Murray State wins Boat U.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Title; Eastern, UK also place
May 29, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
Kalem Tippett, Vincent Campisano of Murray State
Under near perfect weather conditions, college bass fishing’s premier event concluded with Murray State University slipping past University of North Texas to claim the 2009 Boat U.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship title. Murray State joins past champions North Carolina State (2006), Texas A&M University (2007)and University of Arkansas (2008) as winners of the event.
“Murray State’s win is very impressive considering this is the largest field we’ve ever had. Over 140 teams from more than 70 schools registered this year. My hat’s off to them for a fine win. They’re going to be great champions and ambassadors for collegiate bass fishing over the next year,” said Wade Middleton, Tournament Director.
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Authorities on scene of apparent drowning at Taylorsville Lake | LOCAL NEWS | WHAS11.com | News for Louisville, Kentucky
May 29, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
Emergency and Rescue authorities are on the scene of an apparent drowning at Taylorsville Lake in Spencer County.
Kentucky Lake fishing report — May 28 — Dave Stewart
May 28, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
May 28, 2009
Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Ky Dam – 359.35 Surface Temperature – 75
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam – 359.20 Surface Temperature – 73
Both lakes are at summer pool. The weather forecast for the coming weekend looks good with highs in the mid to upper 80’s. It could be somewhat breezy on Saturday with a current forecast of winds from the WSW at 13. You should always check the latest wind forecasts before venturing on the lake as these tend to change quite frequently. The Largemouth Bass are still being taken in shallow water as well as on post spawn points and banks but the big news this week is that there are a lot of Largemouth now showing up on the ledges. These fish started showing up in good numbers last week and every day it seems more good fish are now on the ledges. We have had some great days this week and late last week on the ledges. These ledge fish are hungry from the spawn and a lot of folks are reporting getting into schools of feeding fish. Good numbers of Bluegill and Red Ears are still being taken back shallow in the creeks and bays. Many have spawned already but there are still reports of good spawning fish to be taken. The Channel Catfish are being taken in good numbers also on the shallow rocky flats on the main lake and in the creeks and bays as they are on a prespawn/spawning feed.
Largemouth Bass: Largemouth are being taken on the old creek channel and river ledges on the main lake and in the mouths of the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on deep diving crankbaits, heavy spinnerbaits, Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms and jigs. Largemouth are also being taken on secondary points and associated creek channel banks in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, Texas rigged worms, Carolina rigged creature baits, shaky head worms and jigs. There are still fish shallow around the buck brush and although many are buck bass some good fish are still being taken as a result of a late spawn this year. These shallow fish are being taken on topwater lures, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, Texas rigged creature baits, shaky head worms and jigs.
Smallmouth Bass: Smallmouth Bass are being taken on main lake primary points and secondary points as well as on river channel ledges. These fish are being taken on Carolina rigged creature baits and tubes, tube jigs and jigs. The best bite has been reported as early and late in the day. I am still not receiving any reports of big numbers of Smallmouth but have received reports of good one and two fish catches here and there. The Smallmouth should be starting to feed at night, which is normal for them during the summer months but I have yet to receive any reports from night anglers.
Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft sammy in ghost pearl lemon, Yozuri splash it in ghost lemon, Chatterbuzz buzzbaits in white, Rapala DT series crankbaits in pearl grey shiner, green shad and parrot (the new DT 20 crankbaits are working big time on the ledges), Strike King crankbaits in sexy shad, Hook Some Bass ledge spinnerbaits in white and white/chartreuse, Hook Some Bass spinnerbaits in blue glimmer, Hook Some Bass vibe (chatterbait) in blue glimmer, Charmer timber dawgs and timber pups in green pumpkin and watermelon/purple, Charmer 10.5 inch ribbon tail worms in plum, Berkley 10″ power worms in red shad, Charmer shaky head worms in watermelon/red and green pumpkin candy, Jewel football head jigs in gourd/craw and black/blue, D&L advantage jigs in Cumberland craw and Last Cast wooly bug jigs in green pumpkin and Missouri craw.
Bluegill/Red Ear: Bluegill and Red Ear are being taken in shallow water near buck brush and grass beds on crickets fished under bobbers, spider jigs dragged on beds and split shot rigs baited with worms reeled slowly across beds.
Channel Catfish: Channel Catfish are being taken on rocky shallow flats on the main lake and in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on nightcrawlers fished under bobbers and on bottom as well as on cut baits fished on bottom rigs.
