Kevin Van Dam Forums

Going to Southern Kentucky to fish the lower end of Kentucky Lake in Mid-April 2012.  We catch a lot of 14 and 15” largemouth with worms around docks and buckbrush.  I will be fishing from the back of a buddies boat for a week and am wondering where should I be targeting for larger bass and what should I consider throwing to get the bigger ones?  The guys I go with for this trip like to fish the bays a lot.

Flip a Strike King Rodent to the center of the buckbrush. That time of year on the south end of the lake the bass would be spawning. Bass there like to spawn on the heart of that brush.

I have had good luck throwing a KVD 1.5 in several different colors. Throw it in shallow areas around where the bass will be spawning. Picked up some nice 3 pounders last year doing this. The best color for me is Chartreuse Black Back.

What specific targets did you aim at (docks, laydowns, buckbrush)?

The guys I fish with are “bank beaters” for the most part, fishing the shores 95% of the time.

I really just threw the bait at any type of visible cover that i could see, but bank beating iant a bad option when there is none. I’d say you need to throw at anything that looks to you like it woul hold some fish. If you dont really see any bushes or stumps or weeds, then i would just cast at the bank, until i found some more cover.

The biggest issue I have with the bank beating is out of the whole group of guys that go and of the 4 boats, only 1 guy uses a depth finder/fish locator and actually pays attention to the bottom and the temp of the water.  The 2 boats that I get put in, we end up bank beating and I know we miss a ton of stuff fishing blindly, not knowing what the points and centers of the bays look like on the bottom.  We still manage to catch some nice fish but I know there must be better ones. 

I love fishing crankbaits and I end up wondering what the depth of the middle of the bays are so I could throw some cranks through them and maybe come across some structure that holds bass.  We are staying in the Southern most end of Kentucky, right North of Paris Landing in Tennessee, so if anyone knows the area and the depth of those bays located there, some info would be great.

Thanks.

kirkster - 06 January 2012 11:44 AM

The biggest issue I have with the bank beating is out of the whole group of guys that go and of the 4 boats, only 1 guy uses a depth finder/fish locator and actually pays attention to the bottom and the temp of the water.  The 2 boats that I get put in, we end up bank beating and I know we miss a ton of stuff fishing blindly, not knowing what the points and centers of the bays look like on the bottom.  We still manage to catch some nice fish but I know there must be better ones. 

I love fishing crankbaits and I end up wondering what the depth of the middle of the bays are so I could throw some cranks through them and maybe come across some structure that holds bass.  We are staying in the Southern most end of Kentucky, right North of Paris Landing in Tennessee, so if anyone knows the area and the depth of those bays located there, some info would be great.

Thanks.

The best bet is for you to pick up either a paper map or some PC software.
I have this installed on my laptop: http://www.fugawi.com/web/products/navionics_hotmaps_explorer.htm.
I use this a lot to look at lakes I plan on fishing during the year. Its really cheap concidering its uses and you’ll get a high definition lake map of your choice for free. The HD map offers depth change in 1’ increments and will let you see underwater points, creek channels, ledges, house foundations….ect.

Paris has a lot of good fishing in the 12-18ft range. Its worth taking the time to look at.
If your guys wont pull out from the banks, at least get them to pull out on the points to 10-12 foot depth. Work a C-rigged zoom magnum lizard in Plum or Plum-apple on the bottom. There is a lot of submerged brush on some of these points and they can hold some real big fish.

I just found out my clubs tourney schedule for the year. Ill be at Ky Lake on April 14/15. Im sure we’ll launch from the dam. I’d rather fish Paris area myself.

I stayed at Moor’s Resort just South of the dam area a couple years ago.  First time on Kentucky Lake and had a blast.  We also fished Barkley and did pretty good there too.  Good luck fishing.

The average depths are probably , I’d say, 5-15 feet. Good baits are squarebills, and if you get into deeper water say 10 -15 feet try a strike king 5xd sexy shad is one of the best colors for Kentucky lake. Chartreuse black back is a good color too. I’d tie on a soft plastic that you have a lot of confidence in and stick with that and cranks, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits work well too.

adneyaiken - 14 January 2012 07:31 AM

I will be fishing from the back of a buddies boat for a week and am wondering where should I be targeting for larger bass and what should I consider throwing to get the bigger ones?  The guys I go with for this trip like to fish the bays a lot.

when will you be down there?

Mid April starting the 15th and staying a whole week.  A full week of nothing but bass fishing.  We do this every year and it is a blast.  A week just for the guys.

Sexyshad14 - 14 January 2012 10:50 PM

I’d tie on a soft plastic that you have a lot of confidence in

I have caught a ton of bass on a 5” twin tail spider grub, texas-rigged.  Caught my largest to date, a 18” weighing just shy of 4.5lbs on a plastic grub bouncing on the bottom and dragging it through submergent grass.  I will definitely have a Big Bites Bait Spider Grub tied on one of my poles at all times.

Well it looks like we will be trying to figure them out at the same time. Im getting down there either the 12th or 13th and fishing through the 16th.

Good luck with the tournament and figuring them out.  I am itching to go fishing now.  Winter can be long.

A “minor” problem at Kentucky Lake!!

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16612822/ship-strikes-eggner-ferry-bridge-causes-partial-collapse

http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc373/TKoutdoor/431374_305973309450707_157145881000118_865114_976840326_n.jpg

http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc373/TKoutdoor/422933_305975229450515_157145881000118_865116_84480222_n.jpg