Welcome back Slim ShadyOriginally Posted by artcarney_agr
I'm back!
Welcome back Slim Shady
Someone else also said this but I along with my dad and a few friends have been fishing KY Lake for 35+ years, 2-5 times a year for 3-4 days each trip. We aren't "experts" on the lake but we've got tons of waypoints and know th BR area really well, which is where we mostly fish. But that's partially my point...we always could catch 'em even though we don't fish it every week. Weather was really the only thing that caused a bad day or trip. And even then, we could still catch some quality fish. Everything changed about 4 years ago for us....three or four below average trips that reminded me of the fishing before the last boom (mid-1990's?). Used to be awesome to fish in March when you only had to navigate around mostly crappie fishermen who never cared about me fishing near them beating the shore as long as I stayed off their brush pile, LOL! I can only think of two things that has really changed: 1.) increased bass fishing pressure and 2.) the carp. Personally , I feel the carp are the main issue. I don't think bass tournaments regularly kill tons of bass. Just doesn't happen. But the increased fishing pressure, the huge schools of mongo Asian carp...somethings going on. I do think it's forced the bass to relocate, and that's probably as much to do with the changed baitfish patterns. Hard to believe though that those carp aren't providing a constant supply of baby carp for those bass to eat though.
All I know is I haven't been to the lake in almost 3 years and have no plans to go in the near future. My dad has fished there close to 50 years and he and my uncle failed to catch a keeper bass on a Fall trip in 2016. He has no desire to return to the lake and neither do I for now.
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I think with all factors combined, the fish have adjusted and most fishermen haven't.
It's kind of like when the crappie population switched from mostly white crappie to mostly black crappie, the fish adapted but the fishermen didn't...now we've got a new 20 crappie limit in place as a result because the crappie fishermen think all the crappie are gone.
For years I was able to keep fishing the spots/places/areas I learned in the 90s and have good results, but in recent years they quit producing. After finally just deciding to start from scratch and start fishing new spots and new techniques, I finally got back on the fish again. You talk about having tons of waypoints, well I had those too and had to just scrap them...certainly kills you to do that, but that's the reality of it. Like I said, the fish have changed, and if you want to continue to be successful, you need to change too.
That's the good thing about having KDFWR conducting surveys, they've confirmed that the fish are still in there, I have no reason to doubt them.
I would encourage anyone who is wanting more info about the asian carp, bass populations, or just fishing info in general to give KDFWR a call. Adam Martin is who I believe has replaced Paul Rister. I sent a message to Adam asking about sauger fishing info, and he called me with some really good info!
WESTERN FISHERY DISTRICT (Murray)
Adam Martin
(270) 753-3886
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@kennethandmacy
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Tournament pressure has definitely taken its toll on Kentucky and the fish have gotten smarter because of it, but an increase in tournaments don’t cause a decrease in baitfish. I’m only 23 but have fished Kentucky at least once a week or more since I could sling a rod and the baitfish and short bass are almost nonexistent now. I can remember going out and catching 50 in the 10-15” range like it was nothing. Now when I do catch fish they’re usually keepers but almost no shirts and the high quantity days are very rare. It’s probably been at least a year or more since I’ve seen the typical big gizzard school, I got excited this fall when I saw just a few shad flickering. Asian carp have hurt this lake and people that fish it are just lying to themselves. You can’t believe that Fish & Wildlife are dedicated to eradicating the carp because it’s only getting worse each year.
If fishing sucks so bad then why are all the big organizations still having a venue here and most out of state organizations and clubs still have their classics here. When I look at tournament results it blows me away at the amount of fish caught. Then on top of that knowing that even more were caught but not weighed in because they didn’t have a chance to place in the money.
What are you basing this on? Good lord, they have an entire task force dedicated to eradicating them. They are trying new methods all the time. The latest is a wild looking shrimp boat hybrid. If you have any solutions, please share them, KDFWR is fighting one heck of a battle, the least you could do is provide them with some encouragement rather than putting them down. The best weapon they have right now are the commercial fishermen, who removed over 2 million pounds of asian carp last year. Pick up a copy of the latest issue of KY Afield magazine, there's a great article in there on the subject.
