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  1. #1
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    Some good news about Kentucky lake “I hope”

    Was on the lake today around the Fenton area. Started with my normal morning shallow water spots that have been void of fish all spring. Kept seeing fish breaking the surface a ways off. My eyes aren’t to good anymore so I was assuming they the normal carp feeding. Caught one nice keeper then another pretty quick.Hmmm that’s odd I thought.whats going on.. then I saw them..pretty sure were baby shad not carp. Lots of big balls of them....dozens of balls of them. On gravel bars and in pockets. Even saw them over at Kenlake when we went in for breakfast. They weren’t even a half inch long yet but the bass were running them. I wish my eyes were better or they were bigger but for now I am holding out hope they were not baby carp or we’re screwed. Someone please tell me they were shad so I don’t have to start driving to pick wick every weekend..

  2. Member
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    Feb 2013
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    #2
    They were in the LBL bays last weekend also. They were shad. Had one come out of a sauger’s mouth on the deck this morning.

  3. Member
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    #3
    Randy went yesterday and he said he saw several balls of bait, he didn’t catch many fish but found bait,,,,,,,RT

  4. Member
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    #4
    Good news that they are shad and not carp. I wonder if fish and game biologist are monitoring phytoplankton levels and survival rates.

  5. Member
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    Feb 2013
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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by RangerRodney View Post
    Randy went yesterday and he said he saw several balls of bait, he didn’t catch many fish but found bait,,,,,,,RT
    I caught 6 keepers with the biggest being a 4 lb smallmouth. 3 of the 6 were smallmouth. Caught lots of short fish an the 3 keeper largemouth skipping a wacky rig and on a square bill. Enjoyable morning.

  6. Banned
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    #6
    On Sunday with the current in the canal, there were some huge balls of small shad/fry all along the banks. The small 10" bass were busting them.

    On Saturday I saw all kinds of small shad/fry in the Rock Quarry, was jumping off the rocks and happened to notice all the big balls of bait scattered about in there.

    Saw plenty of bighead both days, on Sunday when the water was flat calm you could seem them out there as far as you could see, many with their dorsal fins out of the water.


    About 16,000 lbs of carp were removed during the bowfishing tournament Saturday night/Sunday morning.

  7. Member
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    May 2011
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    #7
    Fished Barkley Saturday and Sunday for club tourney. Saw tons of bait balls every where, especially off main lake pockets, islands, ec. Most of the fry were about 1" long, hope they were shad, if they are carp we are screwed for the future. Caught several short fish, 4 keepers. All the keepers were skinny!

  8. Member bwschamp's Avatar
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    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by artcarney_agr View Post
    On Sunday with the current in the canal, there were some huge balls of small shad/fry all along the banks. The small 10" bass were busting them.

    On Saturday I saw all kinds of small shad/fry in the Rock Quarry, was jumping off the rocks and happened to notice all the big balls of bait scattered about in there.

    Saw plenty of bighead both days, on Sunday when the water was flat calm you could seem them out there as far as you could see, many with their dorsal fins out of the water.


    About 16,000 lbs of carp were removed during the bowfishing tournament Saturday night/Sunday morning.
    If you were in the Rock Quarry on Saturday,why were you looking for bait?

  9. Banned
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    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by bwschamp View Post
    If you were in the Rock Quarry on Saturday,why were you looking for bait?
    Always got fish on the brain! I made a nice splash right in the middle of one of those bait balls!

  10. Member
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    #10
    Just an observation but I have noticed all the smallies are in fine shape but about half the largemouth are depleted. Has anyone else seen this. I figured smallies are a little more adaptable in their diet. Caught one a few weeks back that had a mouth full of what appeared to be leaches.

  11. Banned
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    #11
    Lots of shad down around 25 ft deep when I was out on Thursday....some of my keepers spit up shad in the cooler confirming that I was using the right bait.

    shadandspoon.jpg

  12. Banned
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    #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Smallmouthguy View Post
    ...but about half the largemouth are depleted. Has anyone else seen this.
    No. Last week, in addition to the keepers I caught, I caught about 30 short fish in the 12" to 14" size range and all were good and fat.

  13. Member
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    Jun 2015
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    #13
    Great news. I haven't been able to get out much lately but I posted an impromptu "study" a month ago or so and had several guys saying they hadn't seen balls of bait in a couple years on KY Lake and were concerned that they hadn't seen any this year either. I thought it was a timing thing and normal to not find a lot of bait in May. Glad to hear that some is starting to show up now.

  14. Member
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    #14
    Update..I was on the lake until about midnight last night.. the bait fish that were .75” are now 3-4”and there’s goooozillions of them, if these are carp we’re screwed. But I guess it does speak to the availability of plankton. “Tremendous growth rate” None the less lots of food for the game fish. I’m going to take my throw net next time out and get a positive ID on these things.

  15. Member ss's Avatar
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    #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Smallmouthguy View Post
    Update..I was on the lake until about midnight last night.. the bait fish that were .75” are now 3-4”and there’s goooozillions of them, if these are carp we’re screwed. But I guess it does speak to the availability of plankton. “Tremendous growth rate” None the less lots of food for the game fish. I’m going to take my throw net next time out and get a positive ID on these things.
    Pretty sure shad don't grow that fast.
    Steve Sendelweck
    Phoenix 920/Mercury 250 ProXS

  16. Member
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    #16
    Quote Originally Posted by ss View Post
    Pretty sure shad don't grow that fast.
    Thinking the same thing.

  17. Member
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    Jan 2016
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    Ky
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    #17
    The shad I have been seeing on other lakes are about 1.5"-2" long.
    They say the carp grow fast. So maybe some guys are seeing the hatch of more lake killers.

  18. Member
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    Feb 2005
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    Eddyville, Ky
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    #18
    What part of which lake were you on? I fished North end of KY Fri and Eddy Creek/ Katawa area of Barkley Sat and today and saw tons of balls of fry around 1.5" long. When a fish would bust into a ball and make them scatter you could definitely see they were shad when they flashed sideways (broadside view). I didn't see any of the longer fry you saw thankfully. The small cuts back near Mineral Mounds ramp in particular were loaded with balls of the smaller shad fry. On a side note, the ramp itself was loaded with amateur boat launcher/loaders, what a freakin' trainwreck.

  19. Member
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    Jul 2007
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    Evansville, Indiana and Eddyville, Kentucky
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    #19
    The problem that I have seen, the fry could be carp.

    Good news, when they are small for a short period of time.....they are food for other fish.

    They grow so fast unfortunately.

  20. Member
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    Dec 2015
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    Charlotte Tn
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    #20
    I've heard from a pretty reliable source that they are baby Asian carp. I'm staying optimistic that they are not

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