Charges upgraded in holiday weekend Ky. boat crash
July 22, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
PARIS, Tenn. — Authorities have upgraded charges against a Woodlawn man in a fatal boating crash on Kentucky Lake during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
For the rest of the story, check out the Herald-Leader:
Charges upgraded in holiday weekend Ky. boat crash – Latest News – Kentucky.com.
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Japanese lake may claim largemouth bass record
July 2, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
Japan’s Lake Biwa, one of the oldest lakes in the world, may be claiming a largemouth bass that might tie the oldest and most cherished all-tackle world record in freshwater fishing.
Reports indicate that a 22-pound, 5-ounce bass (10.12 kilograms and 73.5 centimeters in Japan) was caught by Manabu Kurita, a pro angler who represents Deps Tackle Company in Japan. He was fishing in massive Lake Biwa in the Shiga Prefecture of Japan. Girth measurements were not given in the reports, but there are several pictures of the bass posted on various Web sites. And the bass was reportedly weighed on a certified scale.
Post-spawn bass in Kentucky pose fun, but tough, challenge
June 19, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
Mid to late June is a confusing time to fish for largemouth bass. Common sense dictates bass would inhale anything resembling food after the rigors of spawning in late May and early June. It seems a Carolina-rigged lizard or spinner bait tossed into places where the fishing was good earlier in the year would be crunched by a hungry, ornery largemouth at this time of year.
However, many anglers may fish long hours just to catch a few 12-inch bass to show for it.
“I have trouble with post-spawn fishing because it’s transitional,” said Jeff Ross, assistant director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “The spawn takes a lot out of them. Shallow water fishing declines after the spawn. You may still catch little ones, but the big females are transitioning to their summer habitat.”
That decline in shallow water fishing is the reason Ross isn’t the only bass angler who struggles to catch fish after the spawn. Anglers fishing for bass from Kentucky Lake in the Purchase Region to Fishtrap Lake in Pike County find tough fishing in late June. The likely reason is they still fish the same areas in the same way they did in April.
Anglers need to intercept largemouth bass during this transition. “It all depends on the kind of lake,” Ross explained. “At a shallow water lake like Lake Barkley, the post-spawn transition will be different than at a lake like Laurel River.”
Creek channels, points, weedlines and other features such as roadbeds or rows of stumps along what was once a fencerow serve as arteries for fish migration. They move from the shallow spawning beds to deeper summer bass habitats such as deep points, channel drops and off-shore humps in June.
“They aren’t going to randomly swim around in open water and then dive down to their summer habitat,” Ross said. “They are going to follow something. On a really shallow lake, they may use a weedbed as a guide, but on most lakes, it is usually a channel. At a deep lake like Laurel or Cumberland, they may just move down the point closest to their spawning grounds.”
On shallow to mid-depth lakes with defined channels – such as Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, Barren River Lake or Green River Lake – a soft plastic jerkbait, or a Carolina-rigged 7- to-inch plastic worm or lizard, is a tremendous choice to fish channels in June. Carolina rigs consist of a heavy egg-shaped sinker and a swivel. Tie the hook 1-2 feet from the swivel, with the egg sinker placed above the swivel to keep the sinker from contacting the hook. This gets the rig down, but allows the bait to float above the bottom.
Sling the Carolina rig onto the flats adjacent to a channel, then work the bait over the channel lip and down into the channel. Channels with brush or stumps along their lips are the best places to try. Once you catch a fish, mentally note the location and depth and try and replicate those conditions along other channels in the lake. This may lead to a glory day you’ll brag about to your buddies for many years.
“Flats are good post-spawn areas,” Ross said, “especially if they lie near channels, stump fields or weedlines.”
Carolina rigs are also good for probing weedlines. The heavy weight of the rig plows the way for the soft plastic offering to hover just above bottom. Soft plastic jerkbaits and spinner baits are two other lures to try along a weedline during the post-spawn period.
In deep lakes like Herrington, Laurel River Lake, Lake Cumberland – or most lakes east of Interstate 75 – a 4- to 6-inch finesse worm rigged on a Shakey head and slowly worked down the point should intercept any transitioning bass. A Shakey head is a specialty jig designed to make a soft plastic bait stand up from the bottom. By gently twitching the tip of your fishing rod, you can impart a tantalizing action to the bait.
