Scott Ellison says fishing is busting out all over, with bass and crappies leading the parade.
This is the time of year when you’re reminded what is so great about living near Kentucky Lake. Fishing is busting out all over, with bass and crappies leading the parade.
Find a ledge that’s about 6 to 8 feet deep now and that has brush on it, and you’re golden. The bigger crappies are moving in and some good catches of 2-pound-plus fish have been reported this week. You’re not going to catch a limit that weighs 20 pounds, but you’ve got a good chance of coming close. All sorts of small jigs and live minnows are being used and you don’t necessarily have to have a spider rig setup to catch a lot of fish.
As it is now, the crappies are going to keep moving shallower until they spawn and then return toward deeper water.
Ditto for bass. They’re moving out of deeper water and up into the coves. Fish the creek ledges coming out of the coves and the flats between the drop-offs and shoreline with soft-plastics, jigs, crankbaits—well, just about anything because the bass are hungry and actively feeding.
Last Saturday, David Young of Mayfield won the One-Day Bass Fishing League Tournament on Kentucky Lake with a five-fish stringer that totaled 24 pounds, 2 ounces. David said he fished from the dam down to Paris Landing Bridge, so he covered a lot of water and used a lot of different lures, including a crankbait, rat-l-trap and alabama rig with soft-plastic swimbaits.
Also, congratulations to all the kids who took part in Marshall County High School Bass Club’s Tournament out of Gilbertsville too. A couple of fishermen from Reidland, Micah Chessor and Austin Maurod, won the event with five bass that totaled 27 pounds, 10 ounces. Second place went to bracken Robinson and Dillion Starks of Calloway County high. They were just six ounces behind the Reidland team. Ninety-eight students from 14 high schools in the area took part in the tournament, and if your school wasn’t represented this time, you’ll have three more chances to participate. That’s how many more tournaments are scheduled for April and May. The next tournament takes off Saturday, April 28 out of eddy creek marina and is hosted by Lyon County High School’s bass team. The FLW/Bass Federation Kentucky High School Championship follows on May 5 out of Kenlake Marina and finally, on May 12, the Froggyland High School classic hosted by Calloway County gets underway at Kenlake Marina. If you’re a boy or girl in grades 9 through 12 and are interested in participating in one of these events, please contact high school tournament coordinator Walter Haney at 252-1575. Again, it’s Walter Haney, area code 270-252-1575
That’s it for now. Keep your bait in the water, because fishing is really getting hot now and will stay that way for several weeks. This is Scott Ellison, signing off for FLW.
Scott Ellison is a lifelong fisherman and FLW College Fishing Promotions Manager.