FLASH: We have the world’s two top professional bass angling trails visiting the lakes area over the next two weeks. The ESPN Bassmaster Elite Series will be holding their tournament out of Paris Landing on June 3, 4, 5, and 6. The Wal Mart FLW Tour will be holding their tournament the following week, June 11, 12, 13, 14. The FLW tournament will launch out of Kentucky Dam Marina on June 11 and 12 and out of Ken Lake Marina on June 13, 14. These two weeks coming weeks will showcase the best of the best in professional bass angling right here on our home lakes.
FLASH: Fisherman’s Headquarters located at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle in Draffenville will be hosting an FLW TOUR PRO NIGHT on Friday, June 5th from 4-7 p.m. Professional FLW tour anglers Guido Hibdon, Dion Hibdon, Brent Ehrler, Dan Morehead, Ramie Colson and Terry Bolton will be there for you to chat with. There will be a number of in store specials and Berkley product give aways. Stop by and meet the pro’s and don’t forget to say hello to Bart, Lori and Brandon.
If you are coming down to the lakes to get in on some of this great late spring/early summer fishing we are having here on the big lakes, let me recommend that you stop by the Fisherman’s Headquarters as mentioned above and also The Cabin Bait and Tackle located on U.S. 62 just west of Kuttawa near Lake Barkley. Both these tackle stores are stocked to the gills with some great bass fishing and pan fishing equipment. You won’t find any better tackle shops in the region and certainly not any people that are more than willing to serve you in a friendly and professional manner.
If you happen to find yourself in need of some service on your boat while you are here at the lakes, let me recommend that you stop by Jet-A-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple miles north of Ky Dam. The service folks there have a great local and regional reputation for providing good customer service and keeping folks on the water if at all possible while they are visiting here. They also have a showroom full of boating accessories and sell engine oil in bulk jugs at the best prices around.
If you are in need of a bass guide for some fun bass fishing, tournament preparation, lake familiarization or technique instruction, don’t hesitate to give me a call or drop me an email to book one of my open dates. Now is the time to book that summer trip to learn how to fish the ledges or maybe you would prefer to do a little frog fishing in the grass beds. I have the following dates available for booking in May, June, July and August:
May: Sorry, I am booked up.
June: Sorry I am booked up.
July: 2, 3, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
August: Plenty of dates available…contact me to book.
Now is the time to make your fall fishing plans and reservations. Book now to ensure you can get the date(s) you want.
Capt Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
“Fish With a Professional”
Time for big Ohio blues: Catfish like these are by no means out of the question right now in Ohio
May 28, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
It’s time for big blue catfish on the Ohio River.
Mike Marchand has the evidence.
Mike, his brother-in-law, Ronnie Ramsey and a couple of cousins were fishing on the Ohio River near Stephensport in the Cannelton pool. Other than a couple of nibbles, the fish weren’t interested in feeding.
Suddenly, something hit his line. And Mike’s fishing line isn’t your ordinary 10-pound test stuff. He uses 65-pound test on a big Penn reel and an Ugly Stick Rod.
A week before when he was fishing in the same spot something big twice broke the heavy test line.
It was about 1:30 a.m. when Mike realized he had a fish on, and it didn’t take long to determine it was a dandy. “It took 20 to 25 minutes to land it. It might have been longer,” explained Mike. “Next, we had to get it up a 10 to 12-foot bank.”
Marchand said he didn’t have scales that would weigh the fish. “The scales I had only went to 55 pounds and it pegged it, so I took the fish home and put it in my pond until I could get another scale the next morning. When I weighed it, it went exactly 75 pounds.”
After Marchand weighed the fish, he drove it back to his hole and released it. “Who knows, maybe one of us will catch it again some day,” he said, smiling.
He caught the fish on a live bluegill. He fished the next night, but didn’t catch a fish.
Marchand says blue cats are seasonal, biting best in spring and fall. “This is about the time for them to be hitting,” he said. “They should be starting now.”
The Ohio River is known for its huge blue cats.
The Kentucky and Indiana state record blue catfish was caught in 1999 below the Cannelton dam by the late Bruce Medkiff of Owensboro. The monster weighed 104 pounds; it also was released back to the river after being officially weighed.
By Phil Junker
Department seeks input about proposed shoreline access regulations around Malone, 8 other department-owned lakes
May 25, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is seeking input from local landowners regarding proposed new regulations for docks, stairways and structures built on department-owned property around Lake Malone in western Kentucky.
