Kentucky Lake - Barkley Fishing Report

[kantuckyII]

Just got back Thursday evening from fishing both lakes. First, I HATED Barkley! the fishing was good but the thought you were going to tear the lower unit off your outboard every time you started it was a sickening feeling. They have channels marked but still? there's trees that come down that river all the time and after the big ice storm they had a few years ago, it's gotten worse.

I was sleeping in the back of my truck when that storm hit down there on Friday evening...WOW! did it ever rain! I have never seen rain like that..we got between 7 and 8 inches I heard...Nashville, not far away, got 11! Saturday afternoon, I found out that something had hit less than 100 yards from where I was sleeping on there were a bunch of large trees felled. I was lucky that it didn't hit a ways farther towards me. Saturday evening, I was the only soul in the campground and the electric went out. I couldn't see my hand, literally, in front of my face, I have never seen that much darkness. The rain was still pouring down and I finally, thinking about the trees over me in that super soaked ground and the wind blowing...caused me to go get a room that night.

Now, to the fishing...Thursday and Friday before the rain hit, I had 20 to 30 mph winds to deal with and huge gust. I caught some fish but it was tough. They all looked like twins, about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds, up in the buck brush on a jig. I hadn't taken a trip for a couple years and the first one fooled me big time. He dove and pulled and pulled and pulled..the rod just thumped and I figured he was well over 5....heck, he was lucky to have been 2 lbs. It's amazing how much harder these fish fight than those around here. Then, the jaws? I've fished in lakes from Florida, to Lake Erie to New York and South Carolina but I do believe they have the toughest yet. I liked to have never got the hook out of some and if you didn't have a pair of pliers? I just don't you would some.

After the storm, I moved to Kentucky Lake...my outboard was messed up on Sunday evening so I just fished in the bay where I was at, I caught 14 that evening...all in that same size range, none under 1 1/4 or so. I pulled my boat out on Monday..found that the pin had fallen out of my power trim and figured I'd just buy a bolt and put in there till I got back instead of having it fixed. I stopped at a boat repair place down there and they gave me a price of 75 bucks to purchase and they'd put it in. They'd have to pull the outboard I was told. I looked and thought, I bet they could do it without pulling it. I was told they'd get it that afternoon...well, I told the kid that was going to work on it that I was here on vacation and was there anyway?....a few minutes of this and he was beating and pulling around on it..30 minutes later, it was fixed and I gave him a 20 buck tip to buy his dinner with and he seemed pretty tickled about that.

Went out that afternoon and again, caught over a dozen...largest 3lbs but all well over a lb..most around 2. Next day, more of the same...next day, again...but....I found a honey hole as the water had now risen over 5'! most couldn't find fish and continued to pound the banks..I figured they were ready to spawn and that they would not abandon their beds and they'd be in about 10 to 12' of water...I wound up the next day catching 21, between 2 and 4lbs out of one spot...12' of water and no larger than my yard..it was just unreal that there could be that many fish in such a small area. You'd never find that around here.

The next day? THEY CLOSED THE LAKE TO ALL BOATS! I was planning on coming home on Friday but wound up leaving on Thursday. All in all? I really enjoyed fishing the lake and hope to go back in November.

PS...every single bass that I caught...is still swimming in that lake ...CATCH AND RELEASE! it's the 'right thing' to do!

[BigOrangeOne]

PS...every single bass that I caught...is still swimming in that lake ...CATCH AND RELEASE! it's the 'right thing' to do!

But BiggDowgg and I think "catch and deep fry" is the 'YUMMY THING' to do.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

i agree on releasing bass and selective harvesting on most other fish. if i caught a 10 pounder , i'd have a replica made, and turn it loose.

[BigOrangeOne]

i agree on releasing bass and selective harvesting on most other fish. if i caught a 10 pounder , i'd have a replica made, and turn it loose.

Why release bass and eat the heck out of crappies, catfish, etc. ?? Because it's a multi billion dollar business for Bill Dance, Ray Scott, and the likes? That ain't good enough for me to not have them delicious sammiches.

I have old pictures of the above "gentlemen fishermen" holding stringers of 20+ bass on them. That was ok then but since they found out the could get filthy rich catching them, they now want us to "catch and release". Hypocrites !!

Heck, bass fry up just as golden brown as most other fish. Yum Yum !!

[biggdowgg]

Im with you BOO........

Hope you brought a truckload home from TENN.


Terrygirl,sure nows how to fixum up......mmmmm

[kantuckyII]

The only reason fishing is so good there is because of C & R. The only reason people continue to catch fish is because of C & R. If say, I'd gone down there and taken 100 at least that were keepers...and everyone else on the lake...(I'd say at least 1,000 a day were on the lake) that would be 100,000 in that one week alone and...fishing was slower because of the rising water..in ten weeks it would have been well over 1,000,000 bass would have been harvested right before they laid their eggs too this spring alone (the number probably would have been well over 2 or 3 million in reality)

Now, seeing how it takes about 4 to 5 years for a bass to reach harvest size (legal limit of about 15 inches there) in the Kentucky Lake area...it doesn't take any rocket scientist to figure out how fast the number of bass on the lake would fall and never come back up again. When you get to 4lb and much larger..you're talking 6 to 11 years to grow!

