Thread: Lake Barkely Report. Good read!

I came out of Ford one time with a guy who didn't know about the flat. Some kind of biting gnats were after us and he said "If we aren't going to catch fish, let's do it where there aren't any of these @#$%^&*&*&^%$%^ gnats!" I sat down and he hammered it. We ran over that flat WOT. I couldn't decide whether to yell, shut up, hang on or wet myself. If he'd shut down, we'd have probably hit bottom. The depth finder said 2ft before it stopped reading. I was physically trying to lift the boat from the passenger seat

Even when you think you know those lakes, you'll use your prop to find a new shallow spot now and then. I'm a big believer in idling until you know you have clear path.

Originally Posted by CatFan

Even when you think you know those lakes, you'll use your prop to find a new shallow spot now and then.

You better believe that !!

Back in the early 1970's, when I was fishing the KY ABF State Classic Tourney ... I cut into a creek a little too sharp, not knowing that the marker buoy was missing and plowed a 50yd furrow across a sand bar. Ate the paint off my alum prop, halfway up the ears !! Luckily my boat was a flat bottom tri-hull fiberglass and was easily pushed off with a paddle.

I did see the depthfinder jump up to <2fow, but by that time I was already slowing down from the prop plowing through the sand. Looked behind me & all I could see was a mud trail running nearly out to the middle of the lake

... cp

Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

and plowed a 50yd furrow across a sand bar... cp

When we lived in GA, I used to fish Jackson Lake a lot. In the hot summertime, there was some really good bassin up the Yellow River well above the lake. Only issue was on the straight stretches of it, the river was no more than 18 inches deep but nothing but sand bottom. We would line up for the middle of the straight, throttle wide open and trim the motor up as high as possible. Looking back there would be a sand roostertail. Coming back down the river it was easy to see the furrows we dug. If the bite was on it was well worth the risk. The motor repair folks loved changing out impellers from Yellow River.

Stumps and house foundations on Barkley are a totally different game. One day during duck season years ago, I was in my 14 foot Polar Craft jon with a 25 Johnson just south of the duck pond. My black lab female Cinder was with me. I hit a hump and totally grounded the boat. I had hip boots on and stepped over the side to push it off. I was standing in the middle of a concrete carport with the house foundation still very visable next to it. The mud and slime made pushing the boat easy and I was off and gone in no time.