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
Jun 9, 2025
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!
Jun 6, 2025
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.
Jun 2, 2025
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