Kentucky Lake:  Water Level at Ky Dam - 354.54  Surface Temperature - 42

Lake Barkley:  Water Level at Barkley Dam - 354.45  Surface Temperature - 42

 

Both lakes are about one half foot above winter pool.  Well, it is time for me to get back on the water and start guiding again and of course I will now start publishing my weekly fishing report each week until next winter.  It has been a long cold winter here in the lakes area and we are still having below average daytime and night time temperatures and the water temperatures are running about 5 degrees below normal for this time of the year.  Although the cold weather has kept a lot of anglers off the lakes a good part of the winter, folks are starting to venture onto the lakes now in more numbers and the reports have been coming in this past week.  The Largemouth Bass are primarily still on winter patterns but early prespawn patterns are starting to emerge, especially on warmer days.  This past weekend we had a warm front come through the lakes area and with it came daytime highs in the 60's and quite a few anglers hit the water and I received some reports of some nice Largemouth being taken as well as Crappie.  It cooled down again this week but the forecast for the weekend looks a little better with daytime highs in the mid to upper 40's with sunshine on Friday and Saturday and partly cloudy skies on Sunday.  Nighttime lows will still be sub freezing so unless you are fishing one of the tournaments this weekend, I would not be in a hurry to get on the water early in the morning.  The best bite as one would expect is during the warmer part of the day, that is, late morning through early afternoon.  Please take care on the water and remember that the water is still cold and hypothermic conditions prevail.  Make sure you let someone know where you will be launching and fishing and when you expect to return and have them check on you to make sure you made it off the lakes safely.  You should have a survival kit with you to include dry clothes, matches and fire starter at a minimum.  Keep your PFD on at all times, especially if fishing by yourself. 

 

Largemouth Bass:  Largemouth Bass are being taken on main lake banks and points as well as on channel banks in the front halves of the creeks and bays.  These fish are being taken primarily by slow rolling crankbaits, suspending jerkbaits, shaky heads and jigs.  The better bite is being reported in these areas on the crankbaits this past week but the other methods are also catching some fish.  Largemouth are also reportedly being taken on shallow ledges on the main lake with blade baits and flat sided crankbaits as well as shaky heads. 

 

Smallmouth Bass:  Smallmouth Bass reports have been few, but those that I have had reports on were taken by slow rolling crankbaits and on 3-4" curly tail grubs on main lake points and banks. 

 

Some of the productive lures reported this week are:  Rapala shad raps in crawdad and black/silver, Bandit crankbaits in rootbeer, rootbeer/chartreuse, crawdad/chartreuse and spring craw, Lucky Craft pointer in clown and table rock shad, Zoom finesse worms and Charmer shaky head worms in green pumpkin/blue and watermelon/red, Watermelon/red curly tail grubs for the Smallmouth (brand not specified), Cripper black and blue finesse jigs and D&L baby advantage jigs in black/blue with matching trailers. 

 

Crappie:  Most of the Crappie reports I have received indicates the better Crappie are being taken in 15-18 ft of water on old creek channels on the main lake or in the front parts of the creeks and bays.  These fish are being taken over brush piles fishing small tube jigs and small minnows on spider rigs.  Some nice slabs have been reported but also some numbers of short fish are also being reported. 

 

I have not received any reports on other species as of yet but will add them to my weekly report as the season develops.

 

FLASH:  I would like to thank all the folks that attended my winter class on "Eliminating Water".  I received a lot of requests for the class that I was not able to accommodate due to being booked up and I would like to let those folks know that I will be offering this class again next winter.  I will announce my available class dates for next winter during my late October and November weekly fishing reports.  I encourage you to call early to ensure you get a class date. 

 

FLASH:  I am sure that most all bass anglers are now aware that the Women's Bassmaster Professional Tour was dropped by ESPN for the coming year.  These professional lady bass anglers are now in the stages of forming a new ladies professional tournament trail and will hold a Women Trail Invitation Tournament at The Moor's Resort on May 6 and 7th.  This tournament will be open to both professionals and co-anglers.  The purpose of this tournament is to get the women that are interested in forming the new Women's Professional Bass Fishing Trail together for planning and organization as well as show the fishing industry that there is a demand for a professional women's bass trail. I have been a supporter of the professional bass angling women for many years and I would like to encourage all women that have an interest in either fishing as a professional or as a co-angler to attend this function.  Here is a link to the website where you can find the pertinent information about this tournament as well as updates on the progression of the efforts to form the new Women's Professional Bass Fishing Trail: 

 

 

Well, as I said before, I am going to start my new guide season next week.  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.  I have the following dates still available for booking in March, April and May:

 

March:  10, 11, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30

April:  9

May:  10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 27

 

I am looking forward to having you in my boat this season for another year of great bass fishing here on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. 

 

Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
270-354-5039
dave@kentucklakeguide.com
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
"Fish With a Professional"