A 3/16 -ounce jig-and-pig combination swum just over the bottom along the contour of the point also fools post-spawn bass.
For soft plastic lures on the Carolina rig, Shakey rig or jig-and-pig combination, earth tones are the way to go in June. Combinations of green, brown, black, red or orange perform well on bass. For soft plastic jerkbaits and spinner baits, the reliable white and chartreuse combination is still tough to beat.
The June post-spawn transition period isn’t that hard to figure out if you intercept bass as they move from their breeding grounds to their summer haunts. Don’t fish for them in same areas as you did earlier this spring. They’ve left town for the summer.
By KDFWR
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.
A finesse worm that works as well in Kentucky today as it did 30 years ago
April 19, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
My dad came home from a boat show in Louisville back in the late 1970s with a small plastic tackle box, a 5-foot top-of-the-line light power graphite rod and a new Shakespeare spinning reel spooled with 6-pound line. Excitement radiated from him as he couldn’t wait to try his new gear in the distillery lakes close to our home near Bardstown, Kentucky – an area that produces a generous share of the world’s bourbon.
Similar in size to those used for cigars, the small tackle box came with five compartments: one filled with funny-looking leadheads and the other four filled with small, 4-inch straight-tailed worms. Black worms filled one compartment; grape worms lay in another, while brown with an orange tail and motor oil filled the other two.
He bought the new gear from a man at the boat show who told him all about this new system that caught bass in the toughest conditions. The man said this new technique would excel in the weedy, shallow and clear distillery lakes near our home if he just stuck to it long enough to learn it.
The author, Kentucky Afield Magazine's associate editor, with a big largemouth caught in a pond on a Slider worm.
The legendary Charlie Brewer Slider worm
My dad caught many bass with his new gear, but soon he could not find the small tackle box and rod because I had them on the shore of one of those distillery lakes. I learned to consistently catch bass year-round using light line and 4-inch worms and profited from it enormously. The knowledge gained provided the foundation for my later writings about bass fishing.
The man at the boat show was Charlie Brewer and he died 9 years ago this week. In the mythology of bass fishing, finesse techniques of using light line, subtle lures and spinning tackle to tempt spooky clear-water bass belongs to the deep, crystalline lakes of California. In reality, these techniques belong to Charlie Brewer.
He developed the Slider system to fool black bass in what he called the “tough, mean” reservoirs of east Tennessee, southeast Kentucky and the Highland Rim of middle Tennessee. Brewer’s Slider Worm launched the finesse revolution 20 years before most heard the term.
Brewer returned from World War II to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee and opened a radio and TV repair shop with knowledge gained in the South Pacific. A natural-born tinkerer, Brewer grew weary of the long, fishless hours throwing a baitcaster spooled with black nylon line and a crankbait such as the Heddon River Runt. He figured there had to be a better way to catch bass more consistently when they aren’t active and chasing lures.
Brewer developed a unique leadhead designed to plane in the water, not fall to the bottom like a smooth rock. He also poured his own slender 4-inch ringed worms with an egg sack that tapered to a paddle tail. He cast these worms on short graphite or graphite composite rods with a Tennessee handle for increased sensitivity. He removed the bail from the reels to increase casting distance for his 1/16- to 1/4-ounce leadheads and diminutive worms. He founded the Crazy Head Lure Company in 1970, now known as the Charlie Brewer Slider Company.
The key to Brewer’s system is presentation. The Slider method is designed to find bass suspended in the water column or hanging just above the bottom. Bass in clear-water lakes such as Lake Cumberland, Laurel River Lake and Dale Hollow Lake suspend most of the time during the day, especially in summer and winter. Suspended bass represent one of the toughest bass fishing situations.
The original Crazy Head was a flat-bottomed leadhead that came through the water in a straight line on the retrieve. Brewer later developed other styles of flat-sided heads and bullet shaped ones, but the basic concept remains. The heart of his Slider system is manipulating the speed of the retrieve and the weight of the leadhead until you hit the combination of depth and speed bass want that particular day.
