October 27, 2011
Kentucky Lake: Water Level at Ky Dam - 354.75 Surface Temperature - 62
Lake Barkley: Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.85 Surface Temperature - 62
Both lakes are about 4 ft below summer pool with little fluctuation this past week. The TVA has been pulling water on Kentucky Lake at an average rate of 34,000 cfs around the clock the past few days but stepped it up to 46,000 cfs this afternoon. Lake Barkley has been pulling water at an average rate of 8500 during the early morning hours and stepping up to around 17,000 during the day and evening hours. I expect the lake levels will remain pretty stable over the next week barring any unforeseen influx of water from up the rivers.
We had another cold front come through the area last night and of it brought with it some colder weather and rain last night and today. The forecast for tomorrow and the weekend is for post frontal conditions with sunny skies and cooler temperatures with north quadrant winds. The highs for tomorrow and the weekend are forecasted to be in the low 60's with night time lows in the mid 30's. A slight warming trend is in the forecast for early next week through the mid week with sunny skies and highs in the mid to upper 60's and night time lows in the mid 40's. The water temperatures dropped 2 degrees over the past week and I expect they will drop a couple of more degrees over the next few days with the colder nights and cooler days.
As I mentioned last week, the Largemouth fishing is good on some days and slower on other days, mostly due to the cold fronts now coming through the area about once a week. We had a couple of slow days this past week and we had some good days, which is normal for the fishing this time of year. We are concentrating our efforts in the creeks and bays where large schools of threadfin shad are present and Largemouth as well as many other species are feeding on them in preparation for the coming winter. More and more adult threadfin are coming in to the shallows now and a few gizzard shad are starting to show up. More gizzard shad will be moving in shortly as the water temperatures drop. Of course as more shad move into the creeks and bays, more bass will follow. A number of the Largemouth we caught this week were light colored indicating they had just come in from deeper water. On the good bite days we are catching numbers of smaller bass ranging from 1.5 to 3lbs with an occasional big fish in the 4lb plus range. One of my clients did boat a 7lb Largemouth this week and that is one really nice fish for this time of year. Congratulations to Bill Winters for the that catch. Bill has been booking with me for a couple of years now in search of that big fish and we were both so happy that he got this one in the boat as more than a few times in the past Bill had some bad luck and lost a number of big ones before we could get them in the net. The fall topwater bite has not picked up as good as I would like to see it, but we are still getting some topwater bite on some mornings. I expect this will increase as the water cools a little more. Most of our fish are coming on crankbaits, spinnerbaits and swim baits as we are working the schools of shad on lead in banks and the flats in the creeks and bays. Some anglers are reporting some success with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, shaky heads, Carolina rigged creature baits and jigs on the primary points and secondary points as well as lead in channel banks in the creeks and bays also.
FLASH: Anglers that are visiting the lakes for the first time should make sure you follow the navigation buoys when running. It is better to idle your boat if you find yourself in unfamiliar water outside of the navagation lanes until you are sure you are in safe water. I have been seeing a lot of folks running in areas I would never run in this time of year with the lower water levels and I am sure some of them will be spending money on new lower units and props.
Largemouth Bass: Largemouth Bass are being taken on primary points as well as secondary points and associated creek channel banks in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Carolina and Texas rigged creature baits, jigs and shaky heads. Largemouth are also being taken on the flats in the back halves of the creeks and bays as well as on flats on the main lakes as they are feeding on schools of shad. These fish are being taken on topwater lures early and then on spinnerbaits, lipless and shallow running crankbaits, swim baits, blade baits and spoons.
Smallmouth Bass: Smallmouth are being taken on main lake points and the first secondary points in the creeks and bays. These fish are being taken on topwater lures early in the morning, suspending jerkbaits, crankbaits, jigs and spoons. I have not received any reports of limits of Smallmouth taken this week but have received a few reports of some nice single fish.
