October 27, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.05 Surface Temperature - 67
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.10 Surface Temperature - 67

Both lakes are at winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 24,500 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 6,300 this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm.

Current Conditions: The big cold front that came through the lakes area last weekend did manage to lower the water temperatures about 4 degrees but they leveled off this week with some warmer temperatures. The forecast for the next few days is showing above normal temperatures again which I am sure won't do much for getting the water temperatures down to normal levels. Water temperatures are about 6-7 degrees above normal for this time in October so we are still in transition from summer to fall patterns and the fish remain scattered. Tournament weights are still down as anglers are finding it tough to put together a solid consistant pattern from day to day. We have been catching some fish but we are having to adjust from day to day and hour to hour in many cases to put a few bass in the boat. Last weekend I saw the results of 3 tournaments and one of them was won with 12lbs and two of them were won with 9 lbs. We should be seeing about 18lbs winning right now in most tournaments.

The forecast for tomorrow (Friday) is for a high of 75/ night time low of 57 with wind SSE at 4. Saturday begins the warming period with a high of 83/ night time low of 62 with wind SSW at 14. Sunday's forecast is showing a high of 84/ night time low of 62 with wind WSW at 8. The extended forecast into mid next week is showing day time high's in the low 80's/ night time low's around 60 with south winds each day.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on main lake flats, main lake points and shallow pockets on the main lake near deep water. These fish are being taken on top water lures, spinner baits, lipless crank baits and jigs. Largemouth are being taken on shallow flats in the backs of the creeks and bays as well as the coves in the creeks and bays on top water lures, lipless crankbaits, spinner baits and square billed crank baits. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points in the creeks and bays on medium running crank baits, finesse jigs and shaky heads. The bite is slow and scattered.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on medium running crankbaits, finesse jigs, shaky heads, dead sticked senko type baits with some early and late topwater lures.The bite is slow and scattered.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Whopper Ploppers in natural shad patterns, Yozuri popping baits in ghost lemon, Bandit crank baits in rootbeer and rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baits in blue glimmer and green gizzard shad, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns, Charmer shaky heads worms in green pumpkin.

Crappie: Crappie are being taken over brush piles and submerged stake beds in 9 - 12 ft of water in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken by spider rigging with small jigs tipped with minnows.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some jumps on both the main lake flats and in the creeks and bays where these fish can be taken by casting inline spinners, blade baits and small topwater lures into the surface feeding schools.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

ELIMINATING WATER CLASS: I will be offering my class on how to Eliminate Water again this winter during the months of January and February and I will also teach a few classes next month in November. These classes are limited to one or two people per class. The classes last approximately 8 hours. The cost of the class is 200.00 which covers one or two people. These classes have been very popular with my clients over the past few years and all the feedback I get is very positive. Here is some examples of that feedback:

**Dave ... Harry and I took your "Eliminating Water" class and it has helped both of us like you wouldn't believe! - J. Harris

**In the past 3 tourney's I have managed to get a limit on 3 separate lakes. Old Hickory, Barkley, and Barren. Managed a 3rd place finish Sunday on Barkley with a 6lb kicker. I have a lot more confidence when I hit the water now. I no longer pull the old "that bank looks good, lets waste a few hours here". Thanks Dave - M. King

**Well worth the money - and probably the most valuable thing I have purchased in the terms of fishing. - K. Stephens

**The eliminating water class is without a doubt the best money I've spent on fishing in my life. - D. Page
Here is a short description of the Eliminating Water Class:

"How to Eliminate Water": This class is done in a classroom environment. In this class you learn the most important thing that you can learn as a bass fisherman, that is, how eliminate water to find the Bass by finding the highest percentage spots during all the different seasons of the year that will hold more fish, more often. In this class you will learn what information you need to know in order to eliminate water to find these high percentage spots during your preplanning for a trip and how to apply this information as well as current environmental conditions to make decisions on which techniques you should be using when on the water that day and how to adjust to environment changes that can move your fish or change the pattern from day to day, season to season.

Basically, what I teach you in this class is how to use knowledge of mother nature by using scientific knowledge, logic and common sense to develop a system to find your fish as well as make decisions before you get on the water and while you are on the water to be a more consistent bass angler. What I teach you in this class is what I do every day as a bass fishing guide when I am trying to find and catch bass with my clients. What you will learn in this class will apply anywhere you go bass fishing, this is not specific to just Ky and Barkley Lakes.

