Kentucky Fishing » Major Lakes

Biologists worry about water temperature in Lake Cumberland

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:37:35 +0000

: Because of ongoing repairs to Wolf Creek Dam, temperatures in the river rose to the point of stressing trout over the past couple of summers, but conditions are much better so far this summer.

Frankfort, Ky. – The cold air that blankets Kentucky each December, January and February is uncomfortable for most people. Few of us enjoy pulling on extra clothes, driving in snow or being cooped up inside during winter.

Although we might not like winter, the cold water being stored in Lake Cumberland at that time of year is important to the health and survival of trout, striped bass and walleye in the lake and its tailwater the following summer.

“That winter water stored in the lake is the habitat for the trout in Cumberland tailwater and for the striped bass and walleye in the lake,” said Dave Dreves, fisheries research biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “There is a finite amount of this winter-stored cold water after April.”

Fisheries biologists are concerned about the amount of winter-stored cold water that remains in the lake this year. Heavy rains in May and June have drained a significant amount of cold water from the lake, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers siphoned water from the Lake Cumberland’s colder lower reaches in an effort to prevent the lake from rising too high.

Corps officials are keeping the lake at an elevation of 680 feet above mean sea level to relieve pressure on Wolf Creek Dam while repairs are underway. The normal summer pool for Lake Cumberland is 723 feet.

The lower water level effectively reduces amount of important cool water being stored in the lake. Releasing colder water and replacing it with warmer water compounds an already delicate situation.

John Williams, southeastern fishery district biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, said fish are already reacting to the change. “According to the fishing guides, the striped bass are already moving down toward the dam – where there is better water quality in the summer,” Williams said. “This usually doesn’t happen until August.”

This situation worries Williams because the worst part of the year isn’t here yet. “We are still two months away from the critical time,” he said. “That deeper, oxygenated, cool water gradually depletes as you go through summer. Fish and other organisms consume it.”

Typically, September is the critical month for maintaining oxygen levels at the temperatures preferred by trout, walleye and striped bass. These fish cannot survive without enough dissolved oxygen in the water. Fish also prefer a certain temperature range. If the water grows too warm in the lake, the walleye and striped bass could seek deeper water that does not have adequate oxygen. In the tailwater, trout can overstress if the water temperatures climb too high.

Williams fished earlier this week for striped bass in Lake Cumberland and did well. The fish he caught were in good condition.

The rainbow and brown trout living in the Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam also utilize similar water temperatures as striped bass in the lake.

During the past two summers, water temperatures in the lower section of the Cumberland River from roughly Burkesville downstream to the Tennessee line warmed to the point of stress for trout.

Water temperatures are better so far this year. “The water temperatures recently were 56 degrees at the dam and 62 to 63 degrees at Burkesville,” Dreves explained. “If it stays like this for the rest of the summer, it will be good for the trout. It was above 68 degrees at Burkesville at this time last summer.”

Trout stress in water greater than 70 degrees. The warmer water in the lower part of Cumberland River pushes trout upstream toward to dam to find cooler water. This concentration of fish is good for anglers, but bad for growth of trout.

“There are some skinny fish in the river right now, and some that look okay,” Dreves said. “We are doing really well on catch rates, but growth rates and body conditions are down a little from 2006.”

As the weather becomes drier, water temperatures in the river could become a problem. Dry weather increases water temperatures in Cumberland River because less water is released through Wolf Creek Dam.

“If we continue to have a cool summer, that would help tremendously,” Dreves said. “Everything is good right now. We just hope it holds out.”

Author Lee McClellan is an award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

