Thread: Barren river walleye

I've tried. But come up empty everytime I have tried it. Granted I am not a walleye fishermen but figured if I threw a curly tail grub long enough I would luck into one.

I've been in the fall and tried in the spring with no luck. I went from 100 up about 5 miles and no luck.

We have only gotten one about 5 mile above browns ford it was 14in. Talked to a guy yesterday that was caught 10 or 12 about that size and said they all came above the acresville bridge close to tville.

I fish alot on Barren for crappie and I spider rig so I usually have a dozen or so minnows in the water when on the lake. I have fished just north of Browns Ford where the power lines cross the lake at the end of the ski zone and from there clear up to the dam and have yet to see my first walleye. I have a friend who is an agent for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Game who runs the test nets on Barren and he has told me they do see them in their nets in the areas that I fish but why I can't find a single one is beyond me. I work at Lowes and regularly get people telling me where the fish are biting and right now i'm hearing reports of sauger and walleye being caught, in good numbers, below lock 5 from boats. Once the Green River settles down I may try to venture a shot up there.

Originally Posted by slabseeker1

I fish alot on Barren for crappie and I spider rig so I usually have a dozen or so minnows in the water when on the lake. I have fished just north of Browns Ford where the power lines cross the lake at the end of the ski zone and from there clear up to the dam and have yet to see my first walleye. I have a friend who is an agent for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Game who runs the test nets on Barren and he has told me they do see them in their nets in the areas that I fish but why I can't find a single one is beyond me. I work at Lowes and regularly get people telling me where the fish are biting and right now i'm hearing reports of sauger and walleye being caught, in good numbers, below lock 5 from boats. Once the Green River settles down I may try to venture a shot up there.

Mostly when I fish for walleye it would be within a couple feet of bottom. My method of choice is the slip sinker rig dragging it almost vertical with my bail open and my finger holding the line so when I feel that slight tick I let the line go and give the walleye 3 to 10 seconds before setting the hook. My next method is vertical fishing a jig tipped with minnows or half crawler depending on the time of year.
Another personal favorite method if the water is slow enough I use a slip bobber rig.
All very close to bottom !
Without exaggeration I have caught at least 15,000 walleye in my life. Many years of fishing trips in Canada and Spring Walleye on Rivers in Wisconsin.
Most of them very near the bottom.

I grew up fishing Lake Erie and have made a few trips to Canada myself. It just seems odd to me that since 1990 i've fished Barren River Lake an average of 3 times a month and when I spider rig those minnows are two to four feet from the bottom as I move up and down the channel. As my Dad always said, even a blind sow gets an acorn once in a while. Except for this time. I've caught walleye spider rigging for crappie at Nolin and I don't fish Nolin that often. This spring i'm going to set aside some days to fish solely for walleye and see if they are catchable. Biggerbear, do you fish for walleye on Barren? And if you do, average size, how many per trip? What area of the lake? Thinking maybe another trip to Canada this year to Bear Lake Wilderness Camp. If your interested Shout at me. Its a boat in area and the fishing is fabulous. www.blwc.com
My boys and I went this past year and they had such a great time they posted a video on youtube, take a look.
Better yet,tell me what ya think. Canada - YouTube

Originally Posted by slabseeker1

I grew up fishing Lake Erie and have made a few trips to Canada myself. It just seems odd to me that since 1990 i've fished Barren River Lake an average of 3 times a month and when I spider rig those minnows are two to four feet from the bottom as I move up and down the channel. As my Dad always said, even a blind sow gets an acorn once in a while. Except for this time. I've caught walleye spider rigging for crappie at Nolin and I don't fish Nolin that often. This spring i'm going to set aside some days to fish solely for walleye and see if they are catchable. Biggerbear, do you fish for walleye on Barren? And if you do, average size, how many per trip? What area of the lake? Thinking maybe another trip to Canada this year to Bear Lake Wilderness Camp. If your interested Shout at me. Its a boat in area and the fishing is fabulous. www.blwc.com
My boys and I went this past year and they had such a great time they posted a video on youtube, take a look.
Better yet,tell me what ya think. Canada - YouTube

I have never fished Barren River Lake - Sorry I should have said that !
Thanks for the offer about Canada but I am unable to travel much anymore because of health reasons - Arthritis
I loved camping on the English River near Kenora, Ca
Since relocating to Kentucky from Wisconsin I only fish for panfish and can only fish a few hours at a time. I fish Woods Creek and Linville since they are close to my house.
I did get a surprise 17.5" walleye on woods creek last July while fishing for Bluegills.
That’s the only walleye I caught last year.

I'll bet that walleye put a smile on your face.....wish I could have seen it!

U guys think that there is just not enough walleye in the lake yet. I think they just started stocking in 2007. And I've read it's a different strain native strain. What is stocked at Nolin and other lakes r the Erie strain aka lake strain. Could it be that these fish are staying up in the river. Like I said earily we did manage one on a rooster tail about 5 to 6 miles above browns ford . I have also read that the fish that were stocked were put in above the lake. The lake extends to the holland bridge that's close to 10 miles above browns ford. Any one ever catch walleye in rivers. I'm gonna try up there this spring. We're should I look for them at?