MAYFLY HATCHES UNDERWAY…BASS BITE GOOD ON LEDGES/SHALLOWS TOO

Kentucky Lake 6/11/25
Report Contributor, Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer stevemc@charter.net


You know summer has arrived on Kentucky Lake when the mayfly hatches begin. Summer officially arrives on the calendar June 20th but for scores of bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish anglers it really started a few weeks ago. Lake levels have been stable lately and staying around the normal summer pool elevation of 359 across the reservoir. TVA has been pushing around 40,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) through Kentucky Dam and that has been enough current at times to stimulate the main lake ledge bite for bass plus stir up the prowl alarm on catfish too.

Surface temps are responding to the warm weather and starting out the day in the upper 70s and warming to the low 80s by midday. Watercolor has a little stain in places but it’s a good color for fishing.

The unofficial kickoff to the summer fishing scene each year is the beginning of mayfly hatches up and down the reservoir. That’s already underway. Several sightings have been reported along river island rims lately. Once the flies start hatching it seems to bring increased fishing opportunities for not only bluegill around the bushes and shallow weed beds but bass too. There’s always a good shallow bite from bass once this natural buffet emerges around shallow shorelines or below the steep banks where willows hang over the water, forming a shady canopy.

Tossing some topwater, spinnerbaits and Texas rigged worms or craws will get the attention of shallow bass already on a feeding spree. Buzz baits are great choices over the shallow grass beds or buck bushes. Right now, schools of shad fry (pin minnows) are showing up and that always lures bass to island rims, tree laps and shoreline stickups. Even in hot weather the combination of pin minnow schools and mayflies is a great combination for fast action.

Main lake ledges are producing well as recent tournaments such as Major League Fishing showed some nice smallmouth and largemouth congregating. Not all the ledges and humps are full of fish but scouting out balls of baitfish activity and marking the bass with FFS sure helped several of the top anglers eliminate dead water on their quest to fat paychecks and recognition.

From deep running shad-colored variations of crankbaits to Carolina rigs, swim baits and a few more tricks, the young guns showed some hefty numbers of bass are out there if you know where to look and what to throw. The main lake ledge bite should last several more weeks but never totally turn your back on Kentucky Lake’s shallow pattern.

Decent stringers of crappie continue to come in from anglers targeting depths of 12 to 15 feet while using live minnow and a mixture of jigs. Some credit their catches to even deeper depths.

Nice stringers of catfish are showing up too as anglers stalk the edge of the main river channel. Depths of 30 feet and more are holding some good ones. Bumping bottom with double hook rigs armed with nightcrawlers and assorted commercial bait presentations has paid dividends lately. Watch for that catfish bite to continue as more fish pull out to the riverbank areas in pursuit of balls of baitfish. The bite is best when the current is present.

Anglers can catch a lot of bluegill right now while casting light tackles. Tossing small twister tail grubs or sm

Monthly Meeting

The monthly meeting of the Paris Landing Tourism League (PLTL) will be held Tuesday, June 10th, at 6 pm at the Senior Center inside the Paris Landing Emergency Complex.

Hope to see you there!

SUMMER PATTERNS UNDERWAY FOR ANGLERS

    

Kentucky Lake 6/5/25
Report Contributor, Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer stevemc@charter.net


Although summer doesn’t officially arrive on the calendar until June 20 this year, the fish on Kentucky Lake always seem to enter their summer patterns a bit earlier. The last week to ten days several species are already showing a transition toward their summer hangouts as surface temperatures warm and the season changes. Lake levels this week are still hanging around the normal summer pool elevation of 359. The reservoir has been relatively stable lately with slight variations. Surface temperatures have warmed to the upper 70’s as warm days and humid nights are influencing the fishing scene.

The watercolor is clear. Overall, the lake looks good for bass, crappie, bluegill and catfishing conditions. Anglers should soon see the start of the annual Mayfly hatches as it always begins in mid-June and lasts throughout the summer up until mid-September. Mayflies always appeal to a wide variety of fish, especially influencing bass and bluegill to hang around shallow shorelines and main river islands where overhanging willow trees attract the multitude of nature’s buffet.