This time of year in Kentucky, fish deep points for success

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:57:10 +0000

The meeting of the land and the water often points out the fish for us.
This was, it seems to say, its earthen or rocky digit extended from shore outward, “Out here.”
Rodney Hairgrove knows that straight bank is never quite as attractive to bass as one with a wrinkle on it. The irregular shape of a point, a protrusion of the shore toward the deeper recesses of the water, is a double dose of fishing fortune: On one hand, it attracts and congregates the bass; on the other, it constitutes an often glaring feature that should flag the attention of the angler and usher him to where the fish wait.
Hairgrove, 37, spends much of his time probing the waters of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. A transplanted Texan and now for years a Marshall Countian, he operates Big Bear Guide Service out of Big Bear resort on Kentucky Lake’s western shore. When he’s not guiding other fisherman for black bass, white bass or crappie, he’s often bass fishing just for pleasure or in competition. A frequent tournament angler, Hairgrove is a regular in the check-collecting lines of area events.
Much of the fishing year, Hairgrove looks for and finds bass around points in the bays of the two canal-linked reservoirs.
“It starts early in the spring when bass start moving in during the pre-spawn, and it goes on after the spawn when fish are moving back out,” Hairgrove said. “Some of the bass never leave the bays, though. Some of the points that have a good food source and deep enough water nearby will hold fish all through the summer. They’ve got everything bass need, so there’s no reason for them to leave.”
To understand the attraction of bass to points, fishermen must remember that what you see is not necessarily what you get. While points are obvious to the eye, the portions of them that are above the water line for anglers to see are not really what counts. Bass only care about the stuff below the surface.
“What’s important is what’s under the water – what’s on the point and what it’s close to,” Hairgrove said.
“Some good points will have only maybe five feet of water up on top, and others will have 10 or 12 feet up there,” he said. “Even if it gets pretty shallow on top, I think you have to have up to 15 feet or more close by to make it a good spot as the weather gets warmer.”
With deep-water access close by, a point is more likely to be used by bass that can scoot in and out on feeding forays, Hairgrove said. When those fish are on a point, a sharp drop along one side of it will be most likely to hold them when they are there, he added.
Features on a feature – extra elements on a basic structure – are usually what make one point better than another, he said.
“It always helps to have some cover on a point – stumps, brush, stake beds or big rocks,” he said. “Especially if you’ve got cover along the edge of a sharp drop on one side of the point that’s where the fish are going to locate.”
An error that some fishermen make is to relate a point to the place where water and land meet. They sometimes tend to fish right where a point slopes into the lake and where the water is too shallow.
“Early in the morning, fish might get right up on the bank, but most of the time they’re going to be back out a way,” Hairgrove said. “Some of these points run 200 to 300 yards out into the lake from what you see up on shore.
The places that hold fish might be way off the bank.”
That’s where topographic maps and electronic depth-finders come into play.
Information not available upon first glance on the water is what is critical in deciding which points really are worth fishing.
“Probably 60 or 70 percent of the good points show up on a good topo map,” Hairgrove said. “You can see features on the map that make them good. The rest, though, aren’t legible on a map. You have to find them with a depth-finder. The points that aren’t obvious and don’t really show up on a map probably are a little better because they don’t get fished as much.”
Each productive point is different and has its own features to which bass relate. A point that is as long as a football field may boil down to a single location the size of a living room sofa where bass regularly congregate. Learn the spots one at a time and remember them to accumulate a series that can be fished in hops, Hairgrove suggested.
“There are hundreds of points on Kentucky and Barkley,” he said. “You just have to put in some time to learn the good ones and where the best spot is on each one.”
Fishing tactics on points can vary with the season of the year, the time of day and the depth and cover of the sweet spot on each. The biggest variance is depth.
“Even in the summer, early in the morning you can catch fish up and feeding on the shallow ends of points,” Hairgrove said. “You can catch them on topwater lures if they’re up on the surface.
“A lot of it, though, will be off in deeper water. You can throw plastic worms, Carolina rigs, jigs or crankbaits and get down to where the fish are.
“I like a big worm, a Texas-rigged 10-inch (Harville) Baby Huey, or later in the summer, a smaller, 6-inch worm,” Hairgrove said. “A Carolina rig with a one-ounce weight and a lizard is also good because you can cover a lot of water so quickly.
“Crankbaits are awfully good, too,” he said. “You can use Poe’s 400s, (Norman) DD22s or Luhr-Jensen Hot Lips crankbaits and get down as deep as you need to for summer bass.”
Bass naturally adapt to points as routes between deep and shallow water.
Just as they focus the attention of fish, points are a logical draw for fishermen; at least most points are glaringly obvious where they curl off the land into the water.
Knowing which points are the most generous and finding the high-odds spots on each one takes a little experimentation and study. That’s the fine-tuning. But the basics are clear: If a fisherman doesn’t recognize the bass-attracting characteristics of points, he’s missing one.

