I fished Kentucky Lake a few times back in 2012 when I was stationed at Fort Knox Kentucky and it was pretty good during the spring. Now that I'm back in Fort Knox and hearing about all these Asian carps in the bass forums, did it affect the crappie at all in Kentucky lake? I want to go back out and give it a try during the spring unless it's not what it use to be.
There is still a lot of great crappie fishing in Ky and Barkley Lakes. Yes, we have Asian carp and yes they have had an effect on the crappie just like all other species. IMO, the biggest effect has been driving crappie into cover more than in times past. The carp are responsible for clearing the lake up in warm weather. A couple of bad crappie, bass and shad spawns have had more of an effect. We now have great baitfish numbers and the crappie don't have to roam to find food.
Somebody who is willing to put the time in to learn where cover and structure are located can still catch good numbers of quality fish. Lots of folks blame their lack of effort to find and change tactics to catch crappie on the carp.
I’ve been coming there for the last 33 years every spring. Two seasons ago was the toughest year I’ve had there. Still had an outstanding time for the number of days I was able to get on the lake. Weather conditions were the biggest reason for the tough time. A lot of my former productive spots weren’t productive but I readjusted my technique and was able to put some nice crappies in the boat. I was told that the lack of baitfish was the major problem. After looking at my fillets, I noticed that they were thinner than years before but last year was different than the season before. Plenty of baitfish in all the areas I fished. These areas produced some fantastic healthy fish. Had some great days. Averaged 15 to 18 keepers a piece a day. So come on down and enjoy yourself. If you need a guide to help get you started, there’s plenty of good ones on this site to fit any style you want to fish. Ky and Barkley lakes are alive and doing well.Quote:
Originally Posted by kercha83
Attachment 365132
Great pic, great big red ears for sure.
Kecha83, I agree with most that the Carp has some effect, but not as bad as some think. I fished Mid-May last year for Bluegill mostly and had pretty good luck(25-40 decent fish per day for two people, Bluegill). I also caught a few (5-10 per day) Crappie while trying to catch some Bluegill in or near some brush with small gigs tipped with wax worms, and also picked up some decent Shellcrakers with the wax worms. I was too hard headed to switch to crappie fishing in the deeper brush piles with minnows, but I'm sure they were there. It was NOT easy, probably fished 15-30 'spots' per day, but, you need to keep moving until you find them. If you are there long enough, you will eventually have several places you can go back to based on what you found in previous days. Hit them first, then try to find a 'New' spot for the next day.