The proposed regulations would also apply to other department-owned lakes, including Beaver, Boltz, Carpenter, Corinth, Elmer Davis, Guist Creek, Kincaid and Kingfisher.
Local landowners around Lake Malone will soon receive an information packet from the department regarding recommendations made by a 14-member advisory committee. The recommendations include safety and construction standards for any new walkways or staircases along the shoreline under a new permitting system. The recommendations also address permanent structures such as sheds and gazebos built on department property.
Approximately 500 landowners around Lake Malone, where encroachment upon department-owned property is the most widespread, will receive a mailed summary of recommendations. Landowners around other department-owned lakes may see the recommendations online at fw.ky.gov. Residents without computer access may call the department to request a copy at 1-800-858-1549.
By KDFWR
An Old Pro looks at how catch-and-release makes for good fishing at Guntersville
May 22, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
G’ville seems to have an outstanding future as a bass fishery too. There were plenty of all year classes of bass in evidence all week. That is a testimony to the value of submerged vegetation and water flow with good nutrient levels in creating a quality bass population. I think the prevalent catch and release ethic has played a role as well.
There are several benefits to catch and release beyond the obvious ones of allowing the fish to grow and reproduce. Recent research has shown that bass populations are made up of three types of fish. One group, the one we like most, is pretty susceptible to lure fishing. They bite our lures and don’t learn from it. The second group seems to bite a lure occasionally, but only once in their lifetime. In other words, they become un-catchable after being caught one time. The third portion of the population seems impervious to lure fishing. They never succumb to the temptation we offer with our lures. These three portions of the population are about equally represented in the wild.
To read the rest of Ken Cook’s report, follow the link below:
ESPN – Ken Cook: Observations from home.
Think topwater for Kentucky smallmouth during summer
May 21, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
I just about need a rope tied to my belt loop any time I work a Zara Pup. It looks so enticing darting side to side that I almost want to go in after it. Thankfully, a feisty smallie often beats me to the punch, especially during June.
Smallmouth waters often have warmed enough by June to have the fish fired up. However, the same waters have not gotten toasty enough to turn the fish lethargic or drive them deep. In addition, hatching aquatic insects, misdirected terrestrials and shallow schools of minnows tend to keep the fish looking up for meals this time of year.
June is an outstanding topwater period in streams and lakes alike, although the nature of the bite tends to be a bit different in each. In moving waters, the surface action sometimes lasts all day, and it’s apt to be best through the middle of the afternoon.
In lakes, which are generally warmer than smallmouth streams by June, surface action clearly peaks very early and late in the day. Good topwater fishing can occur during midday – and wise anglers pick up their topwater rod occasionally throughout the day – but mornings and evenings definitely bring the most predictable action.
For stream fishing, most fishermen favor fairly small topwater plugs, like Tiny Torpedoes, Zara Pups, Baby Rattlin’ Chug Bugs and Spit’N Kings. Chrome and bone are favored colors for average conditions, with black working quite well when the water is stained or the skies are very dark, and clear is tough to top for very clear water and bluebird skies.
As summer progresses, a Rebel Bighopper, twitched or slowly wobbled across the surface, can be deadly on small streams or near grassy banks. When walked on the top with occasional pauses, a Bighopper nicely imitates an out-of-place liver ‘hopper skittering across the top.
Small buzzbaits and soft-plastic jerkbaits also can be productive some days when plugs won’t do the job. Soft-plastic jerkbaits are great baits to turn to when smallmouths are busting on plugs but not quite getting them. Buzzbaits work great for working a lot of water and figuring out what kind of spots the fish are using.
Some summer days, stream smallmouths will be everywhere they should be and will hit any topwater offering that invades their space. More often, anglers need to experiment. Areas that commonly hold topwater-feeding fish include pocket eddies along the bank, waters beside current-breaking cover and swift rocky runs, where fish hold beneath submerged boulders.
Stream fishermen sometimes overlook swift areas for topwater fishing, but large runs that have good current pushing through them sometimes hold the most aggressive fish. A Tiny Torpedo, which draws attention with its spinning propeller and can be fished fast, is among the best baits for swift-water fishing.
Many of the same lures that work well on streams also will draw smallmouths to the top on reservoirs. However, with bigger fish on average, far more water for anglers to cover; deeper waters and a greater likelihood of waves to contend with; lakes also bring in a need for larger plugs. Larger “walking” lures, like Super Spooks and Sammy plugs, are favorites among reservoir smallmouth fishermen.
