Ky Lake bound

Headed to the great state of Ky this weekend to spend a few days in the Blood River area. Haven't been there for about 15 yrs . Will be staying near wildcat creek. Somewhat familiar with last mile of Blood but not upper reaches.

I promise I do not have a red lund boat, cut between people fishing and the bank, pass people up on loading ramps, etc LOL.

We'll prob be spending early and late hours fishing for green carp, but plan to do some mid day trolling cranks for crappie, white bass, or sauger. May also long line some double jig rigs. Also planning to get my ultralights out and toss some of my homemade jigs with wax worm for some gills / redear. I am not sure how to fit in all the multi specie fishing, but I am going to give it my best and plan to be totally wore out by the time I come home :D I know, it's a good tired.

Any tips or advice or current condition reports on the Blood is much appreciated. I would also be very interested in sauger techniques , places to target. Thanks.

HHD

The lake is back to normal pool after the flooding and the color is just slightly stained. Some of the ledges in the mouth of Blood River hold some decent numbers of white bass (stripes) that you can catch trolling cranks or casting in-line spinners or spoons. Your best bet for sauger is going to be the river ledges on the main lake that come up to 10-12 feet. Troll the break on the river side with deep-runner crank baits. The gills are still hot with a few redears in the mix. Hope this helps, have a good time and be safe out there.

Thanks mrdux. Are there any big gills (9-10 inch range) or redear in the blood area or do I need to head across the main lake to the LBL side for better size there? Last time I did any gill fishing in the blood lower mile, was not impressed by size, lots of 8 inchers. Also, what are license regs if heading over to LBL Tenn side with my Ky license...is it honored there?

Your KY license will be reciprocal with TN all the way to the Paris Landing bridge. I can't tell you that the gills in LBL side will be bigger but they do get less fishing pressure as a rule.

If you are looking for 10" gills I would suggest that you keep heading south until you hit some Georgia giants. :D

There are two big bass tournaments this weekend so I would expect plenty of company. One out of Paris Landing and one out of the dam. Going bluegill fishing may actually be your best bet.

Man Quackrstackr, when isn't there a bass tournament on Ky lake? I was thinking the big tournament out of Paris was toward the tail end of next week? Anyhow, it's fun to yank some big ones out right in front of those guys.

Now about the Crappie.... are they pretty much suspended out on the humps and channels now...or is there any spawning still going on? Not sure how much that high water messed them up.

HHD

You might catch an odd crappie on the bank but it will be the exception rather than the norm.

The Triton Owner's tournament out of Paris Landing starts on Friday and the BFL starts on Saturday, I believe and the BASS event starts next Wednesday. I'm not sure when the cutoff for practice fishing the BASS event is but a lot of those guys may fish the BFL as practice (seems like they did last year). The lake will be swarming with boats.

I caught a few sauger, and a few small bass today in the blood river area.

I will be fishing in the Triton Owners Tournament Friday, and Saturday.

Tommorrow night I will be at Paris Landing State Park for the tournament events, and meal.

Catching bass has been very hard lately, but bluegill, and catfish have been easy to catch.:)

Well, how did it go? Catch any fish?

I am still at the lake. Having a grand time. You folks are lucky people to have these resources. As for the fishing.... not catching large numbers, but crappie size has been excellent, with several 14-15 inch crappie. Trolling crank baits along channel edge and on humps is working pretty well. We have to draw straws to see who gets to use my limited supply of popscicle bandits. Mad cow working pretty good too. Have been picking up some big catfish trolling and on these long pro staff trolling rods is a real hoot...lots of fun. Also catching a lot of bass on cranks...however most are in 12-14 inch range. Only a couple sauger so far. Hoping to find a few b4 end of trip. Broke down and bought some "sheltons bugs" to try on some gills. Trying to find some big gills...and got a few tips yest. Also watching a lot of the Elite Bass boats flying up and down the lake doing pre-fishing. Wondering if all those guys are type A personalities. Anyhow...will report back later with some pics.

HHD