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Steve McCadams'
Kentucky Lake Fishing Report for:
May 20th, 2005
Fishing continues to hold up well on Kentucky Lake for several
species, thanks to another week of beautiful weather.
The week began with cool, foggy mornings that made it seem like fall
was here. By midweek, however, warm days chased away the chill and hot
weather returned.
Surface temperatures have cooled since last week. Presently,
readings are in the 70 to 74 degree range and will likely rise another
two to three degrees this weekend.
Lake levels have fallen slowly this week after being a few inches
above summer pool last week. Observed lake elevation at Kentucky Dam is
359, which is official summer pool level. However, upstream at New
Johnsonville TVA predicted a reading of 358.8, which is a few inches
lower than readings taken earlier in the week.
Some current has been present in the main Tennessee River this week.
Watercolor continues to stay clear throughout the Big Sandy while some
dingy water is present in the Tennessee River and inside bays and
pockets adjacent to the main river.
Bluegill action continues to hold up well as bedding is still
underway. However, some high skies on the backside of a cool front
earlier in the week seemed to slow down the bite as bluegill and redear
were somewhat sluggish.
Action resumed at midweek and several fish seemed to resume fanning
spawning beds. With the approach of a full moon, bluegill and
shellcracker anglers will likely see a surge in action this weekend and
into next week.
Several bluegill beds have been slow during the midday, as the
bright sun and clear water in shallow zones have seen the fish take on a
finicky mood. A few cloudy days will see action perk up fast, however,
as these aggressive panfish have another week or ten days of peak
spawning time left before they begin to scatter.
Bass action has been fair in shallow buck bushes and weedbeds,
especially during the lowlight conditions of early mornings and late
afternoons. A variety of lures have been producing such as buzz baits,
jerk baits, and floating worms.
Several fish are hitting on lizards and worms pitched around willows
and bushes. Some main river islands are holding fish, especially on
blowdowns where trees have eroded and fallen into slightly deeper water.
Pin minnows are present in weeds and bushes but still a bit too
small to attract many large bass at this time.
Some of the larger fish are dropping back to ledges and sandbars
where Carolina rigged worms and lizards are producing in 8 to 12 foot
depths. Some ledges in the mouth of large bays or long extending points
off the main shoreline are holding fish.
A few smallmouth are taking finesse baits such as grubs and
tube-style baits worked slowly on sloping points near main lake drops.
Watch for shallow water action to improve on cloudy, rain-filled
days.
Catfish are hitting good for anglers placing trotlines and jugs in a
variety of places. Several nice catfish were taken this week by anglers
baiting with nightcawlers, chicken livers, and cut-bait.
Some fish were taken off rocky banks again this week as well. And, a
few reports indicated action from rip-rap rock levees at Danville and
Paris Landing.
Crappie have been fair to slow for most anglers this week but a few
success stories have come in from those trolling jigs and crankbaits.
Most of the fish are still suspended in 7 to 14 foot zones and those
covering a lot of water have scored some decent stringers.
Watch for crappie to continue to improve as they return to a
structure oriented pattern as surface temperatures warm.
Some scattered sauger are showing up from gravel points but a lot of
the fish are shy of the legal length limit.
For The Lake Barkley Report
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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.
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