Kentuckians are blessed with several places to bank fish for walleye and sauger. Excellent access exists below Green River Lake, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley as well as below several locks and dams on the Ohio River. February through early March is the best time of year to catch them.
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How is Kentucky Lake fishing in the summer?

What is the best time of year to fish Kentucky Lake?
Visiting anglers wanting to catch trophy bass should plan their Kentucky Lake trip for the full moon period of late March and early April. Menendez rates that period as the best time to catch smallmouth in the 6-pound range and largemouth up to 8 pounds.
Where is the best fishing on Kentucky Lake?
The North End The northern end of Kentucky Lake is often one of the most crowded sections of the lake. It has miles of offshore ledges broken up by secondary channels and the main channel of the Tennessee River, and it offers some dynamite fishing.
What fish are biting on Kentucky Lake?
Some of the best freshwater fishing in the country can be experienced at Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley! With a combined 218,000 acres of water, these lakes are known for excellent fishing for largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill, redear, and yellow and white bass.
How is the fishing in Kentucky Lake?

Where can I shore fish in Kentucky Lake?
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife have placed fish attractor structures along the southwest side.” Tail water bank areas of the dams along Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley also offer productive fishing spots along the lakes.
What fish are in season in Kentucky?
- Largemouth Bass. Spring. 72 degrees avg. temp.
- Smallmouth Bass. Spring. 72 degrees avg. temp.
- Crappie (Black or White) Spring. 72 degrees avg.
- Bluegill. Spring. 72 degrees avg.
- White Bass. Spring. 72 degrees avg.
- Rockfish “Striper“ Spring. 72 degrees avg.
- Catfish. Spring. 72 degrees avg.
Can you eat fish out of Kentucky Lake?
Statewide, the general population is advised to not eat more than one predatory fish from a Kentucky waterway per month, and no more than one bottom-feeder fish per week. The standards are stricter for children and pregnant women.
Where is the best crappie fishing on Kentucky Lake?
The top two areas on Kentucky Lake for springtime crappie anglers are the Blood River and Jonathan Creek embayments. Both have oodles of submerged habitat, which can be located with a depthfinder without too much trouble. Fish generally start out on the flats at 10 to 15 feet.
Where is the best crappie fishing in Kentucky?
The big twins of western Kentucky, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, along with Green River Lake and Taylorsville Lake all receive oodles of fishing pressure for the crappie that swim in their waters.
What is the best bass fishing lake in Kentucky?
- 1) Kentucky and Barkley Lakes.
- 2) Lake Cumberland.
- 3) Dale Hollow Reservoir.
- 4) Green River Lake.
- 5) Cedar Creek Lake.
How do you catch crappie on Kentucky Lake?
Anglers should concentrate on areas with brush, stumps and docks. To concentrate crappie, anglers will often make “crappie attractors” by sinking Christmas trees and other woody debris. During summer and early fall, reservoir crappie move into deeper water along creek channels, roadbeds and submerged points.
What is the most common fish in Kentucky?
The sunfish family includes some of the most popular and sought-after sport fishes in the state, such as Bluegill, Large- and Smallmouth basses, the crappies, and several other smaller species regarded as panfish.
What’s the best time to fish?
Fish generally prefer early morning and evening sun to the bright midday rays. In midday, the surface temperature of the water is also hotter, forcing the fish to move deeper.
Are there Pike in Kentucky Lake?
Bass, crappie, stripers, hybrid stripers, catfish, sunfish, pike, walleye, sunfish, and giant paddlefish all roam these waters. The lake is easily accessed from all directions and access to the shoreline for fishing from the bank is easily located.
How do you fish bass in Kentucky Lake?

Where are the bass on Kentucky Lake?
Good areas to fish include main lake points, ledges, and any other type of deep structure. Farm ponds will also produce early in morning and late in evening. A way to catch bass with the added benefit of heat relief is by wading one of Kentucky’ many productive smallmouth bass streams.
Is Lake Barkley good for fishing?
They voted Lake Barkley the Best Fishing Spot in Kentucky (multiple times). And Bassmaster magazine listed Lake Barkley twelfth in 100 Best Bass Lakes in the country It doesn’t matter if you just want to drop a line right off the bank or launch your boat from one of our many boat ramps or marinas.
How many hooks can you use in Kentucky?
Some organizations such as Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society have outlawed the use of the rig in its Elite Series tournaments. Other regional organizations have restricted the use to just three hooks on events held on Kentucky Lake, although the state of Kentucky allows five hooks.
What is the limit on bluegill in Kentucky?
(a) Largemouth bass size limit, fifteen (15) inches; daily creel limit, one (1). (b) Bluegill and sunfish daily creel limit, ten (10).
Why can’t you eat fish from the Tennessee river?
Approximately 124,000 reservoir acres and 368 river miles are currently posted due to contaminated fish. The contaminants most frequently found at dangerous levels in fish tissue are PCBs, mercury, chlordane, and other organics.
Is there walleye in Cave Run lake?
Predatory fish include black bass (smallmouth, largemouth and spotted), white bass, striped bass, hybrid striped bass, sauger, saugeye, walleye, muskellunge, flathead and blue catfish, yellow bass, bowfin, chain pickerel and all gars.
Can you eat catfish from the Ohio River?
While you can eat fish from the Ohio River, the ORFA and Ohio EPA both recommend you don’t do it more than once a month for most species. The amount drops for children and women of child-bearing age. So, if you’re worried about pollutants in the fish caught from a contaminated river, you’re RIGHT.
Where is the best walleye fishing in Kentucky?
Walleye prefer murky water conditions with virtually no current. One of the best lakes in Kentucky for fishing walleye is Dale Hollow Lake. This 28,000-acre lake is home to big sized walleye.