Yeah, those are the deadheads that I was writing about. They change from year to year. There are some new ones above the second bridge this summer and one less on that flat you are talking about.
Yeah, those are the deadheads that I was writing about. They change from year to year. There are some new ones above the second bridge this summer and one less on that flat you are talking about.
Lots of well educated fish. There seems to be a couple of year classes missing in the 3.5-4.5 pound range from the flooding a few years back that messed up the spawn, but there are lots of fish up to 17 inches. I have been catching good numbers this summer, mostly on crankbaits that I have painted. There are a few colors that they haven't seen before that they seem to like around here. Anyway, if you come this way, pm me, I might be able to help.
lolo got it.. fomkydirector.. Over many years of Trucking seen lots of towns , city's, states.. and noted some rather unusual names for creeks, towns etc.. figured some where due to reality many years ago
The name comes from the open grassy plains in the area known as "Barrens."
Vast forests did not cover all of Kentucky. In the south-central portion of the state an area of open grasslands known as the “Barrens” made a stark contrast to the heavily forested terrain surrounding it. Native Americans had repeatedly burned the forests that once covered the region as a means to stampede and kill big game. These fires created an open savannah that in turn drew all types of wild game to feed off its lush grasses. Buffalo herds migrated eastward across the Mississippi to Illinois, and then to Kentucky. These herds came to the Barrens and multiplied, providing food and clothing for the Indians.
Source: http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortpark...r/history.aspx
Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades
It's the start of the gradual drawdown that only takes it down a .5'-1' until Oct 15. The hard drawdown always starts Oct 15-18.
Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades
The last couple of days they have had the main gate on .40 with a discharge around 1800 cfs. The lake is a little over over 1 ft low. They normally open the gates up more when they really start pulling it down for winter pool which "typically" is the 15th. I have seen them start it a few days early as well as a few days late. At .40 it's enough to notice current in some places but still not what I like to see this time of year. I have not been to Barren for several weeks but today 10/14 was better than any of the trips I took back in the summer. Once they open up the gates and get the current going it really improves the bite. I am on vacation all this upcoming week. I typically spend 3-4 days at Barren every year on my fall vacation. Even though I caught some fish today I will probably only go 1 or maybe 2 more times this upcoming week. I was at Browns Ford this morning at daylight and had to wait 4 boats deep just to launch. Seems like several of the BFL guys wanted to look at the river. When I loaded my boat I took a look at the vehicles in the parking lot and saw plates from 4 different states. Barren will be a mad house this upcoming week. If we don't get a big rain on Sunday and they open up the gates on Monday it should come alive real quick. Rarely do I catch smallmouth at Barren. Its only during the drawdown when current is present. Today I had a 17" SM so its getting ready to break loose.
Last edited by JR19; 10-15-2017 at 01:02 PM. Reason: change from 10/14 to 10/15
I have been avoiding it as much as possible. Did you do your usual routine?
Yeah, the bfl boys are hot. I have talked to a few and they claim to be catching them 100% opposite to what i would be doing now. Hopefully i can get out tommorow and see for myself, barren has to turn on big this fall or i will brand it a steaming pile of dung for 2017!
I have the week off and am heading down in the morning for a few days. Hoping to catch a few bass. This week last year was extremely tough, we only caught a few cranking and on a jig. Hoping the cool down in temps will help us find some more active bass.
Can't do my regular routine. Massive log jam will prevent you from getting all the way up river. Back in the summer you could go around it in the secondary channel but a tree fell in the secondary channel of the island so both ways of going around the island are blocked. The log jam is MASSIVE. I don't care if your in a kayak you're not getting through. Back downstream there is another tree that fell and blocked the best 2 pieces of cover in the area.
Home from 2.5 days spent on Barren. Man it was a struggle. We boated less than a dozen fish total with only one decent keeper. Tried every presentation and every type of area. We just never could figure anything out. What little luck we had was on a crankbait and a rattletrap on main lake pockets where the wind had been hitting for an extended period of time. I will say that we met several of the BFL guys and they were all extremely friendly and helpful once they realized we wouldn't be fishing against them. Lot of gentlemen from Wisconsin and Ohio who were all great to talk to on otherwise rough days on the lake.
My bad guys. I moved the wrong thread. I have sent Al a message to move it back. Sorry for the mix up.
Yes I have fished it 3 weekends this year and never once caught a limit during one day. This was at 3 different times of the year fishing all areas of the lake. It has been extremely tough for me the past two years after having a lot of success the year before.
I may be totally wrong but until someone conveniences me otherwise I think the floods of 2010 and 2011 are now showing impact of how they hurt the fish population. My reason for thinking this is the numbers of fish that should be the size for those two year classes seem to be low. I had this discussion here on the boards recently and a few agree but most disagree. If that's not the case then there has to be a reason why are people not catching 15"-20" fish in numbers like they did in years past. I know pressure at that lake has been high for several years. It also seems like the pressure is getting higher each year. Another impact could be technology such as side imaging, down imaging and 360 imagine. There is no place for the fish to hide. There has to be a definitive answer as to why the numbers are down. Maybe its a combination of things?
Last edited by JR19; 10-19-2017 at 04:58 PM.
Anyone know any weights? I can't find any other than someone who doesn't know what a spotted bass is from a local news source.
Its on flws page. 14 and change is leading. 13# second then quite a few guys at 12 then falls off to a lot of guys in the 5-9# range.
Jason
2015 Phoenix 919 225 ProXs