Quote Originally Posted by kissfan4 View Post
hello everyone, i have a question about which lake would be best to go to. we are looking to take a trip here soon to go try and catch some crappie in the state of ky. the only restrictions are we live in nky/cincinnati area and want to go no further than 3 1/2 - 4 hours away. which lake out of these would be best for crappie and have the higher limit cause i know some lakes have a 15 fish limit. Buckhorn, Cave Run, Cumberland, Grayson, Paintsville, Rough River and Yatesville. also which has the best lodging and ramps. we dont have to stay on the lake but also dont want to drive 30min each day. any help would be greatly appreciated.
I've only fished three of the lakes you mentioned, Cave Run, Rough River and Cumberland. Out of those three, Cave Run would be my 1st choice, but I'm a bit sketchy on lodging accomodations there, as it's only a 1.5hr drive from here and easily done in one day. Cumberland Lake can be reached in 1.5-2hrs, depending on what part you go to.

There are a few other lakes that may fit into your timeframe, and those would be Herrington Lake, Green River Lake, and Cedar Creek Lake. Herrington & Cedar Creek are about 1hr South of Lexington. Herrington has limited lodging facilities, in the form of campsites and floating cabins, but only at certain Marinas. It's also a bit difficult to pattern, unless you fish it regularly. Cedar Creek has no lodging facilities, unless they've reopened the Bed & Breakfast &/or the RV lot (which I doubt) ... and the Crappie there are stunted (mostly < 9" ). Green River Lake is a 2hr drive from Lexington, and does have several campsites, but I'm not familiar with any motel type accomodations it may have close by. It would be my choice, of the three I just mentioned.
There's only one lake, that I'm familiar with, within your drive-time limit, that has a 15 fish creel limit ... and that would be Taylorsville Lake. Only Green River Lake and Taylorsville Lake have a size limit of 9" ... and only Taylorsville has the 15/day creel. All the others have a 30/day creel. (except KY/Barkley Lakes, which have a 20/day creel, as mentioned before).

Alot would depend on WHEN you were planning on coming down to fish, and the weather conditions preceeding your trip, as to which lake may offer the best possibility of success.

Also, as far as ramps go .... all of the ones I've listed have good ramps, the exception being Herrington which has "some" good ones and some not so hot ones :p There is also a launch fee on all of their ramps, whereas there are no fees on the others mentioned. If there are, they're usually included in the lodging cost (if you're staying at a Marina/launch facility).

Some of this info may not be current, and I invite the members that are more aware of the availability of lodging facilities, to correct me. I haven't been to many of these lakes in awhile, and since most of them are 1day trips (for me), I haven't kept up with available lodging/ramp conditions & fees/etc. I apologize for my lack of knowledge on these matters.

... luck2ya ... cp