|
Brought to you by: Fishtale Lodge
Steve McCadams'
Kentucky Lake Fishing Report for:
April 28th, 2006
BASS AND CRAPPIE ACTION GOOD…BLUEGILL AND CATFISH SPAWN APPROACHES
Fishing continues to hold up well for crappie and
bass anglers here on Kentucky Lake. And, action is improving daily for
other species such as bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcracker), and
catfish.
Some hefty stringers of crappie continue to come
in from anglers working midrange structure in the 9 to 14 foot zones.
And, a few fish are coming from deep ledges in the main lake where
anglers are finding them in the 20 to 25 foot depths.
Most of the crappie are in the post-spawn phase
but a few fish were making a late blitz this week as some females were
dropping eggs in deeper areas. While there’s no doubt the bulk of
crappie have spawned, action has held up quite good for anglers this
week as fish were relating to structure and sporting an appetite.
Despite a midweek cold front that really dropped
temperatures courtesy of a cool north wind, the fish seemed to remain in
the biting mood.
Popular lure choices have been jigs tipped with
minnows, worked in a vertical presentation around those submerged stake
beds and brush piles. Several color combinations have worked but the
crappie seemed to really favor that live minnow lately, which is typical
of finicky, post-spawn crappie.
Small jigs in the 1/16 and 1/32-ounce range
seemed to attract more bites than larger size leadheads this week.
Bass action has been good this week with a lot of
fish caught by anglers tossing lizards, spinnerbaits, topwater and some
Carolina rigs. Several cloudy days really stimulated the bite for
shallow fish relating to weedbeds, willow trees, and buck bushes around
the shoreline.
Water levels have been sufficient to inundate an
abundance of visible cover, offering bass anglers ample targets.
The bottom line is that a lot of bass have been
caught this week as the fish have been aggressive.
Last week TWRA fisheries division was conducting
annual fish surveys by electro shocking here in the Paris Landing and
West Sandy and Big Sandy areas. While official data is still being
tabulated, reports indicate good numbers of bass were seen with a
variety of year classes.
The survey seems to indicate there’s a healthy
bass fishery in Kentucky Lake right now with a bright future.
Meanwhile, in the opinions of several local bass
anglers the larger bass appear to have already spawned. Last week’s warm
weather and full moon likely proved tempting to many bass, which bedded
earlier this year than in times past.
Productive techniques and lures this week have
been spinnerbaits worked around grassbeds where topwater jerk baits and
buzz baits have also produced. Floating worms and fluke-style baits are
working as are Texas rigged worms and lizards in the green
pumpkin-pepper, black, and red shad, just to name a few.
Topwater jerk baits such as Storm’s Chug-Bug and
Thunderstick, along with Bagley’s Bango Lure have been popular choices.
Some anglers are working Carolina rigged lizards
and large crankbaits around long points and sloping ledges, hoping to
find some larger fish already pulling off shorelines in a post-spawn
pattern.
While a few scattered smallmouth are showing up,
anglers working those secondary ledges are only finding small numbers of
bronzebacks.
Bluegill and shellcracker are on the threshold of
spawning. Anglers can expect significant improvement from these popular
panfish in the weeks ahead as waters warm. Several decent catches have
been reported this week but the best is yet to come, although the
shellcracker are already showing signs of activity around those
scattered buck bushes and weedbeds.
Catfish are prowling the shallow areas and
heading toward rock banks and other spawning areas. Several large fish
were taken this week in shallow water so watch for increased activity
the next two weeks.
Kentucky Lake water levels were falling slowly at
midweek but are expected to rebound some and rest near the summer pool
mark this weekend. Present readings are 359 at Kentucky Dam and 358.8 at
New Johnsonville.
Watercolor remains clear in most of the
reservoir. Some stain was present in small pockets just off the main
lake.
Surface temperatures cooled some at midweek and
dropped into the 69 to 71 degree range. Watch for temps to climb back
into the mid 70’s this weekend.
For The Lake Barkley Report
Click Here
Also check out our past:
Kentucky Lake Fishing Reports
Steve McCadams
Steve McCadams is one of the nation's best known Crappie Fishermen
and a full time resident of Paris, Tennessee. Steve is also a
professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area.
|