Finding bass and making decisions as how to catch bass is not done solely by looking at electronics, it is accomplished with knowledge. There is no button on your sonar unit or mapping unit that says "Go Find Fish". Sonar units show you fish AFTER you find them. Mapping units show you just that, a topographical map of the body of water you are on. The mapping unit allows you to mark spots on your electronic map where you have found fish and assist you in navigating back to those spots. Just as with a paper topographical map, you can scan over an electronic map and mark "places of interest" or as I call them "looks good" spots to go check out when you get on the water...but finding high percentage spots are not "looks good" spots. High percentage spots are selected by having the knowledge of what type spots have the highest percentage chance of holding bass during the different seasons of the year coupled with how to apply what is going on in the environment that will affect the fish.

Call or email me to book your class date while dates are still available.

Available Guide Dates:

November: A number of dates still available.

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want. I am also taking reservations now for next season.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

November 4, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.33 Surface Temperature - 68
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.25 Surface Temperature - 68

Both lakes are at winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 13,800 cfs early this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 8,900 cfs early this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm.

General Conditions: Up until today we had record or near record high temperatures in the 80's all week. This of course did nothing in the way of bringing the water temperatures down, in fact the water temperatures went up a little. So, we are still in the patterns of early fall transition as far as water temperatures and fish movements are concerned and the bite remains scattered and slow. We had a few days over the past week with a little more than a limit of keeper sized Largemouth in the boat but we had to work for them and other days it was just a few fish in the boat. Our best bite overall was going with top water early in the morning and then fishing under the schools of small white bass and yellow bass on the flats when they were actively chasing schools of small shad. Most of our fish came by fishing with weightless dead stick baits under these fish but we did manage a few on lipless crank baits and spinner baits on this pattern.

We had a weak cold front pass through the lakes area last night and the air temperatures have dropped back some but we are still above average for this time of the year. The water temperatures are running about 9 degrees above normal for this first week in November. The forecast for tomorrow (Saturday) is for a high of 67/ night time low of 44 with wind NE at 4. Sunday's forecast is showing a warm up with a high of 70/ night time low of 46. The extended forecast through mid next week is for day time high's in the low 70's and night time low's around 50 with light winds each day.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on main lake flats, main lake points and shallow pockets on the main lake near deep water. These fish are being taken on top water lures, spinner baits, lipless crank baits and jigs. Largemouth are being taken on shallow flats in the backs of the creeks and bays as well as the coves in the creeks and bays on top water lures, lipless crankbaits, spinner baits and weight less dead stick baits. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points in the creeks and bays on medium running crank baits, finesse jigs and shaky heads. The bite is slow and scattered.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on medium running crankbaits, finesse jigs, shaky heads, dead sticked senko type baits with some early and late topwater lures.The bite is slow and scattered.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Whopper Ploppers in natural shad patterns, Yozuri popping baits in ghost lemon, Bandit crank baits in rootbeer and rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baits in blue glimmer and green gizzard shad, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns, Charmer shaky heads worms in green pumpkin.

Crappie: Crappie are being taken over brush piles and submerged stake beds in 9 - 12 ft of water in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken by spider rigging with small jigs tipped with minnows and minnow rigs fished vertically. The Crappie bite is reported as fair to good.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some jumps on both the main lake flats and in the creeks and bays where these fish can be taken by casting inline spinners, blade baits and small topwater lures into the surface feeding schools.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

FLASH: Fisherman's Headquarters now has in stock the original Hydrilla Gorilla Buzz Baits that were so popular and productive some years ago. These baits are now in production again and Fisherman's Headquarters has them!

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

ELIMINATING WATER CLASS: I will be offering my class on how to Eliminate Water again this winter during the months of January and February and I will also teach a few classes next month in November. These classes are limited to one or two people per class. The classes last approximately 8 hours. The cost of the class is 200.00 which covers one or two people. These classes have been very popular with my clients over the past few years and all the feedback I get is very positive.