This may require cutting some weight off the Slider head till it weighs just 1/32-ounce or flattening it to slow the rate of fall. Find a likely fish-holding structure, such as a channel point laden with boulders or stumps. Cast parallel to the structure and count to ten. Reel the Slider worm with a rhythmic, but slow cadence and watch your line intently. Keep counting down and reeling slowly until you get a rapid peck or nip from a bluegill, baby bass or crappie. This is the activity zone. Count down a little more on the next cast and you’ll be in bass.
Once you find the depth and speed they want, you can fish similar areas all over the lake and catch fish all day. The Slider worm resembles a minnow more than anything and fish can’t help themselves. It is simple and ingenious. Plus, light to medium-light spinning rods and 6-pound line make 2-pounders feel like trophies. It is simply a fun and relaxing way to catch bass after bass, plus the occasional trophy bluegill, crappie, walleye and even freshwater drum.
Brewer also believed bass anglers do way too much running and gunning instead of fishing. He felt folks should pattern their fish close-by and focus more on technique than covering water. Brewer relates in his touchstone book “Charlie Brewer on Slider Fishing” that some of his best fishing days stemmed from engine trouble that forced him to scour the fishy-looking areas near the ramp. This also saves gas and wear and tear on the big motor.
All you need is a small box or a paper bag with a few colors of Slider worms, some Slider heads, a pair of sidecutter and needlenose pliers and knowledge. Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass gobble them up with the same abandon now as they did when Sliders first hit the market 30 years ago.
By Lee McClellan, an award-winning outdoors writer and associate editor of Kentucky Afield magazine.
FLW Outdoors’ highly acclaimed TV show to premiere on Versus – FLW Outdoors
January 28, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
28.Jan.2009
MINNEAPOLIS — FLW Outdoors, the largest tournament fishing organization in the world and the home of FLW Fantasy Fishing, today announced that its programming will premiere on Versus, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. Beginning in April, the Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors” program will air approximately 30 original shows, produced in high definition (HD) television, Sundays from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET.
In 2009, the Forrest Wood Cup will receive a pair of one-hour shows. Each of the six Walmart FLW Tour qualifiers, eight Walmart FLW Series and five Walmart FLW Walleye Tour events will each be given a one-hour show. National Guard FLW College Fishing, a new addition to the 2009 season, will also receive television exposure as the five Regional Championships will be covered with one-hour shows. Lastly, the Walmart BFL All-American, Stren Series Championship and TBF National Championship will be aired on Versus. FLWOutdoors.com provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes on “FLW Outdoors.” Each episode of “FLW Outdoors” will also be available on demand in its entirety on FLWOutdoors.com.
“Our multi-year partnership with FSN was instrumental in putting competitive fishing in the forefront,” said Irwin L. Jacobs, Chairman of FLW Outdoors. “That being said, we feel there is room for continued growth, and our new partnership will place our television programming on the fastest-growing network in the nation. Quite simply, Versus is home to the best outdoor programming in the world, which makes it a perfect fit for FLW Outdoors.”
Read more:FLW Outdoors’ highly acclaimed TV show to premiere on Versus – FLW Outdoors.
Questions and answers with: Dave Stewart, Bass Buster Guide Service
January 1, 2009 by admin · Comments Off
Dave Stewart of Bass Buster Guide Service in Benton, Ky.Years guiding: 6. Contact number: 270-354-5039. Email: dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
Kentuckyfishing.com: How did you get started as a guide and why?
Dave Stewart: Actualy, I got started after I retired from the military in 1995. I moved to Kentucky Lake and I was living at a resort. People at the resort asked me if I could take some people out who weren’t catching fish. I helped them catch fish and this eventually became a business.
Kentuckyfishing.com: What do you like about the job?
Dave Stewart: I like he people. Outdoors people, especially anglers, have got to be some of the best people to be around. For me, watching clients catch fish has become more fun than catching the fish myself.
Kentuckyfishing.com: What do you not like so much about the job?
Dave Stewart: Winter. I hate the off season. I get bored.
Kentuckyfishing.com: What is your favorite tactic?
Dave Stewart: I primarily guide for bass; it makes up probably 95 percent of my business. For smallmouth, I love to fish crankbaits and jerkbaits in teh spring. In the summer I fish for largemouth and I love to use Carolina rigs. Kentucky and Balrkley are good Carolina rig lakes. I love to fish tubes, too. That’s kind of a trademark of mine, tube fishing.
