Buck, Trimmer, et al...Sorry for the delay in the fishing report that my brother Jack and I spent on Lake Barkley now a week ago this past Wednesday. My, how time flies. We spent 4 great days with our wives at Barkley Lodge and after fishing Tuesday afternoon for 6 hours, were somewhat disappointed with the lake conditions, especially in the channel, which was high, muddy with many trees and a lot of debris floating downstream, to be swallowed up by the coal barges or deposited along some bay. The current was extremely strong, preventing us from fishing some of the humps and ledges on main lake. We managed 6 or 8 Bass, although none over 15".
We had made arrangements to meet Dave Stewart the next morning at 0630 at the convenient dock just below the entrance to the lodge dining room. (I would have bought Dave breakfast but they were not open that early). WHEW!....got off lucky there, although we were to find out later that he does not eat, at least when he prepares his own food! His ham sandwiches sure hit the spot around 1:00PM. We knew from the previous day that it was going to be a tough bite, but knew if it could be found, Dave would be our man. We pushed off at the prescribed time and searched for the early topwater bite. Not a shad was to be seen. Dave quickly scoped out some hot areas that he had success on several days prior to our arrival. We proceeded to pitch some tubes in some stake beds...no luck. As we worked our way out of the bay, we continued to probe 4-6' banks with tubes and worms. The first couple of fish were caught, although small. Dave suggested we head towards the channel and search some ledges for some larger fish. The first stop, after perhaps a dozen casts, I got a solid hit, CR'n a creature lure in 4' of water, approaching a ledge. Let me digress....I have always fished the Texas rig, for many years and never actually spent much time with Carolina Rig. With Dave's instructions and using this technique much of the day, I am now a convert! As I set the hook the fish immediately was slipping the drag and Dave had handed me one of his outfits, pre-rigged CR style, as my outfits were not set up. As I fumbled with the drag adjustment, after perhaps 20 seconds, the Bass was only a memory. I had momentarily given him slack due to the unfamiliarity of the rig and what was to be my best chance of the day for a potential hog, was now only an exciting, arm jarring tug of war, with only a bit of jaw flesh remaining on the hook. We proceeded out to the main channel and in spite of Dave's persistence to locate and hold the boat on several HOT humps, the current was just too strong to effectively fish them. I will cut this short but just want to add that Dave is, as advertised by others ont this fine site, a very knowledgable and personable guide, who obviously knows these lakes well and will spend his time searching for a pattern to give his clients the best opportunity to put fish in the boat. The bluebird conditions prevailing along with the heavy water flow in and out of the lake plus my inability to land the hog of the day, all added up to very tough fishing conditions. Dave's persistence enabled us to boat 12-15 Bass, but more importantly, not only showed us 15 or 20 locations and several new techniques in our future quests for the elusive Bass. He also spent 30 minutes at the conclusion of the day marking our Barkley and KY Lake maps for seasonal patterns. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day on the water. As weather improved we fished some of Dave's areas the next day and boated over 40 Bass! My 5lb LM was the largest of our trip but my brother lost one even larger as the hooks pulled out while fishing a crankbait in 12' of water on a rocky bank. We will definately schedule another trip with Dave Stewart! Thanks for the great time and love those white spinnerbaits we got from you..../Mike (& Jack) Wilkins)