—Steve Vantreese

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

Mayfield’s Williams wins FLW Outdoors Tour tournament with 9-pounder

admin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:40:26 +0000

Keith Williams' 9-pounder on Kentucky Lake sealed his first FLW Tour win. (Photo by Rob Newell)

MURRAY, Ky. – Even though the Walmart FLW Tour event took off from Kentucky Lake’s north end, pro Keith Williams committed to the New Johnsonville, Tenn., area from the start. In fact, he never made a single cast into Kentucky waters during the four days of practice or the four days of competition.

What drew the Land O’Lakes pro to the lake’s south end was its plentiful hydrilla. On Williams’ first day of practice, he pulled up to a grass flat and within 10 casts had caught a 7-pounder. He explored the area some more and discovered there was a road bed in front of the flat. Furthermore, a small ditch came off the flat and into the road bed. Best of all, the grass in the area was submerged, meaning most of Williams’ fellow competitors overlooked it.

“All of a sudden, I saw (BASS Elite Series pro) Skeet Reese coming right at me,” he said. “That was the final day of their tournament, so, of course, I immediately left. And with him were about 40 other boats, so I kind of wrote the area off.”

But as practice continued, the area continued to replenish. The top of the road bed was approximately 10 feet deep, and it contained the perfect mix of shell beds and hydrilla. Williams estimated this spot was 75 miles south of the Kentucky Lake Dam Marina, the takeoff location the first two days of the tournament. Within this general area, he had three 100-yard stretches of ledges among which he rotated.

For most of the week, his primary bait was a big 3/4-ounce football-head jig that he tipped with a Zoom Brush Hog. But after seeing his co-angler partner from day three catch 19-11 on a big worm, he made the switch. His worm of choice on day four was a 10 ½-inch Zoom Ole Monster in plum color. He Texas-rigged the worm with a 5/16-ounce Tru Tungsten weight and tied it on 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line.

“Seventy percent of my bites came on the initial fall. I would put the boat in anywhere from 20 to 30 feet, and I would make long casts up toward the ledge. In the morning, especially on cloudy days, they were way on top of the road bed, and I was keeping my boat deep and making really long casts to keep from spooking them, and I was throwing shallow – maybe even 8 feet.”

Williams’ five-bass limit weighed 24 pounds, 3 ounces, bringing his two-day total in the final round to 42 pounds even. His kicker fish weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce and was the biggest bass caught during the entire four-day event.

“That was the first fish I caught this morning. Right then I knew that I had a chance to win if I could settle down and catch a limit. When you catch a 9-pounder, it’s your time.”

The Conway, Ark., pro has fished the FLW Tour since 2000. He’s had considerable success, including seven top-10 finishes, but this is by far his biggest paycheck. He said the $125,000 is great, but the self-assurance it will give him for the future is what means the most. After all, Williams didn’t just defeat the FLW Tour field, he out-dueled the area’s top local angler and perhaps the greatest pro to ever pick up a rod and reel.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years, and this will really give me a confidence boost. I had a few good years when I first started fishing the Tour, but then I hit a dry spell. I even considered not fishing, but Land O’Lakes has always been there supporting me. If it wasn’t for them keeping me in it, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Missed fish will haunt Young

David Young has had a tremendous run on his home waters of Kentucky Lake. At the recent Stren Series event, he finished second by a tiebreaker. He also took second this week, but by a larger margin – over 2 pounds. In 1997, he also finished second at the FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake. That tournament, won by David Fritts, was decided by only 2 ounces.

While Young has several victories, the major win still eludes him. Early this morning it looked like a sure thing.

“I told my cameraman to get ready right before I made my first cast,” he said. “Sure enough, I caught a nice keeper, and I caught another keeper on my second cast.”

From there, the day took a difficult turn. Young had a 7-pounder all the way to the boat that actually broke off his hook. He lost another 7-pounder and a 5-pound smallmouth that rolled off right at the edge of the net. Needless to say, it will make for some excellent television coverage.

“It was unbelievable; I should have had 30 pounds. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see those fish come off.”

Young said the key to his success this week was fishing a mixture of mussel and rock. The Mayfield, Ky., pro estimated that half of his spots were homemade.