Bass fishermen are finding the bite pretty good on main lake ledges but there’s still ample activity around shallow grass beds, buck bushes and blown down trees where schools of pin minnows are beginning to school as the shad fry hatch out. Tossing a spinnerbait with a gold willow leaf blade accompanied by a blue/chartreuse skirt has been paying off as have Texas rigged worms in the pumpkin pepper color range. Topwater action has been good at times with buzz baits and jerk baits working well as have floating fluke style worms and frogs.

Kentucky Lake always seems to offer more than one pattern for bass anglers. The ledge bite is underway as those tossing big deep diving crankbaits are out there covering a lot of water and playing the current at times. Some nice smallmouth are showing up out there too. Depths of 9 to 15 feet have been giving up some good stringers as anglers target the ledges with their sophisticated sonar units such as Garmin’s Livescope and Humminbird Mega Live. Also working out on the main lake ledges are swim baits, Carolina rigged craws and worms plus jig and craw combo hopped around sloping sandbars where anglers target schools of baitfish.

Crappie are in post-spawn phase and have moved off the banks and out to midrange depths of 10 to15 feet. A few fish have been found in less water but the majority of the nice catches are coming from anglers using minnows and slow trolling or pushing multipoles rigs in main lake venues. Some catches were credited lately to boaters trolling crankbaits. Pulling the medium size crankbaits such as Bandit’s 300 series in pearl, chrome/black and various shad colors has been catching a lot of crappie, along with scores of catfish too.

Catfish are transitioning out to main lake ledges and along the main river channel lately. Depths of 20 to 30 feet are holding a lot of catfish and whenever there’s current moving the bite is on. Baits of choice have been nightcrawlers. Most anglers are bumping bottom but using a double hook bait presentation and finding some fish suspended up off the bottom as times. Good numbers have been taken in the last few days, and the cats should stay on the prowl out there on the main river ledge areas for the next few weeks.

Another pattern producing is jug fishing. Allowing multiple float devices to drift along in the wind has always been a popular summer method of catching catfish. Styrofoam homemade devices rigged with a heavy sinker and weight then allowed to move with the wind or current will produce fish if set at the right depth.

The summer scene has already kicked off so get out there and join the fun.

Just A Morning On The River

Nice catfish.

 

COOLER DAYS LOSE THEIR GRIP: SUMMER WEATHER TAKES OVER

Kentucky Lake 5/29/25
Report Contributor, Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer stevemc@charter.net


After a long stretch of below average temperatures across the Kentucky Lake region that had a fall feel in the air summer weather is returning and things are heating up for the region’s fishing scene. The Memorial Holiday period was considerably cooler than normal, which was somewhat uncanny for pleasure boaters and jet skiers but suited others just fine.

Presently lake levels at Kentucky Dam are 359.2, which is up a few inches from last week at this time but still pretty much on course as the reservoir rests near the summer pool elevation. The watercolor is clearing and in good shape for fishing. Surface temps reflect the recent stretch of cool weather and are around 73 degrees but warming fast and will likely be in the upper 70’s in the next few days.

Still biting good are bluegill as they’ve crossed into the post spawn phase to some degree but continue to linger around shallow bedding areas in 1-to-4-foot depths. The bite has been good, although the fish are showing signs of scattering out somewhat compared to the previous few weeks when they were at peak spawning phase. Anglers should still be able to find good numbers around shoreline buck bushes, grass beds and some blowdown trees. And some fishermen are finding them backing off the banks and catching pretty decent stringers while casting grubs, crickets and small jigs tipped with Berkley Power Bait nibbles or bits of red worms and night crawlers. Numbers of shellcracker have diminished somewhat in the last week or so, which is not unusual as they hit post-spawn phase and scatter out.

Decent stringers of catfish are still being taken by anglers fishing the rock banks and also by bluegill fishermen tying into them as they stalk the shallow bluebill beds. The catfish will linger in the shallow areas after spawning as the bluegill beds offer ample feeding opportunities.