[BigOrangeOne]

The only reason fishing is so good there is because of C & R. The only reason people continue to catch fish is because of C & R. If say, I'd gone down there and taken 100 at least that were keepers...

Now, why in the world would you want to take 100 bass out of there ???? (greedy ??) Besides, 100 bass would be WELL over your limit for the 5-6 days you were there.
You don't need to hyper-exaggerate your figures to make a point ya know....ya lose credibility like that.

How about just a couple for supper ???

The limit on crappies is 20-30 per day (depending on where you are) and I've seen boat after boat after boat after boat take their limit of crappies out of lakes and yet they flourish everywhere.
I read a study that said that if TWO mature bass had successful spawns in a HUGE lake every year, the population would not decline even with heavy pressure.
How about the hundreds (and frequently tons) of bass that are caught in some of these tournaments and hauled around all day in a "live" ( ) well and then taken 30 miles from their spawning areas, put in a small wet bag to be taken to be weighed and held up for display and picture taking, etc., then released MILES from where they were spawning?? Think THAT doesn't hurt your fish??
I would venture to say that more bass were lost in the 3-4 days of the Bass Masters Classic this spring than Dowgg and I would eat in 10 years.
Another thing some of you brainwashed fanatics do that is absolutely outrageous is when you catch a bass and the hook is lodged so deeply in their throat that it can't be dislodged without pulling their insides out.... you just cut the line and leave the hook in there. How inhumane is that ?? Do you have any idea how long it takes for that hook to rust and disintegrate away ? How would you like to try to eat and survive with a 2/0 - 3/0 hook stuck in your throat ? Do the "right thing" and dispatch the poor thing and take him home and eat him for very healthy nourishment. Many "fishermen" are just simply too lazy to take a couple home and clean them for the table. It's much more sport and fun just to go out and romp around the lakes at 60 mph in your big ole bass boat toy and stick a big ole hook in their throat and throw them back in to survive.... if they can.

As I have said before, you stop the money making tournaments and I'll stop fryin' up them golden brown sammiches. Deal ??

[kantuckyII]

why not 100? before that storm hit...they were catching 50 a day apiece. I got 21 in one evening! All over legal size.


You can venture to say a lot of things but...I can tell you this, bass fishing has, in my opinion, gotten much better over the last 30 years on many lakes despite seeing a HUGE Number of new fishermen going after them. C & R really does work.

Case in point, I remember back in the 60's my father would go to Keer and they'd bring home a bunch. I said, 'Dad, you all keep eating all those fish, don't you think it's going to hurt things?' and he told me that there was no way you could hurt a big lake like that. Well, about the mid-70's or so, he changed his tune as fish on that lake dropped dramatically...then, about that time, C&R really caught on..a few years later..the bass population exploded again.

I look at someone who keeps all their bass like the guy who pees all over the toilet seat before you get into the bathroom

Trust me, if you have a good day bass fishing on any lake in the United States, you can thank all the C & R fishermen who were there before you. If they didn't have that attitude, you would have never had that day

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

boo, having known what you did for a living all those years, no doubt , buddy. you know what you're talking about. and i've saw those same pictures, even have some of those ole magazines, and i love bass just like the next feller, and used to keep them all the time. i only keep them if they get guthooked, and i know they are gonna die. i just want my grand younguns to be able to catch em too. but they is fine eatin. i think its kinda like cigarettes i quit smoking over 20 years ago, and they choke me up terrible now. they really do. though i have hundreds of friends that smoke. i just made a conscious decision years ago to turn em loose, to try to catch them somewhere down the line. now i just automatically toss em back. take me a nice picture, and let em loose. especially in northern waters like ours, they grow so much slower, and don't get the size as the florida strain largemouth. i know an occasional 10 ponder gets snagged around here. but nothing like down south. or out far west. but i love a good fish dinner, or sammich. and i'm sure terrygurl can whoop up a mean batch.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

i completely agree boo , about the tournaments , if bass are released then, they will return immediately to that bed, no doubt hundreds if not thousands of bass die after these big tournaments, the solution would be as i've always said, an official in each boat, weigh, cull, and release the fish, then log the weight on a fish scale. take the 5 highest weights, and the fish all live, more than likely.might not be as exciting at the weigh in, but what the heck, the thousands there looking already got hundreds of dollars worth of free tackle. if the fish does not fall in the slot limit, say 15 inches , back he goes.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

and i definately agree that catch and release has increased the bass population in the united states as well. heck , catch and release , and selective harvesting has even caught on , in 3rd world countries , along the congo,the nile, and the amazon, where if you don't catch fish, you don't eat. so overall it's doing wonders for not only the billions spent on the industry, but for the well being of all fisherman. I like them fried real slow.

