Kentucky Lake - Full Pool

[Sisco Sisk]

Does anyone know who I would contact to find out when KY lake will start raising water levels to full pool next Spring? We went down this past April and they brought the water level up several feet in a couple days and it really seemed to have turned the fish off for the short time we were there.

We're scheduling a trip for next spring and want to try to avoid a simialr senario.

Tight Lines,

Rob

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Rob...

We go to Lake Barkley every spring (connected to Kentucky Lake)...

We attempt to time our trip to happen DURING the increase to full pool....

Our experience has alwyas been that they bite BETTER as the water level goes up...



just personal experience...

usually happens around the first week of May...



az

 

[Sisco Sisk]

AZ- I agree that the bite's usually bite better with a gradual rise but they "unleashed the hounds" when were there in April. I didn't attempt to measure but locals believed they had raised the lake 5' in 5 days. Still found a few slabs but heard "should of been here last week" quite a bit.





Roadhog- Thanks for the link...this will help.

 

[Brian Ingersoll]

Usually April is when the lake is raised to summer pool.

 

[Billy Harl]

I've been lurking on this website since February. It's made me laugh, it's made me cry, it's made me think and I've learned a few things. I don't know much, but I know Kentucky Lake. If anybody has any questions, I'd be glad to help you out best I can. They close the gates on the dam on April 1st. They want to get it up to summer pool by May 1st. Sometimes it's a steady rise, other times if there is a lot of rain, they raise it up quicker. Most years it's above summer pool in the last week of April or the first week of May. If I was looking to time a trip to Kentucky Lake for Crappie, you want to try to get there a little pre spawn. I would say the first two weeks of April would be your best bet. Fish steep rocky banks in the bigger bays early in the morning and late in the evening.

 

[Carl S]

Fishbones - Me and seven of my good friends will be heading to Kentucky Lake in Tenn. sunday morning. Will be fishing the Big Sandy area. I would appreciate all the tips you can possibly give for crappie and bass. Thanks for the offer!

Carl

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I can also add that my wife and I was there a few years ago in April and the lake came up 4 feet in ONE DAY!

Pretty scary really.....we made the trek from Kentucky thru the canal into Barkley and was crappie fishin' when we noticed it and by the time we left Barkley, it was on the rise with debris EVERYWHERE! Not small stuff either....HUGE LOGS and debris which made the trek back even worse.

Bottom line was it took about 1 hour of rough going that should have maybe taken 15 minutes and there was NO DOCK at Kentucky Dam marina where we were parked.

There was also NO RAMP! It was under water!

Wifey wasn't too happy about getting her feet wet in 57 degree water....



A few years earlier we were there in April and just SPANKED the crappie and the weather and lakes were perfect

 

[arnold helgerson]

I am heading down there the fist werek of october for a national tournament. any help would be great. looking to catch numbers of keepers to weigh a limit each day. if the big one comes along great, but am looking more for just keeper bass over 15"

 

[Billy Harl]

Carl,



A few things come to mind. One is that the lake is 3 feet below summer pool. You need to get a good map and stay in between those buoys. Kentucky Lake has stumps in it big enough to build a house on. Well, maybe not that big, but if you hit one, it's going to ruin your weekend. Be careful. I'm going to have on a smoke colored tube jig, jigging spoon, and some kind of top water. Possibly a zara spook. The fish are in a transition period. Mature shads are starting to come into the bays. You'll be able to catch bass from the main lake points all the way back to the flats. The crappie will be in the brush anywhere from 10 to 20 feet deep. Best bet for them is minnows. If all of those great plans go belly up, I'm going to go with my 4 inch finese worm and creep it along on the bottom under those shad. Something else, don't forget your rain gear. Supposed to be chilly and raining this weekend. Good Luck.

 

[al cannia]

Fishbones,

Not looking for locations,I have a good map,need general lake information.Such as,my map shows areas with alot of stumps,are there any laydowns and areas for guys that like to flip/pitch?

Say you are fishing from Big Sandy north to the dam,would you say the percentage of smallies caught and largemouth would be 50/50,or is one of the two more predominant?

Our area has been getting severe cold fronts and alot of rain,water temps now at 60* and under,are these fronts keeping their energy into the kentucky lake area,or would you say just a normal fall scenario?

thanks, al cannia

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Be very careful when the lakes are down ans STAY in the channels when @ WOT

 

[Carl S]

Fishbones - Thanks for the info. Carl

 

[Billy Harl]

Al,



Overall, Kentucky has more largemouth than it does smallmouth. But we have a super good population of smallmouth. In general, the best fishing for the smallmouth is on the east side of the lake. Early in the spring when the wateris up in the buck brush, there is miles of shoreline that can be flipped and piched to, but this time of year the lake is 3 feet below summer pool and flipping and pitching would be more around docks and laydowns. A lot of the stumps they show on the maps have been silted over, but in some areas there is a lot of stumps. You'll just have to go and check it out. Also, right now, we have a decent amount of matted grass in some areas and fishing some of those grass areas has been a pretty good pattern of late. Good luck.

 

[Billy Harl]

Wezel,



I hope my other posts will give you a few ideas. I think if I was trying to fish a tournament, I would hit all the main lake points with a crank bait or spinner bait. I would just pull up on a point, fire a couple dozen casts and move on. That's where I have been catching the quality fish. Good luck.

 

[al cannia]

fishbones, thanks for the help,is very appreciated,thats alot of water to cover and only 3 days to practice,and going down on a extremely tight budget,but I am not staying home, I qualified and am going to give it my all,,,thanks , al cannia