Weeky Report For Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley dated August 30, 2018

[Dave Stewart]

August 30, 2018

Kentucky Lake:  Water Level at Kentucky Dam - 356.31  Surface Temperature - 83
Lake Barkley:  Water Level at Barkley Dam - 356.25  Surface Temperature - 83

Both lakes are 3 feet below summer pool.  Kentucky Dam was generating at an average rate of 28,600 cfs this morning.  Barkley Dam was generating at an average rate of 18,200 cfs this morning.  As the lake levels drop boaters should be cautious when navigating the lakes.  There are a number of areas where old foundations, stumps, humps and ridges are just waiting to ruin your trip and cause damage to you and your boat.  If you are not familiar with the lakes, follow the navigation buoys and be very careful when navigating outside the buoys. The latest lake levels , current flows and forecasts for all the TVA lakes can be found at http://www.tva.com/river/lakeinfo/index.htm.

Current Conditions:  The deep summer heat returned to the lakes area this week with heat indexes around 100 degrees every day.  The bass fishing has been hit and miss this week with most days being slow although we have not had any days without a few fish in the boat.  The early morning top water bite I have been reporting in the shallows diminished this week as most of the fry schools we were fishing have now moved deeper.  There is some early morning top water bite on secondary points and creek channel banks as well as on main lake points where these fry have moved but it is hit and miss and not as many numbers being taken as there were when the fry were extremely shallow.  We did catch a few fish on the ledges this week but the bite there still remains slow for the most part.  Finesse baits such a the ned rig and finesse jigs fished on points and channel banks were the most consistent pattern for us this week. 


LARGEMOUTH BASS: Largemouth are being taken on the ledges on the main lakes and around the mouths of the deeper creeks and bays.  The ledge bite is slow. These fish are being taken with  Carolina rigged creature baits, Texas rigged large worms, jigs, drop shots, shaky heads and swim baits.  Largemouth are also being taken in the creeks and bays on channel banks and secondary points, especially those with wood cover.  These fish are being taken on spinner baits, top water lures, shaky heads, ned rigs, Texas rigged creature baits and finesse jigs. 

SMALLMOUTH BASS:  Smallmouth are being taken on main lake points and on the ledges.  These fish are being taken early in the morning on top water lures and later in the day on Carolina rigged creature baits, jigs and tubes.  This bite is slow also.

White Bass:  White Bass are being taken by vertically fishing with blade baits and inline spinners along the river channel ledges. We have been catching some White Bass also while bass fishing during the early morning hours on top water baits in the shallows in the backs of the creeks and bays before the sun gets up on the water. 

PRODUCTIVE LURES:  D&L jigs in Cumberland craw and oops patterns, Slong's jigs in mustang, Charmer timber pups on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs in green pumpkin, green pumpkin/blue and watermelon/purple, Big Hammer swim baits in bay smelt and Robo worms on drop shot in mean green.  Zman TRD in green pumpkin on ned rig,  Yamamoto Senko in green pumpkin/black, green pumpkin magic and Charmer Slim Jim in blue craw on shaky heads. Charmer tubes rigged stupid style in smoke/purple and blue cat,  Strike King top water splash bait in white and Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost pearl lemon and Slong's spinner baits in blue glimmer.   
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IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON VISITING OUR LAKES I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR FISHING AND BOATING NEEDS:

Fisherman's Headquarters is located in Draffenville at the U.S. 68/U.S. 641 triangle, or the Draffenville "Y". FHQ stocks everything an angler could need, from live bait, hooks and bobbers to top of the line tournament bass tackle. More than a "bait and tackle" store, Fisherman's Headquarters is a true "pro shop", offering advice, training and special order assistance not found online or at the big box retailers. Services even include custom electronics training and installation. The store offers a wide variety of nationally known brands as well as many regional and hard to find items we use on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. They stock many of the products I rely on daily, such as Charmer Baits, Slong's lures and Pro Tungsten weights. From bluegill to bass and catfish to crappie, FHQ has you covered! Stop by and visit or phone 270-527-5938.

Jet-A-Marina: If you have a problem with your boat while you are visiting our great fisheries, let me recommend you have the folks in the service department at Jet-a-Marina check it out. These folks have a well known reputation for trying to keep our visitors on the water while they are here if they can possibly do so, especially you tournament anglers. Hopefully you will not need this kind of assistance but if you do, you can find Jet-a-Marina located on U.S. 62 in Calvert City, just a couple of miles north of Kentucky Dam. Jet-a-Marina also has a great showroom for all your boating accessories and check out the new Ranger bass boats too as well as bulk oil at rock bottom prices for your engine. Phone: 270-395-4030.

GUIDE SERVICE:

For those of you that may not be familiar with my service: I am a full time catch and release bass fishing guide. I only guide for bass. I have been guiding for bass full time on these lakes for over 20 years and bass fishing the lakes for over 30 years. I do not go out and fish panfish for 4 or 5 days and then try to guide on bass for one or two days.

No one knows everything the bass are doing but one thing is for sure, if you only fish for bass day in and day out, you will have a lot better idea of what they are doing and also be familiar with all the different techniques it takes to be a successful bass angler.

If you book with my service, you will have me as your guide and you will be guided in the comfort of a late model Z522 Ranger Comanche equipped with Lowrance HDS electronics and top of the line tackle. I provide just for fun bass fishing trips, tournament preparation trips, focused teaching trips and technique instruction. If you are in need of a bass fishing guide give me a call or drop me an email.

Available Dates:

I have dates available in  September, October and November.  Now is the time to make your reservations for the fall fishing.


Captain Dave Stewart
Bass Buster Guide Service
www.kentuckylakeguide.com
dave@kentuckylakeguide.com
270-362-9987
"Fish With A Professional"

[Lipripper]

Dave thanks again for a great report and sounds like them hot day makes it harder to find them fish and good advice about the low water and for out of town folks to be careful and follow the boat rows in this lower water conditions.