Kentuckyfishing.com: Why do you like to fish for bass over other species?
Dave Stewart: I started ot fishing fo bass in clubs and tournaments. It just seems to be the most challenging of the fish here to catch. I enjoy taking people out, especially those who are having trouble finiding fish. I started out guiding as much crappie as I did bass. But I turned to bass. That’s where my reputation is. Ninety-five percent of my business is tournament preparation.
Kentuckyfishing.com: Are tournament anglers tougher to deal with? Are they more difficult to deal with?
Dave Stewart: Not really. You ahve to take each client as they come. Probably my most favorite clients are children — fathers and sons. But tournament types are not that hard to work with.
Kentuckyfishing.com: Do your clients have special tactics they want to try?
Dave Stewart: I find that for the majority of them, since I do a lot of tournament preparation, most people will leave it up to me. They realize one tactic is not a catch-all. But I do have a lot of people who want to try Carolina rigging.
Kentuckyfishing.com: What is your favorite lure?
Dave Stewart: As a go-to lure I’d have to say a tube. I’ve been fishing them for years and years and years. They’ve just become popular down here in the last few years. I’m not sure I’m happy about that. (laughs) My favorite lure to throw, though, is probably a Carolina rig or a crankbait. But a tube is definitely the go-to lure. When nothing else will work a tube will get you some fish.
Kentuckyfishing.com: When do you most like to fish?
Dave Stewart: I love spring. I love the early smallmouth and the pre-spawn largemouth. It’s got to be the most productive and the most fun fishing there is. Those are the days of the big numbers and the big fish.
Kentuckyfishing.com: What kind of cover or areas do you like to fish the most?
Dave Stewart: The obvious would be stumps. Old stump fields are the most productive. I also like brush piles. If you find those brush piles you can score fish. But fish like to cruise open water. So it changes all year long.
First published in The Kentucky Fishing Journal, February 2003
Winter drawdown at Kentucky Lake makes for good bass fishing
September 14, 2008 by admin · Comments Off
KENTUCKY LAKE — The headwaters of Kentucky Lake’s Sugar Bay — along with the upper reaches of nearly all of the other bays lining this massive reservoir — will soon be mud flats. That’s because the Tennessee Valley Authority is in the process of lowering the lake to its winter-pool elevation of 354 feet above sea level. That’s five feet lower than the summer level. Read The Courier-Journal’s story here .
Algae bloom causes fish kill at Old Kingfisher Lake in Davies County
September 5, 2008 by admin · Comments Off
The combination of recent cloudy weather and a natural algae bloom triggered a fish kill at 14-acre Kingfisher Lake in Daviess County. Initial inspection found 400 to 500 dead fish.
“Algae are small photosynthetic organisms that produce oxygen when sunlight is present, but use oxygen when sunlight is not present,” said Jeff Ross, assistant director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Several days of cloudy weather causes the algae to deplete dissolved oxygen. “If an algae bloom is large enough and you get several days of cloudy weather with little to no sunlight, oxygen levels can drop low enough to cause a fish kill,” Ross said. “This was the case at Old Kingfisher. Algae blooms typically occur when lake nutrient levels are high, leaving the water a pea soup green color.”
The dead fish in the lake were primarily gizzard shad, but some bluegill, crappie and largemouth bass also died. “We anticipate more dead fish with continued cloudy weather,” Ross said. “Some of dead fish may have sunk, but will float to the surface in a day or two.”
The fisheries division of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will assess the fish kill next week and take appropriate actions for rehabilitation of the lake. “The lake was overcrowded with gizzard shad, small bluegill and crappie,” Ross said. “The fish kill may have naturally thinned out their numbers.”
From a KDFWR news release
Finding lazy summer bass in Kentucky
August 22, 2008 by admin · Comments Off
Along with warm temperatures and long days, summer brings topwater action to bass anglers. Now is one of the best times of the year to catch fish on surface presentations.
“When fish are more active because of warmer temperatures this time of year, they are more likely to feed on the surface,” said Dave Dreves, a fisheries research biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “A lot of people think when it’s hot, the fish don’t feed as much. Well, their metabolisms are higher, so they have to eat.”