“I never went to the spot I had saved for today. I never went four or five miles from where we took off this morning (Kenlake).”

Young’s key bait was a 1-ounce Spaits Spoon. As day four concluded, he used a Bill Norman DD22 in chartreuse and blue to give the fish something they hadn’t seen yet.

“When the sun was shining, that spoon was just like a flashlight going off down there. The fish could see it from 20 to 30 feet away.”

For 39 pounds, 10 ounces, including 19-9 Sunday, he earned $50,000.

Nixon falls to third

Like many others, Chevy pro Larry Nixon targeted mussel-laden ledges in 18 to 22 feet of water. Day four was by far his toughest day as he managed only 14 pounds, 3 ounces. The three previous days he surpassed the 20-pound mark with relative ease.

When practice began, he used a crankbait and a jig, but all they would produce were tons of little fish. He then switched to the Spaits Spoon, and it made all the difference in the world.

“I got my tail kicked on that thing two years ago in Ultimate Match Fishing by Kelly Jordon,” said the three-time FLW Tour champion. “It is huge and it floats kind of funny, but they absolutely hammer it. Once the tournament started, I never weighed a bass on another lure. Sometimes you had to force-feed them, but if you got one, you could get them every cast.”

Nixon said he lost two bass early in the day, and then his best school shut down.

“I was fishing from the Eggner Ferry Bridge (Highway 68/80) down almost to Paris.”

Combined with his day-three total of 19-8, he finished with a final-round weight of 33 pounds, 11 ounces. He earned $40,000.

“That was one of the most fun tournaments I’ve fished in a long time. But I’m still not happy. Every time you make a top-10, you want to win.”

Rose rises to fourth

Mark Rose is known as an excellent TVA angler who loves to drag a jig over deep main-river ledges. He did plenty of that this week, and his jig of choice was a 3/4-ounce Strike King football head tipped with a Strike King Rage Chunk. He also mixed in a Strike King Series 6 crankbait.

The Marion, Ark., pro would start every morning just south of the Eggner Ferry Bridge. He would then make a long run about 15 miles south of Paris. Rose weighed 18-11 today after catching only 14 pounds Saturday. His final-round total was 32 pounds, 11 ounces.

“I just fished a conservative tournament the last couple of days,” he said. “I had a small one today that I couldn’t cull; I was hooked up with a 4-pounder, but it jumped and spit my jig.”

After taking second at the recent Walmart Open, this was Rose’s second consecutive top-10 finish. For finishing fourth, he earned $30,000.

“Confidence brings success, and I’m really starting to feel comfortable out there again.”

Fox fifth

Rookie pro Travis Fox took fifth in his first FLW Tour top-10 appearance with a two-day total weight of 31 pounds, 1 ounce, good for $20,000. His day-four limit weighed 13 pounds, 2 ounces.

During the opening round, Fox caught his fish on a PJ’s football-head jig with a Yamamoto twin-tail grub. He said the jig helped him locate and feel the shell beds. During the final round, he caught his bass on a blue-and-chartreuse DD22 crankbait and a 10-inch Lucky Strike Worm. He tied his baits to 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line.

“Practice was awesome, the tournament was awesome – my week was just outstanding,” said the Springdale, Ark., native.

Fox focused on ledges north of Kenlake State Park Marina. When the fish were on top of the ledges, the crankbait was his best lure.

By Brett Carlson

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pro finishers at the FLW Tour event on Kentucky and Barkley lakes:

6th: Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., 30-9, $19,000
7th: Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark., 30-4, $18,000
8th: Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn., 28-9, $17,000
9th: Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo., 25-13, $16,000
10th: Kenneth (Boo) Woods of Hazard, Ky., 21-2, $15,000

Coming up

The sixth and final FLW Tour qualifying event is scheduled for Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y., July 9-12.

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

Martins Fork Lake’s fearsome foursome of bass

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:40:00 +0000

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.

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

Everything but tartar sauce this weekend on “Kentucky Afield” TV

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:35:37 +0000

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

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

Wolf Creek Dam: A Progress Report This Weekend on “Kentucky Afield” TV

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:41:42 +0000

Two years have passed since news broke that Wolf Creek Dam was leaking and major repairs were needed. Concern about the structure that creates Lake Cumberland rippled far beyond the lake’s shores. This weekend, May 9 and 10, we meet with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for an update.