I mean, you sound like you think KDFWR can just push a button and all the asian carp would disappear...if they can do that then they might as well push the button that cures cancer too while they are at it and quit holding out on us.
For those who are convinced fishing and tournament pressure are to blame can you explain Guntersville? Smaller than Ky and probably gets twice the fishing hours yet it keeps churning them out.?
GRASS!
I have to agree with Nate, I have said before no baitfish, use to block out the depth finder years ago and now you just don’t see any. Some of the pictures I saw last fall suggest that fish were very thin looking or deformed, can’t tell me that bait fish have all moved to the banks only!!!!
Im basing it on the fact that no other state has been able to control the Asian carp spread and states like Illinois and Michigan have had a lot deeper pockets to spend on asian carp to keep them out of the Great Lakes and that is a losing battle. They found a way to keep them out but not kill the carp without killing everything. Kentucky fish and wildlife is probably one of the better run Fish and Wildlife departments in the country. They’ve reintroduced a lot of native species and do a good job promoting the outdoors but don’t act like they’re gonna fix the carp issue because no one else has. Unless we’re gonna supply half of China with Asian carp to eat, just focusing on commercial fishing is like pissing in the wind with as many carp in the lake as there is.What are you basing this on? Good lord, they have an entire task force dedicated to eradicating them. They are trying new methods all the time. The latest is a wild looking shrimp boat hybrid. If you have any solutions, please share them, KDFWR is fighting one heck of a battle, the least you could do is provide them with some encouragement rather than putting them down. The best weapon they have right now are the commercial fishermen, who removed over 2 million pounds of asian carp last year. Pick up a copy of the latest issue of KY Afield magazine, there's a great article in there on the subject.
I mean, you sound like you think KDFWR can just push a button and all the asian carp would disappear...if they can do that then they might as well push the button that cures cancer too while they are at it and quit holding out on us.
Youre not looking at the entire results in the bigger tournaments. One guy will always catch that 20 pound plus bag but the rest of the field might not break 15 and most will do good to have 3 fish. And this happened probably all of last year except in June. It would help tremendously if Kentucky had any grass at all but Tennessee has killed all of it below Paris.
Grass and Guntersville is nothing like it used to be.
Which is why they are continually trying new things. New types of nets, new collection methods, study after study, and so on. What exactly is it you are expecting from them? The biologists can't help it that their leadership sucks and are underfunded as a result, but they are doing all that they can with what they have to work with, so what's the deal with your sentiment towards them?
You work for fish and wildlife bro?
I also agree they are working on it with the resources they are given but I'm just as impatient as the next guy. I'm wishing they would find something to fix the problem quickly so our fishery can return to what we all know and love.
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oh I look at them. That’s just it, the fish are there. Think that’s why it’s called fishing and not catching.
Tomi, known you for a long time, what about the bait fish, you agree with that?w
Yes sir. Don’t see near as many bait fish be it treadfin or gizzard. Doesn’t mean they are gone but definitely nowhere near the numbers we expect to see. You just cannot say it is one thing or another but a accumulation or all. Like I said I’m not a biology but here are a few things that I believe effect our fishery. Age ( like you and me) this lake is getting older. With that age have come changes. Lose of cover from different things. Braiding didn’t help and I believe that is why the Tn portion fishes a little better than the Ky side. Grass for whatever reason isn’t present, hasn’t be present for years on my side of the ponds (Barkley). With age we lost a lot of cover and water depth from silt. I can remember going into a lot of creeks that had 20ft or more water that are lucky to have a couple of feet. All the wood that was there is still there just buried under many feet of muck. Not ready to make a judgement on the Asian Carp. Don’t see them going anywhere soon but as a side note hopefully our game fish are consuming some of their fry. Hopefully Mother Nature will step in and my grandchildren and great grandkids are as blessed as I have been.
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