Here is some examples of that feedback:

**Dave ... Harry and I took your "Eliminating Water" class and it has helped both of us like you wouldn't believe! - J. Harris

**In the past 3 tourney's I have managed to get a limit on 3 separate lakes. Old Hickory, Barkley, and Barren. Managed a 3rd place finish Sunday on Barkley with a 6lb kicker. I have a lot more confidence when I hit the water now. I no longer pull the old "that bank looks good, lets waste a few hours here". Thanks Dave - M. King

**Well worth the money - and probably the most valuable thing I have purchased in the terms of fishing. - K. Stephens

**The eliminating water class is without a doubt the best money I've spent on fishing in my life. - D. Page

Here is a short description of the Eliminating Water Class:

"How to Eliminate Water": This class is done in a classroom environment. In this class you learn the most important thing that you can learn as a bass fisherman, that is, how eliminate water to find the Bass by finding the highest percentage spots during all the different seasons of the year that will hold more fish, more often. In this class you will learn what information you need to know in order to eliminate water to find these high percentage spots during your preplanning for a trip and how to apply this information as well as current environmental conditions to make decisions on which techniques you should be using when on the water that day and how to adjust to environment changes that can move your fish or change the pattern from day to day, season to season.

Basically, what I teach you in this class is how to use knowledge of mother nature by using scientific knowledge, logic and common sense to develop a system to find your fish as well as make decisions before you get on the water and while you are on the water to be a more consistent bass angler. What I teach you in this class is what I do every day as a bass fishing guide when I am trying to find and catch bass with my clients. What you will learn in this class will apply anywhere you go bass fishing, this is not specific to just Ky and Barkley Lakes.

Finding bass and making decisions as how to catch bass is not done solely by looking at electronics, it is accomplished with knowledge. There is no button on your sonar unit or mapping unit that says "Go Find Fish". Sonar units show you fish AFTER you find them. Mapping units show you just that, a topographical map of the body of water you are on. The mapping unit allows you to mark spots on your electronic map where you have found fish and assist you in navigating back to those spots. Just as with a paper topographical map, you can scan over an electronic map and mark "places of interest" or as I call them "looks good" spots to go check out when you get on the water...but finding high percentage spots are not "looks good" spots. High percentage spots are selected by having the knowledge of what type spots have the highest percentage chance of holding bass during the different seasons of the year coupled with how to apply what is going on in the environment that will affect the fish.

Call or email me to book your class date while dates are still available.

Available Guide and Class Dates:

November: A few dates still are still available

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want. I am also taking reservations now for next season.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

November 11, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.44 Surface Temperature - 65
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.45 Surface Temperature - 65

Both lakes are a few inches over winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 11,000 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 8,900 cfs this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm.

General Conditions: We had above average temperatures and light winds early this week but a couple of dry cold fronts have passed through the area over the past couple of days and dropped the temperatures. This has dropped the water temperatures to present levels which is certainly a move in the right direction toward getting our water temperatures in alignment for the fall feeding pattern to begin. We are still running about 8-9 degrees above normal for this time in November. The bass bite is still scattered and slow as I have been reporting for a while now. The Murray State Invitational tournament was held last weekend on Kentucky Lake with over 20 boats. The report I received was that the tournament was won with around 13lbs and that there were no 5 fish limits weighed. The Murray State bass team had a club tournament on Lake Barkley last Sunday and it was reported to me that 7 lbs won that tournament with no limits weighed.

The good news is the forecast. If the present forecast holds, we should see the water temperatures continue to drop and hopefully this will move us into a true fall pattern of more actively feeding schools of fish. If anyone remembers, this same pattern of high water temperatures occurred last fall and the true fall bite did not begin until after Thanksgiving once the temperatures finally reached fall feeding temperatures. The forecast for Saturday is for a high of 57/ night time low of 33 with wind NE at 8. Sunday's forecast is showing a high of 62/ night time low of 39 with wind S at 4. The extended forecast into mid next week shows seasonable temperatures with daytime high's in the low to mid 60's/ night time low's in the mid 40's with another dry cold front coming through the area on Tuesday bringing more north quadrant winds.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on main lake flats, main lake points and shallow pockets on the main lake near deep water. These fish are being taken on top water lures, spinner baits, lipless crank baits and jigs. Largemouth are being taken on shallow flats in the backs of the creeks and bays as well as the coves in the creeks and bays on top water lures, lipless crankbaits, spinner baits and weight less dead stick baits. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points in the creeks and bays on medium running crank baits, finesse jigs and shaky heads. The bite is slow and scattered.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on medium running crankbaits, finesse jigs, shaky heads, dead sticked senko type baits with some early and late topwater lures.The bite is slow and scattered.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Whopper Ploppers in natural shad patterns, Yozuri popping baits in ghost lemon, Bandit crank baits in rootbeer and rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baits in blue glimmer and green gizzard shad, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns, Charmer shaky heads worms in green pumpkin.