Host Tim Farmer joins David Hendrix of the Corps and John Williams, regional fisheries biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, for a look at the repair progress and how that plays into the upcoming season of boating, fishing and summer fun.

Lastly, in honor of Mother’s Day, Sherry Farmer enjoys a spring day fishing with her son at a farm pond in Mason County. Meet the lady who introduced the great outdoors to the person who is now the host of our show.

By KDFWR

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources – Wolf Creek Dam: A Progress Report This Weekend on “Kentucky Afield” TV.

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

Cedar Creek Lake gets weed-eating carp

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:59:31 +0000

State fishery workers have stocked Cedar Creek Lake with more than 800 grass carp in an effort to control weed growth in the 784-acre Lincoln County watershed.

“We are not trying to eliminate the vegetation in Cedar Creek Lake. We are trying to reduce it so it doesn’t get to nuisance levels,” said John Williams, the southeastern district fisheries biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The fish are sterile and cannot reproduce.

For the rest of Gary Garth’s story in The Courier-Journal, follow the link below:

Cedar Creek Lake gets weed-eating carp | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal.

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

When taking kids fishing, it’s not about you

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:43:06 +0000

I love to fish so much that I’ve nearly trashed our van on Interstate 75 because I was gazing at South Elkhorn Creek instead of watching the road. I store fishing gear in my car, I’ve raised night crawlers in my kitchen, and I’ve stayed up for 24 hours straight because fish were biting.

I tell you this only because I want you to know that I’m serious when I offer one important piece of advice about taking kids fishing:

Leave your own rod at home.

If you don’t, it will be impossible to follow the second rule of fishing with a kid:

You only have 10 minutes.

Let’s start with the first rule, the one most painful for many anglers. You know who you are. Since your kids were infants, you’ve dreamed of putting all those baby years behind you and heading out to the lake for hours of quality outdoor time. You’ve imagined teaching your young fry about wildlife, sharing a joke or two and engaging in the kind of in-depth conversation you’ve longed for since they were born.

Dream on.

The conversation, at least from my experience, is more likely to go something like this: “Is that a bee, can I step in that mud, I’d really like to go swimming, who put all of these rocks here, can I touch those things, ouch, those things are sharp, can I pee outside, are we going to McDonald’s, I bet there are huge eels in this creek, if not eels then some swordfish, do fish bite people?”

And then you’re 30 seconds into the trip.

In the real world, children have attention spans shorter than a back cast. So the key to a successful outing is making sure the action is focused on your kid. That means handing the rod over.

What will you do? Lots. Think of yourself as a mild-mannered coach. Or maybe even Andy Griffith. (I shoot for Andy Griffith, but usually wind up acting more like Barney Fife.) Warn them about the dangers of hooks. Show them how to cast without tangling. Fetch their line out of trees and assure them that although that’s not what they should be trying to catch, it’s OK that they did.

Most important of all, it is your job to focus on Rule No. 2: You only have 10 minutes.

Think about how your kids typically spend their days. Everything is broken into 10- to 15-minute segments. A few minutes at recess, a few at lunch, reading time, nap time. There’s no reason you should expect a fishing trip to be any different, so plan accordingly.

The best way to ensure happiness is to ensure a constantly moving bobber. That’s not as difficult as it sounds in Kentucky if you remember this: Don’t think big fish; think many fish.

Without a doubt, the best bet is a farm pond. If you don’t have a friend or relative who lives on a farm, ask around. You’ll be surprised how many people in Kentucky have friends with farms and don’t mind asking if your kids can fish there. If all else fails, ask for permission yourself. Many landowners don’t mind sharing their ponds as long as their livestock are in another field and the children are courteous.

If you don’t have access to farm ponds, don’t give up. There are still hundreds of places to fish in Kentucky. Virtually every state and city park has good bank fishing. And any stream in the state with at least knee-deep water is bound to be teeming with fish.

After all of your preparation and planning, it’s important to take one other step. Tell yourself, over and over again if need be, that you won’t get upset if your child loses interest quickly.