Like on rivers, buzzbaits work really well for covering water and locating fish. Even on days when plugs will drum up more action or attract strikes from bigger fish, buzzbaits help anglers find hot banks or types of banks that are holding fish.
On glassy-calm mornings or evenings, one of the best ways to bring big smallmouths to the top is to slowly wobble a floating jerkbait like a Bomber Long “A” or a Storm ThunderStick across the surface. This “finesse” topwater approach, which sends out a subtle but distinctive wake, is especially good in very clear water.
Early and late in the day, many types of areas are likely to produce good topwater action on reservoirs. Bluff banks, tops of points or humps and waters near specific cover features, like boulders, docks or brush all offer good prospects.
Prime spots generally will be close to deeper areas that have been holding fish during the day, often on the lake’s main body or in the far lower ends of creeks. Anglers generally work a lot of water until the fish reveal themselves, whether by hitting a lure, breaking the top or spooking some baitfish.
Through the middle part of the day, the bulk of the topwater action that occurs on reservoirs is over main-lake structural features like humps, ledges, saddles and major points. The same fish most anglers target with Carolina rigs and crankbaits will sometimes hammer surface plugs, especially if a lake has some current running through it.
Occasionally these bass will push baitfish to the surface, making the call for topwater obvious. Other times, the only way to find out whether they will come up is to throw a Spook or a big popper from time to time and make some noise on the surface.
Whether the smallmouths have been busting on top or not, veteran anglers always have a topwater bait or two tied on during June. It’s hard enough to maintain the composure to make a decent cast when smallmouths are scattering baitfish, let alone trying to find the right plug and tie it on in the heat of the moment.
By Jeff Samsel
Kentucky Lake fishing report — May 21 — Dave Stewart
May 21, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
Editor’s note: We will, over the next few weeks and months, be providing more and more fishing reports for Kentucky’s lakes and streams. Dave Stewart’s entry from Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkely is the ultimate in fishing reports. He leaves few questions unanswered when he reports on the big lakes’ action. His specialties are largemouth and smallmouth, but he also does some reporting each week to find out what’s going on with panfish and catfish. We hope to approach that kind of reporting for other Kentucky lakes and streams in the near future. Please check back often. In the meantime, enjoy Dave’s reporting.
May 21, 2009
Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Ky Dam – 359.98 Surface Temperature – 70
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam – 360.00 Surface Temperature – 69
Both lakes are one foot over summer pool and on a drawdown to summer pool. We should reach summer pool levels over the weekend. Both lakes have been drawn down 4 ft since my report last week. This drawdown pulled many of the late prespawn Largemouth out of the brush so there are still quite a few shallow fish yet to spawn. With the low water temperatures this spring and the water level fluctuations we have experienced, the Largemouth spawn has been spread out longer than usual. Some fish have spawned and are on post spawn patterns, some are on the beds and some are still yet to move up to spawn. This means you have a myriad of patterns. You have fish on the lead in/lead out banks off the spawning areas (both prespawn and post spawn), post spawn fish on the ledges and fish in the button brush spawning. I spent most of this week doing ledge teaching trips and focusing on ledges around the mouths of the creeks and bays. There are a good number of fish starting to show up on some of the ledges but there will be more fish transitioning to the ledges as soon as the bigger shad schools start moving to deeper water over the next week or two. Today we caught fish both in front of the button brush back shallow and fish on ledges dropping into 30 ft deep creek channels, so take your pick of patterns and have some fun this coming week. Bluegill and Shellcracker anglers have been cleaning up this week despite the drawdown. They are having to adjust depths with the water dropping but there are plenty of spawning and prespawn Bluegill and Shellcrackers being taken in shallow water. Catfish anglers are reporting good catches on rocky areas of prespawn Channel Catfish.
The weather forecast for the holiday weekend looks good with temperature reaching the 80’s and only a chance of afternoon or evening thunderstorms each day. The weather has been beautiful this past few days and should continue to be so through the weekend. Folks are already showing up for the holiday weekend so expect a lot of boats out there on the water this weekend. Please use caution with the crowded waters and be courteous to your fellow boaters and anglers. Take some time this weekend to remember our fallen heroes and heroines. These folks gave their all so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have. I salute my brothers and sisters still serving and those that have served (for those of you that are not aware, I am retired from the military myself).