Crappie: Crappie are being taken over brush piles and submerged stake beds in 9 - 12 ft of water in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken by spider rigging with small jigs tipped with minnows and minnow rigs fished vertically. The Crappie bite is reported as fair to good.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some jumps on both the main lake flats and in the creeks and bays where these fish can be taken by casting inline spinners, blade baits and small topwater lures into the surface feeding schools.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

FLASH: Fisherman's Headquarters now has in stock the original Hydrilla Gorilla Buzz Baits that were so popular and productive some years ago. These baits are now in production again and Fisherman's
Headquarters has them!

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

ELIMINATING WATER CLASS: I will be offering my class on how to Eliminate Water again this winter during the months of January and February and I will also teach a few classes next month in November. These classes are limited to one or two people per class. The classes last approximately 8 hours. The cost of the class is 200.00 which covers one or two people. These classes have been very popular with my clients over the past few years and all the feedback I get is very positive. Here is some examples of that feedback:

**Dave ... Harry and I took your "Eliminating Water" class and it has helped both of us like you wouldn't believe! - J. Harris

**In the past 3 tourney's I have managed to get a limit on 3 separate lakes. Old Hickory, Barkley, and Barren. Managed a 3rd place finish Sunday on Barkley with a 6lb kicker. I have a lot more confidence when I hit the water now. I no longer pull the old "that bank looks good, lets waste a few hours here". Thanks Dave - M. King

**Well worth the money - and probably the most valuable thing I have purchased in the terms of fishing. - K. Stephens

**The eliminating water class is without a doubt the best money I've spent on fishing in my life. - D. Page
Here is a short description of the Eliminating Water Class:
"How to Eliminate Water": This class is done in a classroom environment. In this class you learn the most important thing that you can learn as a bass fisherman, that is, how eliminate water to find the Bass by finding the highest percentage spots during all the different seasons of the year that will hold more fish, more often. In this class you will learn what information you need to know in order to eliminate water to find these high percentage spots during your preplanning for a trip and how to apply this information as well as current environmental conditions to make decisions on which techniques you should be using when on the water that day and how to adjust to environment changes that can move your fish or change the pattern from day to day, season to season.

Basically, what I teach you in this class is how to use knowledge of mother nature by using scientific knowledge, logic and common sense to develop a system to find your fish as well as make decisions before you get on the water and while you are on the water to be a more consistent bass angler. What I teach you in this class is what I do every day as a bass fishing guide when I am trying to find and catch bass with my clients. What you will learn in this class will apply anywhere you go bass fishing, this is not specific to just Ky and Barkley Lakes.

Finding bass and making decisions as how to catch bass is not done solely by looking at electronics, it is accomplished with knowledge. There is no button on your sonar unit or mapping unit that says "Go Find Fish". Sonar units show you fish AFTER you find them. Mapping units show you just that, a topographical map of the body of water you are on. The mapping unit allows you to mark spots on your electronic map where you have found fish and assist you in navigating back to those spots. Just as with a paper topographical map, you can scan over an electronic map and mark "places of interest" or as I call them "looks good" spots to go check out when you get on the water...but finding high percentage spots are not "looks good" spots. High percentage spots are selected by having the knowledge of what type spots have the highest percentage chance of holding bass during the different seasons of the year coupled with how to apply what is going on in the environment that will affect the fish.

Call or email me to book your class date while dates are still available.

Available Guide and Class Dates:

November: A few dates still available.

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want. I am also taking reservations now for next season.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

November 18, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.72 Surface Temperature - 61
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.65 Surface Temperature - 61

Both lakes are about 6 inches over winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 10,000 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 12,300 cfs this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm.

Current Conditions: Some low night time temperatures earlier this week did drop the water temperatures down 4 degrees from last week's reported temperatures, but they leveled off with the warmer weather the past few days. Another cold front is going to pass though the lakes area later today and this one will be a strong cold front which should result in some lower water temperatures next early next week. The bite is still being reported as scattered and somewhat slow for the most part, but I have received a number of reports of a few schooling fish on secondary points in the front halves of the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on squared billed crankbaits and lipless crankbaits but most of these fish are being reported as smaller bass with a few keepers. There have been some nice individual fish being taken on the Alabama rig but no numbers of these fish are being reported yet.

