Thread: Kentucky and Barkley stakebeds, angler input needed

Originally Posted by mrdux

I would like to see some of your efforts geared toward medium depth (4-10') areas in bluegill and redear spawning areas with sand/gravel bottoms. Redears seem to like to be able to get UNDER cover, not just around it. Beds with short stakes would work best for them. It would give them protection from the swarms of Asian carp.

Brian, I'm puzzled why you think your recommendations have to be kept private when the request for info was put out on a public forum?

Don't be puzzled, if they do parts of my ideas and ramblings it will benefit us all. Just too much water time to just spill the beans everywhere. I am not trying to offend anyone, or portray that I am better than anyone, so please don't take it that way. He didn't specify how to respond, so I responded how I wanted to just as everyone else is doing it how they feel they want to.

But, I will say this. Alot of my recommendations did focus on depths that we consider mid-range depths. Also, having a mix of brush and stakebeds.

Originally Posted by bandchaser

Don't be puzzled, if they do parts of my ideas and ramblings it will benefit us all. Just too much water time to just spill the beans everywhere. I am not trying to offend anyone, or portray that I am better than anyone, so please don't take it that way. He didn't specify how to respond, so I responded how I wanted to just as everyone else is doing it how they feel they want to.

But, I will say this. Alot of my recommendations did focus on depths that we consider mid-range depths. Also, having a mix of brush and stakebeds.

I agree 100% with Mr. Dux on this. I actually know a guy that puts these short stakes in sandy, pea gravel areas that has really good luck with the red ear.

Adam, 1st want to say our KY DFWR is one of the best for fish attractors. Spend past 12 years in SC, and they DO NOT put much or any effort in fish attractors. You have 30X times the fish attractors in KY lake versus the attractors in the entire Santee Cooper lake system(Marion and Moultrie). Now, I agree with MRDUX, 4-10' MINIMUM depth even at draw down projections would be the best. I know this would put some in 15-16' feet at full pull, but these could be used year round.

Now, something 'Outside the box' for Bluegill and Redear attractors. I fished Santee for several years for Bluegill. Had a hard time finding consistent locations for the bluegill except for about 5 or 6 personal docks on the lake. I fished under these docks and absolutely killed the Bluegill and Shell Crackers, but never hug up in any brush. So, We had a major drought a few years at Santee, lake was 8 feet down, which for this system, reduced the lake water area about 35%. I went out and checked my 'Special' docks. Since the lake was down 8', I wanted to see why these fish were under these specific docks. What I found was the dock owner had bought these Blue plastic swimming pools, about 6' in diameter (kind you see at Walmart) and had placed them under their dock. Also, looked like they had put about a 3"layer Pea Gravel inside these swimming pools. Now, I then knew why ALL of these dock were hot spots for me. I would STOP fishing after 10 fish per dock, but I assure you I could have caught 4 times this at each dock if I kept fishing what I eventually referred to the 'Swimming pool' pattern. Looks like this works well for drawdowns on the lake. The lip on the pool edges keep sand/dirt from silting over the Pea Gravel. One dock owner had a 150ft dock (bank to end)ranging from 0-15 ft of water and had 20 of these pools under the various sections of his dock.

So, Please consider something like this as an attractor for the Bluegill, Redear people. Man, I know it was a sure bet for me at Santee when I found these little blue swimming pools with pea gravel in them.

Originally Posted by perchjerker108

Adam, 1st want to say our KY DFWR is one of the best for fish attractors. Spend past 12 years in SC, and they DO NOT put much or any effort in fish attractors. You have 30X times the fish attractors in KY lake versus the attractors in the entire Santee Cooper lake system(Marion and Moultrie). Now, I agree with MRDUX, 4-10' MINIMUM depth even at draw down projections would be the best. I know this would put some in 15-16' feet at full pull, but these could be used year round.

Now, something 'Outside the box' for Bluegill and Redear attractors. I fished Santee for several years for Bluegill. Had a hard time finding consistent locations for the bluegill except for about 5 or 6 personal docks on the lake. I fished under these docks and absolutely killed the Bluegill and Shell Crackers, but never hug up in any brush. So, We had a major drought a few years at Santee, lake was 8 feet down, which for this system, reduced the lake water area about 35%. I went out and checked my 'Special' docks. Since the lake was down 8', I wanted to see why these fish were under these specific docks. What I found was the dock owner had bought these Blue plastic swimming pools, about 6' in diameter (kind you see at Walmart) and had placed them under their dock. Also, looked like they had put about a 3"layer Pea Gravel inside these swimming pools. Now, I then knew why ALL of these dock were hot spots for me. I would STOP fishing after 10 fish per dock, but I assure you I could have caught 4 times this at each dock if I kept fishing what I eventually referred to the 'Swimming pool' pattern. Looks like this works well for drawdowns on the lake. The lip on the pool edges keep sand/dirt from silting over the Pea Gravel. One dock owner had a 150ft dock (bank to end)ranging from 0-15 ft of water and had 20 of these pools under the various sections of his dock.

So, Please consider something like this as an attractor for the Bluegill, Redear people. Man, I know it was a sure bet for me at Santee when I found these little blue swimming pools with pea gravel in them.

That's very interesting. I spent a year working for SCDNR in florence and I definitely agree with your opinion of SC's habitat and fish attractor work. I have considered something like the attractors you're talking about in the past. Those types of gravel beds are typically used in small lakes and ponds to increase recruitment by providing a suitable spawning habitat for sunfish. My feeling on our big lakes is that those types of attractors might not be as useful as they are on marion and moultrie due to our current areas with pea gravel and other hard substrate. I am formulating a small scale study which could look at the effects on sportfish recruitment by using that type of habitat in certain coves and then evaluating any changes in recruitment with larval fish sampling, but its still in the very very early phases.

There are a few reasons that we and other managers throughout the state install fish attractors. (1.) to make it easier for anglers to enjoy the resource (2.) to increase the harvest of sportfish to maintain higher growth rates. improving growth rates is the major reason in our state's smaller impoundments where fish often overpopulate and stunt. Fish habitat on the other hand is typically used to increase recruitment or survival of sportfish. I honestly dont know which category those gravel beds would fall under, but its something we are looking at.

Adam, thanks, Yep the Gravel beds would be what I hope you guys/gals look at for the Bluegill/Shellcraker attractors. I know the stake beds are mostly for the Crappie people,. Example,Man, if you guys could just dump a bunch of Pea Gravel on the road bed that runs across the bay at Devil's Elbow(East side) Barkley, I bet there would be pile of fish bedding there from spring to fall. Fished there several years ago, fish were all over each side of the road bed. Now, on the SCNR, I felt sorry for all the employees. Very much underpaid and worked to death.

10'-12' fow @winter pool would be great also.

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I've had good luck catching the big shellcrackers around bamboo that's been put out by people. I'm planning on saturating several areas on Barkley this winter with bamboo. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to devise these attractors but I've got several ideas in mind.

In 2013 and 2014, we caught some big redear out in front of several of the state stake beds. Everyone thinks May is redear prime time, and it is, but April is a great redear month too.