Largemouth Bass: Largemouth Bass are being taken on a myriad of patterns. Largemouth are being taken shallow in and near the button brush by flipping jigs and tubes, some on topwater (especially early and late in the day), Texas rigging lizards and creature baits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, dead sticked worms and shaky head worms. Largemouth are being taken on secondary points and creek channel banks in the creeks and bays on spinnerbaits, medium running crankbaits, Texas rigged creature baits and worms, tube jigs and jigs. Largemouth are also being taken on some of the ledges near the mouths of the creeks and bays on deep diving crankbaits, spoons, Texas and Carolina rigged large worms and creature baits and dragging football head jigs.
Smallmouth Bass: Smallmouth Bass are being taken on main lake primary and secondary points on Texas rigged creature baits, tube jigs, finesse jigs and curly tail grubs. No numbers of these fish are being reported but some nice fish are being taken.
Some of the productive lures reported this week are: Chatterbuzz buzzbaits in white and black, Yozuri spash it poppers in ghost lemon, Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemon, Rapala DT series lures in parrot, black silver and bluegill, Lucky Craft crankbaits in chartreuse/rootbeer, Bandit crankbaits in parrot and rootbeer/chartreuse, Hook Some Bass spinnerbaits and vibe (chatterbait) in blue glimmer, Strike King sexy spoons in silver, Charmer 10.5″ ribbon tail worms in plum, Charmer timber pups in watermelon/red, green pumpkin and watermelon/purple, Zoom lizards in green pumpkin and watermelon/red, Yamamoto senko in green pumpkin, Zoom trick worms in watermelon/red and green pumpkin, Jewel football head jigs in gourd/craw, Last Cast wooly bug jig in green pumpkin and D&L baby advantage jig in Cumberland craw.
Crappie: Some Crappie are still being taken over brush piles in 12-20 ft of water on old creek channels. These fish are being taken by spider rigging with small jigs tipped with minnows.
Bluegill/Shellcrackers: Good catches of these tasty fish are being taken in shallow water near the button brush and willow trees as well as on gravel banks off the spawning areas. They are being taken on crickets and worms fished under bobbers, worms on split shot rigs fished on bottom and spider jigs slow reeled on bottom.
Catfish: Channel Catfish are being taken on the rocky flats in the creeks and bays as well as on shallow rocky shoreline areas on the main lake. These fish are being taken on night crawlers fished under bobbers and on bottom.
If you are in need of a bass guide for some fun catch and release bass fishing, tournament preparation, lake familiarization or technique instruction, don’t hesitate to give me a call or drop me an email for one of my open dates. Now is the time to book that summer trip to learn how to find and fish the ledges. I have the following dates available for booking in May , June and July:
May: Sorry, I am booked up
June: Sorry I am booked up.
July: 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Of course I am taking reservations for the months of August through November also. Make your reservations now to ensure you get the date(s) you desire.
Capt Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
“Fish With a Professional”
Martins Fork Lake’s fearsome foursome of bass
Imagine fishing a lake where any cast could result in catching any one of our four recognized black bass species in Kentucky. Well, that’s just what you’ll find at Martins Fork Lake in Harlan County. This small, scenic area tucked away in southeastern Kentucky near the Virginia state line is the only place in the state where anglers have an opportunity to catch largemouth, smallmouth, spotted (Kentucky) and Coosa bass all in one water.
Read the rest of Paul Moore’s story online at Kentucky Game and Fish Magazine.
Martins Fork Lakes Fearsom Foursom of Bass.
Everything but tartar sauce this weekend on “Kentucky Afield” TV
May 12, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
Fishing, fish, and a fish dish combine to make “Kentucky Afield” TV a keeper this weekend, May 16 and 17.
With an eye on the white bass run at Herrington Lake, host Tim Farmer jumps aboard with angler Jim Duncan and his daughter, Anna. While fishing rarely gives a guarantee, incredible catches this evening were child’s play. Take note for the next time you want to get after them after work or school.
Also on the show, Kentucky’s interior lakes and streams welcome back a popular fish of yesteryear, the lake sturgeon. The indigenous species is considered critically imperiled. We visit Pfeiffer Fish Hatchery to see how specialists are working to return the fish to healthy populations.
Lastly, the Mediterranean is as close as Farmer’s kitchen. If you’re ready to add a tangy bite to your bass, try Tim’s marinade and it’s “next stop: Heaven.”
“Kentucky Afield” is a production of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. It is the longest continuously running outdoor television show in the nation. The program airs Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern /7:30 p.m. Central and is repeated Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central on KET 1 and on the web 24/7 at fw.ky.gov.
By KDFWR