I was only out on the water a couple of days earlier in the week due to a mechanical problem that put my boat in the shop for repair for the past couple days. We did catch some bass earlier in the week on the lipless and square billed crankbaits on secondary points as well as a few fish back on shallow flats in the creeks and bays on top water lures and dead sticked Senko type baits. We also managed a few Smallmouth on rocky secondary points in the creeks and bays on finesse jigs and tube jigs.

I have decided to guide a few days in December since the true fall bite is going to be late this year. You can find my available December dates at the bottom of this report.

The weather forecast for Saturday is for a high of 51/ night time low of 31 with wind WNW at 16 with higher gusts. Sunday's forecast is showing a high of 51/ night time low of 32 with wind NW at 8. The extended forecast into mid next week is showing day time high's in the 50's/ night time low's in the high 30's with prevailing south quadrant winds.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on primary main lake points and secondary points in the creeks and bays on square billed and lipless crankbaits, Alabama rigs, finesse jigs and tube jigs. Largemouth are being taken on shallow flats in the backs of the creeks and bays as well as the coves in the creeks and bays on top water lures, lipless crankbaits, spinner baits and weight less dead sticked Senko type baits. The bite is slow and scattered.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on finesse jigs and tube jigs.The bite is slow and scattered.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Whopper Ploppers in natural shad patterns, Bandit crank baits in rootbeer and rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baitss in green gizzard shad, Strike King square billed crank bait in perch, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns and Yamamoto Senko's in green pumpkin black and green pumpkin magic.

Crappie: Crappie are being taken over brush piles and submerged stake beds in 9 - 12 ft of water in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken by spider rigging with small jigs tipped with minnows and minnow rigs fished vertically. The Crappie bite is reported as fair to good.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some jumps on both the main lake flats and in the creeks and bays where these fish can be taken by casting inline spinners, blade baits and small topwater lures into the surface feeding schools.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

FLASH: GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE AVAILABLE FOR BOTH GUIDED TRIPS AND THE ELIMINATING WATER CLASSES. THESE CERTIFICATES MAKE GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO THE BASS ANGLER IN YOUR FAMILY. CALL OR EMAIL TO ORDER A GIFT CERTIFICATE.

ELIMINATING WATER CLASS: I will be offering my class on how to Eliminate Water again this winter during the months of January and February and I will also teach a few classes next month in December. These classes are limited to one or two people per class. The classes last approximately 8 hours. The cost of the class is 200.00 which covers one or two people. These classes have been very popular with my clients over the past few years and all the feedback I get is very positive. Here is some examples of that feedback:
**Dave ... Harry and I took your "Eliminating Water" class and it has helped both of us like you wouldn't believe! - J. Harris

**In the past 3 tourney's I have managed to get a limit on 3 separate lakes. Old Hickory, Barkley, and Barren. Managed a 3rd place finish Sunday on Barkley with a 6lb kicker. I have a lot more confidence when I hit the water now. I no longer pull the old "that bank looks good, lets waste a few hours here". Thanks Dave - M. King

**Well worth the money - and probably the most valuable thing I have purchased in the terms of fishing. - K. Stephens

**The eliminating water class is without a doubt the best money I've spent on fishing in my life. - D. Page
Here is a short description of the Eliminating Water Class:
"How to Eliminate Water": This class is done in a classroom environment. In this class you learn the most important thing that you can learn as a bass fisherman, that is, how eliminate water to find the Bass by finding the highest percentage spots during all the different seasons of the year that will hold more fish, more often. In this class you will learn what information you need to know in order to eliminate water to find these high percentage spots during your preplanning for a trip and how to apply this information as well as current environmental conditions to make decisions on which techniques you should be using when on the water that day and how to adjust to environment changes that can move your fish or change the pattern from day to day, season to season.