Bass fishermen have had two patterns going; one out on some main lake ledges and the other banging the banks around shoreline habitat. Both patterns have produced lately as the cooler surface temps seemed to have influenced some bass to stay put around shallow zones ranging from river island rims to back in the bays relating to stickups. Soon shad fry will be hatching, if not already, and that will lure a lot of bass to stay hot on their trail as they relate to shallow structure. Meanwhile, several boats have been observed targeting the ledge bite. Most are tossing big deep diving crankbaits, Texas rigged worms or craws while also throwing some swim baits and Carolina rigs as times.

No doubt some bass pulled off the banks already and have fallen back to secondary ledges out on the main lake. That pattern will improve this next week too as surface temps rise. If current enters the picture the ledge bite should get better as a few nice smallmouth will enter the picture along with some schools of largemouth following the shad. A few scattered schools of white bass will show up at times too mixed in with the largemouth and smallmouth joining the feeding sprees.

Crappie continue to come in as a few veteran guides and anglers are finding them in midrange depths. The post-spawn time frame of June can yield some nice stringers if you know where to look. Deeper brush piles and stake beds in depth ranges of 12 to 15 feed will attract decent numbers of crappie that sort of suspend or ride it out there until hot weather takes over. Some anglers report catching scattered fish still in stake beds and brush in the 9-to-12-foot depth range too. Most report tipping their jig with a live minnow to entice bites. Others are relying on live minnows exclusively for their presentation.

Some days the crappie are finicky and reluctant to aggressively take a jig or minnow, but patience and persistence is required to catch the sluggish fish that can be located on the sophisticated sonar units. The units may show the fish coming up to the bait but apprehensive on taking it!

Summer doesn’t officially arrive on the calendar until June 20. However, the weathermen indicates daytime highs are about reach the low to mid 80’s with some humidity. That summer season feel is about to dominate the fishing scene it appears.

 

BITE STILL GOOD FOR BLUEGILL, CRAPPIE, CATFISH AND BASS

Kentucky Lake 5/22/25
Report Contributor, Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer stevemc@charter.net

A cool spell will put a chill in the air for the big Memorial Holiday Weekend, which is the unofficial kickoff of the summer boating season. Still, the Kentucky Lake fishing scene has held up pretty good lately despite some thunderstorms and nasty northwest winds that delivered below normal temperatures. Lake levels are a few inches above the normal summer pool level of 359 this week. Readings were in the 359.5 range at Kentucky Dam.

Watercolor is relatively clear with some dingy color in portions of the lake due to high winds and recent runoffs from thunderstorms. Surface temps are around the 73-degree range.

Nice stringers of bluegill continue to come in from anglers casting crickets and redworms around shoreline habitat such as grass beds and buck bushes. Some anglers were finding open water beds in 4-to-7-foot depth ranges and doing well as they utilized forward facing sonar units and discovered submerged beds off the shorelines while monitoring live scope units. A few redear (shellcracker) sunfish were being caught but their numbers were pale in comparison to the aggressive bluegill.

Bass fishermen were playing the post-spawn pattern and backing off the banks at times while others were still finding enough shallow activity to keep them busy. Tossing Texas rigged craws and worms around visible buck bushes has paid dividends as have assorted topwater presentations such as floating fluke style worms, buzz baits and jerk baits. Those fishing secondary ledges are tossing big crankbaits and some Carolina rigged worms to find fish moving off the banks already.

Crappie are in their usual post-spawn pattern and somewhat scattered for most anglers as they slowly move toward deeper main lake areas. However, a few boaters reported some nice numbers taken while fishing live minnows or tipping jigs with minnows. Productive depths have been the 9-to-14-foot depth range. However, when crappie are in a scattered post spawn pattern several different depths will produce fish, requiring anglers to stay on the move. Some boats are trolling both crankbaits and Roadrunner style jigs on the main lake areas where shallow flats are producing a few fish.

Catfish are still biting as hefty stringers were reported again this week from shallow shorelines and rock banks. The catfish are entering their post-spawn phase too and will slowly move out away from rock banks and shallow pockets or bays that have been appealing to them for several weeks.

Warmer weather is expected to return by early next week and that will help the overall fishing scene resume as these cool spells can have a negative impact on the overall bite for a short time. Watch for things to make a quick rebound in the days ahead.