Some of the more productive lures reported this week are: Lucky Craft Gunfish and Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemon, Zara Spooks in white, Lucky Craft G-splash in ghost pearl lemon, Strike King series 3 crankbaits in sexy shad, Norman Deep Little N in rootbeer, Strike King 1.5 series in green gizzard shad, Strike King Red Eye Shad in sexy shad and blue/chrome, Big Hammer swim baits in sexy smelt and bay smelt, Slong's spinnerbaits in blue glimmer, Charmer Timber Pups in green pumpkin, Last Cast jigs in green pumpkin with matching Net Baits trailer, Charmer Shaky Head worms in bama bug and green pumpkin candy.
Crappie: Crappie anglers are reporting that they are having about the same success as we are on the bass, that is, some good days and some slow days depending on weather patterns. Crappie anglers are still taking their fish in the 10-15 ft depths reported last week while fishing over brush and deep stake beds but a few of the folks are saying they are catching Crappie in the shallower brush around 5-8 ft deep early in the morning and late in the evening. These fish are being taken by vertically fishing with small jigs tipped with Crappie Nibbles and minnows.
White Bass: White Bass are being taken on the humps around the mouths of the creeks and bays by vertically fishing with inline spinners, blade baits and small spoons. Whites are also being taken on the flats in the back halves of the creeks and bays as they are feeding on schools of shad. These schooling Whites are being taken on inline spinners, spoons and small crankbaits cast into and around the feeding fish.
Bluegills: Bluegills are being taken around brush piles and deep stake beds in 10-15 ft of water on small jigs tipped with worms worked near the bottom.
Catfish: I did not receive any reports on the Catfish this week, but we are still catching one or two nice Catfish most days while bass fishing on the flats in the backs of the creeks and bays.
If you are visiting the lakes area for some of our great fishing let me recommend you stop by the two best tackle shops in the region for all your fishing needs from Bass to Bluegills. The Cabin Bait and Tackle is located on U.S. 62 about one mile west of the U.S. 62/I-24 interchange. The Cabin not only has a great selection tackle, lures and baits, they also have one of the finest delicatessens' where you can find breakfast foods and sandwiches to get your morning started off right and have some great sandwiches for your lunch. Fisherman's Headquarters is located at the intersection of U.S. 68/U.S. 641 in Draffenville. Fisherman's Headquarters also boasts a great selection of tackle, lures and baits for your fishing needs. You will find both of these tackle shops are staffed by friendly and knowledgeable anglers to assist your every fishing need.
If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger and Stratos bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine.
ELIMINATING WATER (Learn how to eliminate water to find the bass)
I have been teaching a class on how to eliminate water to find the highest percentage fishing spots that will hold more bass, more often for a number of years now. This is a very popular class with my clients and the feedback has been very good from those that have taken the class, both tournament anglers and just for fun bass anglers. I will be offering this class during the month of November in addition to my normal guided fishing trips. This class will also be offered during the winter months of January and February. These classes are limited to one or two people so that you can have one on one type instruction which provides for a much better learning environment by learning one on one with someone that fishes for bass every day for a living.
One thing is for sure, you can't consistently catch bass unless you know how to find them whether you are fishing ledges, banks, points or shallow flats. You can have all the current electronics available in your boat and all the finest rods/reels and lures, but if you do not have a working knowledge of what makes a spot have the highest percentage chance of holding more bass, more often, you can spend a lot of wasted time searching for fish with a lure and/or your electronics. I developed the information you will receive in this class over many years of study and observations and in fact this is the system I use every day to put my clients on bass whether I am on Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley. The information you will learn in this class will also apply to other lakes and rivers.
This class lasts 5-6 hours and the rates are 150.00 for one person or 200.00 for a party of two. To make a reservation for one of these classes, drop me an email or call me at the number listed at the end of this report.
GUIDE SERVICE: For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. If you want a panfish guide, I would be happy to recommend one but if you want bass, that is what I do. If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide, give me a call or drop me an email.
November: I still have some dates available....drop me an email or call to book one of my open dates. Unless we have an early winter, November can be one of the best times of the year for bass fishing. Lots of days of topwater, spinnerbaits and crankbaits as the fish are schooling as they feed up for winter.
Captain Dave Stewart
BASS BUSTER GUIDE SERVICE
270-354-5039
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"FISH WITH A PROFESSIONAL"
BASS BUSTER GUIDE SERVICE
270-354-5039
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"FISH WITH A PROFESSIONAL"