Basically, what I teach you in this class is how to use knowledge of mother nature by using scientific knowledge, logic and common sense to develop a system to find your fish as well as make decisions before you get on the water and while you are on the water to be a more consistent bass angler. What I teach you in this class is what I do every day as a bass fishing guide when I am trying to find and catch bass with my clients. What you will learn in this class will apply anywhere you go bass fishing, this is not specific to just Ky and Barkley Lakes.
Finding bass and making decisions as how to catch bass is not done solely by looking at electronics, it is accomplished with knowledge. There is no button on your sonar unit or mapping unit that says "Go Find Fish". Sonar units show you fish AFTER you find them. Mapping units show you just that, a topographical map of the body of water you are on. The mapping unit allows you to mark spots on your electronic map where you have found fish and assist you in navigating back to those spots. Just as with a paper topographical map, you can scan over an electronic map and mark "places of interest" or as I call them "looks good" spots to go check out when you get on the water...but finding high percentage spots are not "looks good" spots. High percentage spots are selected by having the knowledge of what type spots have the highest percentage chance of holding bass during the different seasons of the year coupled with how to apply what is going on in the environment that will affect the fish.
Call or email me to book your class date while dates are still available.

Available Guide and Class Dates:

December: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

January and February: Eliminating Water Class only: plenty of dates still available...book now to get the dates you want for the class dates.

Make your reservations now to get the date(s) you want. I am also taking reservations now for next season.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

November 25, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.43 Surface Temperature - 57
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.45 Surface Temperature - 57

Both lakes are a few inches over winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 12,700 cfs this afternoon. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 9,100 cfs this afternoon. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm.

Current Conditions: The big cold front that came through the area last weekend finally dropped the water temperatures enough to get the fall feeding patterns going abiet about a month later than normal. It took 39 lbs on 10 fish to win a club classic on the north ends of the lakes last weekend with some other nice bags coming in also. The colder night temperatures have kept the shallow water bite somewhat scattered and slow but the bite on the main lake primary points as well as the secondary creek points and channel banks in the creeks and bays has picked up considerably. These fish are being taken on a number of techniques, but the most productive bite has been on crank baits, spinner baits and Alabama rigs this past week. Jigs, shaky heads and tube jigs have also been producing some fish as well as some scattered suspending jerk bait bite.

The weather forecast for this weekend looks pretty good for some fall fishing with Saturday's high forecasted to be 55/ night time low of 32 with wind SW at 3. Sunday is also looking good with a forecasted high of 57/night time low of 44 with wind S at 7. Heavy rain is in the forecast for Monday with wind from the SSW at 19.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on primary main lake points and secondary points in the creeks and bays on square billed and medium running crank baits, Alabama rigs, spinner baits, finesse jigs and tube jigs. Largemouth are being taken on shallow flats in the backs of the creeks and bays as well as the coves in the creeks and bays on top water lures, lipless crankbaits, spinner baits and weight less dead sticked Senko type baits.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Smallmouth are also being taken on main lake rocky points and banks as well as rocky secondary creek channel banks and points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on suspending jerk baits, crank baits, finesse jigs and tube jigs.

PRODUCTIVE LURES: Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy and gunfish in ghost pearl lemon, Whopper Ploppers in natural shad patterns, Lucky Craft pointers in chartreuse shad, Bandit crank baits rootbeer chartruese, Bag 5 square bill crank baits and medium running crank baitss in green gizzard shad, Strike King square billed crank bait in perch, Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer, D&L baby advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and "oops" patterns and Yamamoto Senko's in green pumpkin black and green pumpkin magic.

Crappie: Crappie are being taken over brush piles and submerged stake beds in 6 - 12 ft of water in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken by spider rigging with small jigs tipped with minnows and minnow rigs fished vertically. The Crappie bite is reported as fair to good.

White Bass: White Bass are being taken on main lake flats as well as along the ledges on the main lake on inline spinners and minnows fished vertically. Whites are also being taken on medium depth flats in the creek and bays as they are feeding on schools of fry. These fish are being taken with same techniques aforementioned techniques. There are some jumps on both the main lake flats and in the creeks and bays where these fish can be taken by casting inline spinners, blade baits and small topwater lures into the surface feeding schools.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.


FLASH: GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE AVAILABLE FOR BOTH GUIDED TRIPS AND THE ELIMINATING WATER CLASSES. THESE CERTIFICATES MAKE GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO THE BASS ANGLER IN YOUR FAMILY. CALL OR EMAIL TO ORDER A GIFT CERTIFICATE.

ELIMINATING WATER CLASS: I will be offering my class on how to Eliminate Water again this winter during the months of January and February and I will also teach a few classes next month in December. These classes are limited to one or two people per class. The classes last approximately 8 hours. The cost of the class is 200.00 which covers one or two people. These classes have been very popular with my clients over the past few years and all the feedback I get is very positive.