I always tell myself that, but on a day like the one I spent with my son, Emery, now 6, and daughter, Meg, 3, last August, I was slow to remember.

My wife, Lee, and I planned for the day; we packed lunch and water and sunscreen, as well as all the bait we needed, which included hot dogs, a favorite bait of farm-pond catfish.

A co-worker had gotten permission for us to fish in her neighbor’s farm pond, a small but perfect fishing hole in Clark County. When we got there, I practiced everything I preach. I encouraged the kids to play with the worms, showed them where I thought some of the fish might be, put a hot dog on a hook and helped them cast it out.

The bobber sank immediately. Emery started to reel the fish in, but the line broke.

I knew he had lost a big fish. So for the next cast, I grabbed a rod with stronger line. We cast it out and again the bobber sank. This time, Emery was not going to lose the fish. He put his head down and cranked the reel as if it were a winch. He didn’t stop reeling until the fish, a big, ugly, 6-pound catfish, was sliding up onto the bank.

Emery screamed with delight until he actually saw the fish, which was more than half his size. He backed up to let Dad and the pond’s owner take the hook out. After we put the fish back in the water, Emery ran up and down the bank, strutting and proclaiming to anyone who could hear that he had caught a huge catfish.

My mind raced. “A 6-pound catfish,” I thought. “Emery’s going to love fishing.”

I was quickly putting more bait on the hook, hoping to get the line out again so we could catch another big fish, when Emery walked up beside me and tugged on my shirt. He was looking up the hill at a little boy playing with his toys.

“Daddy, can we go play now?” he asked.

My mouth gaped open, and then I realized: My 10 minutes were up.

As Emery and Meg ran up the hill to play with the little boy, I quickly packed up all of the little-used gear and bait. I looked at the pond and wondered about the fish we were leaving behind.

Then I caught up with my children so I could enjoy the next 10 minutes of fun.

—By Chris Poore, editor of www.kentuckyfishing.com. This story was first published in 2004 in the Lexington Herald-Leader

8 tips for fishing with your kids

Here are a few tips for fishing with kids, from the writer and from Lonnie Nelson, program manager for recruitment and development with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Have fun, be flexible and be patient.

After a few minutes of fishing, having fun to a kid might mean throwing rocks, looking for bugs or getting wet. Go with it. The main goal is to have your child associate fishing trips with fun.

Use live bait.

Your chances are always better with live bait. Hooking the squirmy, slimy critters can be half the fun. For tips on bait, see below.

Bring food, sunscreen, sunglasses and plenty of water or beverages.

A hungry, sunburned kid is not a happy kid.

Use simple fishing tackle, but not cheap tackle.

Every kid wants a Scooby-Doo fishing rod. Avoid the temptation. Most toy rods are too flimsy to actually catch a fish. Find a regular-size rod with medium action, and buy a push-button reel. Most bait shop owners will be happy to help you find the right rod.

Pick a sure-fire place to go.

Ask around. You’re not looking for big fish; you’re looking for constant action. You’re more likely to find constant action at a nearby city park than you are in big water like Kentucky Lake or Lake Cumberland.

Go to a fishing camp or seminar.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources assists groups such as the YMCA, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and schools with more than 400 fishing programs every year. All summer long, there are likely to be fishing programs near you. Call 1-800-858-1549 for locations or information.

Bring a camera.

Good options are the waterproof disposable cameras you can buy at most groceries and drugstores.

Go early.

Any time is a good time to take your kids fishing, but you’ll have better luck if you go in the morning, when the sun’s low and the fish are less likely to be spooked.

Watch kids squirm with delight over live bait

To increase chances of success with kids, live bait is always best. And it’s more fun.

If you’re going to buy bait, make sure you take your children along with you. Let them get the worms out of the case or point out the minnows they want.

If you’re going to find the bait yourself, you’re in for even more fun. For worms, dig under rocks or in compost, or go outside at night with a flashlight after a heavy rain and snatch night crawlers out of the yard.

For more adventure, consider catching crawfish, and hellgrammites, the scary-looking larvae of the dobsonfly, which most fish consider a delicacy. For this, you’ll need to go to a bait shop and buy a seining net. (Read the state’s fishing and boating guide at www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/ to make sure you’re following state regulations.) Attach sticks or posts to each end of the seining net, hold it upright across the current, and then have your child go upstream and kick up as many rocks as possible.

