Anyone fish Lake Cumberland? What kind of lake is it (shallow, deep). What river system is it on? Thanks,
Anyone fish Lake Cumberland? What kind of lake is it (shallow, deep). What river system is it on? Thanks,
It is on the Cumberland River. It is a very deep resevoir. It is most famous for it's great Striper fishing. It is also a great smallmouth fishery. Largemouth, Walleye, Crappie we've got it all. Some call it the dead sea, but I very very seldom get skunked. It currently is at very low levels due to repairs being done to Wolf Creek Dam, the dam that impounded the lake. It will likely be down for a few years, however the fishing has still been for the most part consistent. Anglers had to leave their "honey-holes" due to most of them being 40ft. above their heads. After angler's got over that problem catches went back to normal. I personally think the lower levels for awhile will be good for the lake. There are lots of grasses and shrubs growing back along the shoreline, one popular creek(Fishing Creek) looks like a pasture more than a lake. If you are planning a trip the best time for largemouth or smallies is early spring through mid-summer. Night fishing is the best on Cumberland during May-June, some in July. Striper fishing is best in Spring when the water warms to about 65-70, and in the fall when it drops to around 60-65. Walleye seam to biting all year round, but for my money July has been the best month for big walleyes. Hope this helps.
Thanks, Will be up there to fish the Fishers of men national tournament the 1st week in April.
There was a recent headline in our local paper about it good luck
What a coincidence!! You are leaving AL for KY that week and I'm leaving KY for AL. I'll be on Weiss for an annual trip me and my buddies take every year.
Weiss Is about 45min from my house and I fish it some. Are yall crappie or bass fishing??
Crappie. We are staying at JR's there will be 8 of us coming down. I've seen the Anniston signs when we travel down there. My father-in-law was down there last month he said the water is WAY down. Do you think you'all will get enough rain to get it back up to normal by March 30? That's when we leave.
Lake Cumberland is a high land reservoir. The main lake is mostly bluff walls and steep rocky points. They are some areas with flats but most of the lower lake is steep. Summer pool is 723 ft above sea level but due to a leak in the dam the lake has been drawn down to 680 ft. At summer pool the lake has 50,000 surface acres but now it has 35,000 acres. The biggest problem I have seen so far is boat ramps. They have worked on a lot of the ramps and made them usable but I do not know of any ramps where you can load and unload 5 wide like you can at summer pool.
I live 45 minutes from the dam and have only fished the lower half of the lake. The only time I fish the lake is winter/early spring. I am within a 1 hr drive of two more lakes that are a lot easier to catch fish onYou will be launching from the upper end of the lake and I have no knowledge of that area. I do know there is still plenty of water on the lower end. You still have 100 ft deep water on the main lake river channel at the dam. You can still run the creeks on the lower end but they are a couple miles shorter than they used to be.
The lake has a healthy population of Smallmouths and Spots. They are Largemouths in the lake but during the winter and early spring you will see a lot of Smallmouths in the bags and if you see a Largemouth it usually is a big/good fish. All Smallmouth must be 18" all Largemouth 15" there is no size limit on Spots state wide. Some tournaments have a 12" limit on Spots and some require a 15" limit on Spots. I guess it will be up to FOM to decide what size limit they will require.
Early April (pending weather) should be a prime time to see Smallmouths and early big female Largemouths moving up. This I can assure you...I dislike Lake Cumberland it is far down my list of lakes in South Central KY to fish but when fishing is ON you had better bring your A game. They have a winter league that starts around Dec and goes thru March and I have on more than one occasion seen a 20 pound bag not cash a check. The Somerset area and upper end of the lake caters to the Large fishing circuits. They have a lot of Motels and seem to draw in most of the tourism.
Good luck on you FOM trip. There is a few people who visit this board who will be fishing it also. I bet they are all glad Flippindrew does not fish the FOM circuit...remember all the pictures he has posted in the past
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mcorr »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Crappie. We are staying at JR's there will be 8 of us coming down. I've seen the Anniston signs when we travel down there. My father-in-law was down there last month he said the water is WAY down. Do you think you'all will get enough rain to get it back up to normal by March 30? That's when we leave.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JR19 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> They have worked on a lot of the ramps and made them usable but I do not know of any ramps where you can load and unload 5 wide like you can at summer pool. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Burnside Island ramp has been completed, I put in there Sat. while 4 small tourneys were going on. Parking lot was fullFive side by side is easy
The water level possibly will be higher next spring according to the local paper and I'm sure the jerkbait bite will be sweet (and Flukes). I caught this sweet thang April 2.......not far from Burnside Island....
(606)305-1956
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KyLegndHamr »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Burnside Island ramp has been completed, Parking lot was full
I know they have worked on a lot of ramps at Cumberland. Glad to hear you can unload with multiple lanes open. The upper end of the lake seems to draw in the most tourism money from the traveling fishing circuits. They had to do some thing to fix the ramp situation or it would be a big loss of money.
I have been told that they might raise the lake level to 690 sometime next year. If they do that I hope it is before the spawn sets in. With all the new growth on the banks fishing should be awesome for the first few years after they raise the level back up.
I hope they keep the lake level where it is now for a couple more years....the growth along the shores will have a chance to mature....would be a completely different and helluva lot better lake with actual shoreline vegetation cover
Fishing has actually been better since the drawdown...at least for me...and I have heard other locals talk about having had the best spring fishing (last spring) since at least the 70's. The best analogy I have heard about this drawdown...and it makes sense "ya got the same number of cows....now in a smaller pasture"
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fish-N-Fool »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> The best analogy I have heard about this drawdown...and it makes sense "ya got the same number of cows....now in a smaller pasture"
Who sed dat?
I agree, Greg, I hope they keep it down long enough to have some big brush growing.....Fishin' Creek has haired over big time between the parks!
(606)305-1956
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KyLegndHamr »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Come to think of it....I believe you were the ol' sage that passed that nugget of wisdom my way
Of course....today there wasn't a cow to to be found anywhere
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