Here is some examples of that feedback:

**Dave ... Harry and I took your "Eliminating Water" class and it has helped both of us like you wouldn't believe! - J. Harris

**In the past 3 tourney's I have managed to get a limit on 3 separate lakes. Old Hickory, Barkley, and Barren. Managed a 3rd place finish Sunday on Barkley with a 6lb kicker. I have a lot more confidence when I hit the water now. I no longer pull the old "that bank looks good, lets waste a few hours here". Thanks Dave - M. King

**Well worth the money - and probably the most valuable thing I have purchased in the terms of fishing. - K. Stephens

**The eliminating water class is without a doubt the best money I've spent on fishing in my life. - D. Page
Here is a short description of the Eliminating Water Class:
"How to Eliminate Water": This class is done in a classroom environment. In this class you learn the most important thing that you can learn as a bass fisherman, that is, how eliminate water to find the Bass by finding the highest percentage spots during all the different seasons of the year that will hold more fish, more often. In this class you will learn what information you need to know in order to eliminate water to find these high percentage spots during your preplanning for a trip and how to apply this information as well as current environmental conditions to make decisions on which techniques you should be using when on the water that day and how to adjust to environment changes that can move your fish or change the pattern from day to day, season to season.
Basically, what I teach you in this class is how to use knowledge of mother nature by using scientific knowledge, logic and common sense to develop a system to find your fish as well as make decisions before you get on the water and while you are on the water to be a more consistent bass angler. What I teach you in this class is what I do every day as a bass fishing guide when I am trying to find and catch bass with my clients. What you will learn in this class will apply anywhere you go bass fishing, this is not specific to just Ky and Barkley Lakes.

Finding bass and making decisions as how to catch bass is not done solely by looking at electronics, it is accomplished with knowledge. There is no button on your sonar unit or mapping unit that says "Go Find Fish". Sonar units show you fish AFTER you find them. Mapping units show you just that, a topographical map of the body of water you are on. The mapping unit allows you to mark spots on your electronic map where you have found fish and assist you in navigating back to those spots. Just as with a paper topographical map, you can scan over an electronic map and mark "places of interest" or as I call them "looks good" spots to go check out when you get on the water...but finding high percentage spots are not "looks good" spots. High percentage spots are selected by having the knowledge of what type spots have the highest percentage chance of holding bass during the different seasons of the year coupled with how to apply what is going on in the environment that will affect the fish.

Call or email me to book your class date while dates are still available.

Available Guide and Class Dates:

December: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

January and February: Eliminating Water Class only: plenty of dates still available...book now to get the dates you want for the class.

I am also taking reservations for next season. Book now to get the date(s) you want especially for next spring.

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"

[Dave Stewart]

December 8, 2016

Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 354.95 Surface Temperature - 51
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 355.00 Surface Temperature - 51

Both lakes are one foot above winter pool. Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of just over 45,000 cfs this morning. Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of just over 18,000 cfs this morning. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm.

Current Conditions: I did not publish a report last week as I was in Florida enjoying a week of quality time with my grand kids and that is one of the few things that takes preference over my being on the water chasing the bass. I did however receive a lot of reports from folks last week and this week that were out there on the lakes taking advantage of the late fall bite. Although none of the reports indicated big numbers of fish being taken, the reports did indicate that bass were feeding and most people were getting at least a limit. The most productive techniques being reported are suspending jerk baits, Alabama rigs and jigs fished on main lake points and channel swings as well as secondary points and creek channel banks in the front halves of the creeks and bays. Largemouth and Smallmouth both have been taken on these techniques as these fish are feeding up for the on coming winter.

The bad news is that winter is coming quick with dropping temperatures in the forecast with some less than favorable fishing conditions. The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 34/night time low of 22 with wind NW at 5. Saturday's forecast is for a high of 39/night time low if 31 with wind SE at 5. Sunday's forecast is for a high of 39/night time low of 37 with an 80% chance of rain with wind S at 8. There is a slight warm up forecasted for Monday and Tuesday with high's in the upper 40's but rain is forecasted also each day. The next Arctic front is coming in at mid week with forecasted a forecasted high of 28 on Wednesday with a chance of snow showers.