Spread the net out to see what you’ve caught. The fun comes in watching your kid squeal trying to avoid the critters’ pincers.

To avoid the pincers, which can draw blood but are generally harmless, teach your child to grab them behind the head.

You also might consider raising your own bait. There are countless Web sites that offer tips.

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

During the spawn, dam if dams aren’t good on the Ohio River

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:41:21 +0000

If you want to catch a sauger, now is the time. And the best fishing hole — whether you live in Louisville, Carrollton, Cannelton, Maysville or Smithland — is just outside your back door.”The best place to catch a sauger is in the Ohio River,” said Doug Henley, a fisheries biologist and Ohio River specialist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

“You can catch them other places. The Kentucky River has sauger; in fact, we’re continuing to stock above pool 3. The Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake and Cumberland River below Lake Barkley have good numbers of sauger, and some pretty good-size fish, too, I believe. And I would think any of the Ohio’s tributaries should have sauger in them.

“But the Ohio River is our best for sauger.”

To read more, check out Gary Garth’s story at The Courier-Journal by following the link below.

During the spawn, there’s no dam site better than the Ohio River | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!

Switch methods to catch crappie in Kentucky, Barkley lakes

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:58:54 +0000

Frankfort, Ky. – For years, anglers at Kentucky and Barkley lakes sought crappie in spring by jigging baits around drop-offs, fishing with minnows in shallow brush and probing stake beds with grubs. While these traditional methods worked well for white crappie, they are not nearly as effective nowadays because of the growing population of black crappie in both lakes.

Anglers who want to catch more fish from Kentucky’s most popular crappie fishing lakes this spring need to change their techniques.

“People are still looking for white crappie,” said Gerry Buynak, assistant director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “According to our data, there are more 10-inch crappie in Kentucky Lake right now than we’ve seen since 1985. But 97 percent of the ones we collected in our trap nets are black crappie.”

While white crappie still dominate Lake Barkley, black crappie now make up nearly 40 percent of the population. Buynak says anglers will find fish if they put away their white crappie techniques and target the many black crappie the lakes have to offer.

“Black and white crappie differ quite a bit overall,” he explained. “Black crappie move shallow earlier and stay longer. They also prefer clearer water. People don’t usually cast to rocky shorelines when fishing for crappie, and this is where the black crappie are in the spring.”

Western District Fishery Biologist Paul Rister says fishing for black crappie is starting to heat up as the days turn warmer.

“On warm, sunny days in late February and early March, black crappie are up on those rocky shorelines taking advantage of clear water and warmer temperatures,” he said. “You’ve got to key in on the western shorelines that get sun early in the morning.”

Anglers should try curly-tailed jigs with 1/16-ounce jigheads, Rooster Tails and other small in-line spinners. Good jig colors include white, white with chartreuse, white with red, lime-green, chartreuse, blue and pink.

“You need something really light,” said Rister. “The old standard is a minnow fished underneath a bobber, using a slow retrieve. Let it sit for several seconds, give it a bump, let it sit there, and continue to work it slowly.”

Anglers fishing from boats should cast toward shallow, rocky shorelines. Both lakes possess this type of shoreline on the sides bordering Land Between the Lakes, although Barkley Lake is less rocky than Kentucky Lake overall. The lakes’ shorelines are rockier towards the mouths of embayments.

Bank fishing in these areas is also productive. However, anglers must be careful not to spook fish in the shallow, clear water. “If you are fishing from a boat, you must stay back away from the bank and cast,” Buynak said. “If you get too close to the bank, you’re going to spook the fish.”

As cold winter days give way to early spring, the time is right to target black crappie at Kentucky’s two largest lakes. Anglers willing to update their fishing methods will find good prospects this year.

Kentucky and Barkley lakes have a 20-fish daily creel limit, 10-inch minimum size limit for both species of crappie. For complete fishing regulations, pick up a copy of the 2009-10 Kentucky Fishing and Boating Guide, available wherever fishing licenses are sold.

—KDFWR

Share kentuckyfishing.com content!