Lil help for a guy?

[I eat fish]

Hey all.. Gettin ready for our annual KY trip to KY Lake/Jonathon Creek.. Late April into early May.. It'll be my 2nd year goin and for the fellows im taggin along w/, 20th year for them!! We absolutely love and respect your lake..

Lookin for a lil direction on a spot (not your honey hole) just a lil "Try over there" We stay at Sportsman's Anchor and dont seem to venture too far out, maybe a mile west is about it, fishing only the south shoreline.. Fishin is good around there, most days.. But goin a lil further wouldnt hurt..
We dont spider rig, Just lookin for a set up you guys might use.. Jigs-color n size? Tails or tubes, etc.- colors? Tipped w/ waxies or minners? Casting, drifting, jiggin or slip bobber?
Lookin for some input on line as well.. I spend most of my time jiggin and casting.. Color?, i use clear.. Size?, i use 6LB.. and I use mono..

Any help would be great.. Thanks y'all.. Appreciate your input, even if you are only commenting to tell me to stay off your lake..lol

[I eat fish]

Wow, 121 views and nothin, really?? Really tight lips.. didnt really expect that..or maybe I did..

[CrappiePappy]

If this was back in the mid 1970's ... I'd tell you to find some Button Ball Bushes (buck brush) in about 3-5ft of water, and drop your minners down into any open space amongst the branches ... and wait for the float to start slipping below the surface.

But, alas ... it's nearly 40yrs later, and many things have changed down there. The biggest change has been the emergence of the Black Crappie as the dominant species in numbers. They tend to spawn a bit earlier than White Crappie, so unless conditions don't allow things to progress in a normal fashion .... you're likely to be a few weeks late (for shallow spawning fish, anyway).

As far as number of views being an indication of tight lips .... not necessarily. If you look at the bottom of the page/screen ... you'll see that only 27 "members" have viewed the thread. The others "may" have been non-members (aka "lurkers"), and some don't cotton to giving out info to them. They could also be repeat looks at the thread, as the counting is done for anytime the thread is opened/viewed.

We wouldn't tell you to stay off our lakes ... your money is the same color as ours

Ain't nothin' wrong with your line size/color ... and what method you'd use would depend on where the fish were located. Color preferences change ... but, most anything with a little Chartreuse in it should get their interest.
I'd suggest that you read thru this : Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources - Preliminary Results .... and apply it to whenever & wherever you end up on Ky Lake.

You're likely to get as much "information" (of the type you're seeking), once you get there, as you will here ... just by observing where/how others are fishing. Talk to the other anglers, especially those cleaning a mess of fish, and to the people running the facilities where you stay. That'll give you the most "current" information.

That's my ... for what it's worth.

... cp

[I eat fish]

Thanks for the insight,Pappy..Also, thanks for the link!!

[hoxiedog]

this is not specific guidance...but look on utube...a few good videos about crappie on KY Lake...I am coming up in a few days to fish and visit my brother...

[gary]

you'll need a few spinnerbaits, for the largemouth in the weed line,lots of roadrunners for the crappie in 1-15ft on any wood you can find. water will be 65-70 deg.if it's not chartreuse like crappiepappy said try blue&white if weather is normal it will be 85-90 in the shade and wind can dangerous so be careful in the midday. go early and late. that's my guess gary

[jigalot]

If this was back in the mid 1970's ... I'd tell you to find some Button Ball Bushes (buck brush) in about 3-5ft of water, and drop your minners down into any open space amongst the branches ... and wait for the float to start slipping below the surface.

But, alas ... it's nearly 40yrs later, and many things have changed down there. The biggest change has been the emergence of the Black Crappie as the dominant species in numbers. They tend to spawn a bit earlier than White Crappie, so unless conditions don't allow things to progress in a normal fashion .... you're likely to be a few weeks late (for shallow spawning fish, anyway).

As far as number of views being an indication of tight lips .... not necessarily. If you look at the bottom of the page/screen ... you'll see that only 27 "members" have viewed the thread. The others "may" have been non-members (aka "lurkers"), and some don't cotton to giving out info to them. They could also be repeat looks at the thread, as the counting is done for anytime the thread is opened/viewed.

We wouldn't tell you to stay off our lakes ... your money is the same color as ours

Ain't nothin' wrong with your line size/color ... and what method you'd use would depend on where the fish were located. Color preferences change ... but, most anything with a little Chartreuse in it should get their interest.
I'd suggest that you read thru this : Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources - Preliminary Results .... and apply it to whenever & wherever you end up on Ky Lake.

You're likely to get as much "information" (of the type you're seeking), once you get there, as you will here ... just by observing where/how others are fishing. Talk to the other anglers, especially those cleaning a mess of fish, and to the people running the facilities where you stay. That'll give you the most "current" information.

That's my ... for what it's worth.

... cp

Yes CP i remember those day's that your refering to with the buck brush. I might have been 12 yrs. old at the time, but that's where i cut my teeth crappie fishing was in Turkey bay there on Ky. lake. And as you discribed is how we used to catch some really nice slabs when 12 to 14 inchers were very common.

[buffalo13]

Ieatfish. It's hard to give you specifics right now since the weather and water changes so much between now and then maybe closer to time there will be more answers that your looking for

[Old Guide]

Hey Fish,

Sorry I just saw your post. Jonathan Creek is a good bay, maybe one of the best. Without giving you GPS waypoints I can tell you manmade structure is scattered from the mouth to the back end. By the time you go the water should be close to summer pool which helps getting into the buck brush at the back end. Although the main push of the spawn will likely be over by then there will still be fish shallow. First off hit the bank on the south side from Sportsmen’s back in working around the docks. Some of the homeowners plant cover yearly just off of and between the docks. Long pole around the cover at the back end of Jonathan with jigs or minnows. I have caught crappie shallow in Jonathan well up into June.

The two small bays across from Sportsmen’s on the north bank have cover scattered through them. Especially the bay where the state ramp sits. There is scattered cover on the north side of the bay east of the 68 bridge all the way out. There is also cover on the south bank close to the bank. The river channel cuts close to the bank when you get out towards Town and Country. The river channel from that point out has stumps on the drops especially in the bends that hold fish all spring. The bay west of the bridge has cover scattered on the north side on the flats for the first 1/2 mile or so then all across the bay back in to Pirates Cove.

If you get tired of Jonathan follow the channel markers out of Jonathan and across. You will headed towards Higgins. It and the next bay south, Rhodes, have kicked out some good fish. Same goes for the two bays north of Higgins, Sugar and especially Duncan. I LOVE Duncan. I have had some great days in that bay! It can be worth the trip from Jonathan, just watch the weather and the wind. There is less cover on the LBL than on the west side and it tends to concentrate fish tighter. Whether fishing the east or west side keep an eye on your LCR. When you are out drifting the bay watch your LCR. When you see cover kick a marker over and fish it good. Same goes when you catch a crappie. More times than not you just went over cover. Drop a marker.

That time of year I cast roadrunners 95% of the time. Live bait a little and vertical jiggin over cover after a strong cold front. This isn't exact by any stretch but should get you started. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

Lyndon

[I eat fish]

Thanks Gary!! I appreciate the guidance.. And yeah we didnt venture out to far last year, but I hear ya about the wind..eesh..