With the nasty forecast for the next number of days, my clients that I have booked for the weekend and next week are going to just reschedule our planned trips to next spring. This will be my last weekly report for this winter unless I have what I consider to be enough reliable information to publish an accurate report. If you are planning to be out on the lakes this winter, feel free to contact me and I will give you the latest information that I have on hand that might point you in the right direction. I will be, as I do each winter be offering my Eliminating Water Class. You can see information about this class at the end of this report.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman’s Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman’s Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong’s lures, Picasso lures, Bag 5 lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938

FLASH: Fisherman's Headquarters is having a Christmas Sale Extravaganza now through December 23rd. Here are some of the great deals to be had: 20% off rods and reels, 15% off Gill merchandise, 25% off Charmer Baits, 20% off all tackle purchases over $50 (before taxes), 20% off all in stock sunglasses and 20% off all in stock apparel. **Discounts not to be combined with any other offers or discounts.There are some great savings to be had with this sale....stock up now for next season! Gift Cards are also available at the store and make great Christmas gifts!

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.



FLASH: GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE AVAILABLE FOR BOTH GUIDED TRIPS AND THE ELIMINATING WATER CLASSES. THESE CERTIFICATES MAKE GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO THE BASS ANGLER IN YOUR FAMILY. CALL OR EMAIL TO ORDER A GIFT CERTIFICATE.

ELIMINATING WATER CLASS: I will be offering my class on how to Eliminate Water again this winter during the months of January and February and I will also teach a few classes this month in December. These classes are limited to one or two people per class. The classes last approximately 8 hours. The cost of the class is 200.00 which covers one or two people. These classes have been very popular with my clients over the past few years and all the feedback I get is very positive.

Here is some examples of that feedback:

**Dave ... Harry and I took your "Eliminating Water" class and it has helped both of us like you wouldn't believe! - J. Harris

**In the past 3 tourney's I have managed to get a limit on 3 separate lakes. Old Hickory, Barkley, and Barren. Managed a 3rd place finish Sunday on Barkley with a 6lb kicker. I have a lot more confidence when I hit the water now. I no longer pull the old "that bank looks good, lets waste a few hours here". Thanks Dave - M. King

**Well worth the money - and probably the most valuable thing I have purchased in the terms of fishing. - K. Stephens

**The eliminating water class is without a doubt the best money I've spent on fishing in my life. - D. Page

Here is a short description of the Eliminating Water Class:

"How to Eliminate Water": This class is done in a classroom environment. In this class you learn the most important thing that you can learn as a bass fisherman, that is, how eliminate water to find the Bass by finding the highest percentage spots during all the different seasons of the year that will hold more fish, more often. In this class you will learn what information you need to know in order to eliminate water to find these high percentage spots during your preplanning for a trip and how to apply this information as well as current environmental conditions to make decisions on which techniques you should be using when on the water that day and how to adjust to environment changes that can move your fish or change the pattern from day to day, season to season.

Basically, what I teach you in this class is how to use knowledge of mother nature by using scientific knowledge, logic and common sense to develop a system to find your fish as well as make decisions before you get on the water and while you are on the water to be a more consistent bass angler. What I teach you in this class is what I do every day as a bass fishing guide when I am trying to find and catch bass with my clients. What you will learn in this class will apply anywhere you go bass fishing, this is not specific to just Ky and Barkley Lakes.

Finding bass and making decisions as how to catch bass is not done solely by looking at electronics, it is accomplished with knowledge. There is no button on your sonar unit or mapping unit that says "Go Find Fish". Sonar units show you fish AFTER you find them. Mapping units show you just that, a topographical map of the body of water you are on. The mapping unit allows you to mark spots on your electronic map where you have found fish and assist you in navigating back to those spots. Just as with a paper topographical map, you can scan over an electronic map and mark "places of interest" or as I call them "looks good" spots to go check out when you get on the water...but finding high percentage spots are not "looks good" spots. High percentage spots are selected by having the knowledge of what type spots have the highest percentage chance of holding bass during the different seasons of the year coupled with how to apply what is going on in the environment that will affect the fish.

Call or email me to book your class date while dates are still available.

Available Class Dates:

December: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

January and February: plenty of dates still available...book now to get the dates you want for the class.

I am also taking reservations for next season. Book now to get the date(s) you want especially for next spring. Some prime dates are already being booked...don't wait too long to book your trip or you may not get the date(s) you want!

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-362-9987
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"