[OZZIEOHIO]

YTB them are some good looking Bass sammiches.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

still laughing , you are something oz. i mean, yes , them was mighty delightful tasting. fried to a golden brown, whatta treat.

[BigOrangeOne]

why not 100? before that storm hit...they were catching 50 a day apiece. I got 21 in one evening! All over legal size.

Why not 100 ?? Because people like me and MY Dad would turn you in in a heartbeat. I believe the limit in Kentucky is SIX. We're talking about KEEPING fish.... not CATCHING them.

You might want to consider that a lot of the reason you're catching fish is because people like MY Dad would (back in the day) go out maybe once every other week and enjoy catching fish all day long and bring home 3-4 for the family dinner. He died without ever having the luxury of going to someplace like Kentucky Lake in his life. He primarily fished places like Lake Jackson (close to home). It was a good bass lake then and low and behold, 70 years later, it STILL is a good bass lake even though he and true sportsmen like him brought home a FEW to eat out of the MANY they caught.

You mentioned that all those fish you caught were "all over legal size". My question is "legal sized" for what ?? Legal sized to creel and keep, right? Even though they may be legal doesn't make it right to take six 15 inchers but the many Departments of Natural Resorces across the country have determined that it IS possible to harvest a modest number of fish without harming the populations.



PS...in reality, I just love guys like you. You keep throwing them back and I'll keep coming along right behind you and gathering up a couple of nice ones to fry up to a golden brown for me and Dowggie a sammich.




One other question.... as a good Christian man, do you believe God put fish on earth for my dinner or your sport ??

[BigOrangeOne]

i completely agree about the tournaments , if bass are released then, they will return immediately to that bed, no doubt hundreds if not thousands of bass die after these big tournaments, the solution would be as i've always said, an official in each boat, weigh, cull, and release the fish, then log the weight on a fish scale. take the 5 highest weights, and the fish all live, more than likely.might not be as exciting at the weigh in,.....

AMEN, Bait !!!! But to the tournament officials (Ray Scott and his successors) and all the lure and boat and tackle companies, it's not about the excitement, it's about ......


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

And THAT is what will ruin recreational fishing for the every day Joe Schmoe, NOT Joe Schmoe's eating a couple of fish now and then.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

boo, i totally agree, these bass that are taken 30/40 miles from the nests , the crappies , hybrid bluegills and such have already raided them, those fingerlings are gone. i've seen it on tv with an aqua vue camera. it's sad that it is so much about money. i think just as much prize money could be had, if the fish were videotaped being weighed then released. instead of dragging them along all day in summer temps, then putting them in a bag, to weigh them, then release them, there has to be a very high mortality rate. and i know you seen it all, and every crooked trick in the book. because i know what you did when you worked. and my dad just like yours never seen anything further away than buckeye lake. but we never knew any better. it was recreational fun. catch a few keepers, n have a shore lunch. i went to lake guntersville last summer , and i'm 49. other than kentucky lake and lake erie. thats the farthest i ever been in my life to fish. and it is very expensive , with travel, lodging, bait, gas. you give me bout 10 more days and you can come catch fish right off my dock at lake white , we'll make some sammiches right there in the kitchen.

[BigOrangeOne]

, we'll make some sammiches right there in the kitchen.

Don't tell any of those big money brainwashed people in Flatweeds where your place is. They are subject to come over there and blow you right off the dock.

[BigOrangeOne]

I look at someone who keeps all their bass like the guy who pees all over the toilet seat before you get into the bathroom

So, if you go into a bathroom and find pee on the seat that some jerk left, then you decide to vow to never pee again, huh?

I've wondered what makes you look so bloated looking..... and here I thought what made your teeth yellow was simply poor hygiene.

[BigOrangeOne]

it doesn't take any rocket scientist to figure out how fast the number of bass on the lake would fall and never come back up again.

a few years later..the bass population exploded again.

Now, which is it Mr. Dance? The number would fall and NEVER COME BACK UP AGAIN or THE BASS POPULATION WOULD EXPLODE AGAIN ??

NEVER is a long time and involves a lot of variables.

If the numbers of bass significantly dropped in the 300+ miles of length and the 3000+ miles of shoreline and the nearly 220,000 acres of the combined Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake (which are joined) ever dropped to where some of you "sportsmen" couldn't catch 50-100 a day, you would probably cease to drive the 6+ hours to get there to fish and the fish population would likely "explode" again.

I don't think fishermen that take 3-4 fish every week or two to eat are going to deplete a 220,000 lake but tournaments are killing them by the thousands and Ray Scott has convinced you that that is OK. Why aren't you raling on them?

The question remains unanswered.... Do you think God put fish on this earth for MY nourishment or for YOUR sport?

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

how bout both.