High Wind Fishing on Ky Lake

Guys we are getting ready to head down to Ky Lake in a couple of days. For the longest time the weather looked like it was going to be great. Then they started to predict some rain our first day there with the rest of the time still good. Now they have added some rain to the second day but the forecast now is also high winds (15-20) and gusts up to 25 :bash.

I have read from many of you on here that high winds is a killer on Ky Lake. Since we can not change our trip this late we are going to have to take on the wind.

What kind of advice do you guys have for combating the winds at Ky? We are staying at King Creek so we will be back in a bay. Should we just plan to stay around the bay and not even think about working to the main lake?


Thank you in advance

Unless you have a thing for fishing in 3+ foot rollers, I would advise staying off the main lake in winds over 15 and only then in a large boat to just get from one spot to another . You might be able to stay close to the west shore to try some other bays but be aware the lake is not at summer pool and there will be hazards in the shallow water.

You can't fight the wind, but you can fish around it. Putting the boat on the trailer and driving to someplace with shelter from the wind is often a much better idea than trying to run on the main lake.

Friday looks like wind from the west, which isn't the wind that makes the main lake scary like a NNW wind will, but it can still be rough running. If you have a smartphone, an app like windfinder will be a big help in figuring out when the wind will be best for you.

Don't panic. I find wind forecasts even more unreliable than general forecasts. I loaded up and headed down with an 8MPH forecast and got 28MPH winds on the lake.

What boat are you fishing out of? A bass boat is a lot easier to fish out of in the wind. A lot of people will use drift socks to help control speed too. KY Lake is a beautiful, fantastic place to fish.

It's a killer too, every year people die because they don't respect it. Years ago I fished a bass tournament out of KY Dam Marina, the lake was absolutely up side down. We took on a bunch of water and a couple of times and I didn't think my Yamaha was going to pull up but it did. By the time we finally made it to the canal water was almost knee deep and we didn't have much free board. Yes the bilge pump was on, but one of the rollers we hit had broke the tabs off the bottom of the pump. I laid on my belly and held the bottom on and finally got the water out. At weigh in we found out that five boats had sank, luckily no one was injured.

Just use your head, there are many things in life more important than fishing.

Thanks you for the replies. We were planning on avoiding the main lake for the most part before having to deal with the wind.

We we won't be able to pack up and move much because only one boat is our own and we are renting the other one. With the big bear bay being so big do you think we will be able to find some shelter from the wind?

This is is our first trip down so I am just looking to find some spots to go incase things get a little hairy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by justinp61

What boat are you fishing out of? A bass boat is a lot easier to fish out of in the wind. A lot of people will use drift socks to help control speed too. KY Lake is a beautiful, fantastic place to fish.

It's a killer too, every year people die because they don't respect it. Years ago I fished a bass tournament, the lake was absolutely up side down. We took on a bunch of water and a couple of times and I didn't think my Yamaha was going to pull up but it did. By the time we finally made it to the canal water was almost knee deep and we didn't have much free board. Yes the bilge pump was on, but one of the rollers we hit had broke the tabs off the bottom of the pump. I laid on my belly and held the bottom on and finally got the water out. At weigh in we found out that five boats had sank, luckily no one was injured.

Just use your head, there are many things in life more important than fishing.

---

We are fishing out of a 16.5 foot tracker deep V and the rental we have is an 18.5 foot tracker.

We also have drift socks that we plan on using. We are not going to do anything extreme. My original post might have been a little misleading. I meant to say that we are not going to stay in if at all possible due to the wind. I am hoping we can still at least move around the bay a little and it not be miserable or dangerous. Being our first trip we are going into this all blind and looking for ways to avoid problems but still wet some lines

We got drowned yesterday cutting across the main channel in Barkley. I took a shower on that tiller style motor I got...I'm trailering today and going out of Boyd's Landing. The rollers scared me but I didn't let my wife know it, lol.

Met MrDux yesterday too, I rudely dropped into his shop while he was working and he graciously handled me and my gang. A big thank you Doug for your time!! If I can ever catch anything worthy of a mount it's all yours my friend.

It won't be dangerous in the bay itself but a west wind that high is really going to limit your options of where you'll be able to fish. Looks like you'll be in for a lot of deploying and pulling wind socks to run back for another drift if you're spider rigging.

The forecast of wind sucks. I canceled last Thurs - Sat because of the weather and was thinking this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning but with wind on Friday and front coming through I think I'm going to stay home again.

You can almost always fish around Big Bear in the wind. Doesn't mean it will be where the fish are and it doesn't necessarily mean it will be comfortable but you can fish and stay safe. Go past Moors and all bets are off. If you want to venture out I suggest studying a map to understand ramps and bays that are protected against the forecast for the day and driving if necessary. Kentucky lake offers protection in bays at almost all water levels unlike the COE lakes in Mississippi. Pay attention to your electronics because most maps are at summer pool and that can mislead you at lesser levels. Good Luck

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redearhoosier

We got drowned yesterday cutting across the main channel in Barkley. I took a shower on that tiller style motor I got...I'm trailering today and going out of Boyd's Landing. The rollers scared me but I didn't let my wife know it, lol.

Met MrDux yesterday too, I rudely dropped into his shop while he was working and he graciously handled me and my gang. A big thank you Doug for your time!! If I can ever catch anything worthy of a mount it's all yours my friend.

---

It was great to meet you and your family.

I'm taking my Dad out this afternoon to try some planer boards out. Hope the wind and weather cooperates.

That ramp at Boyd's Landing can get hairy on a SW wind. The big public ramp at Kuttawa is a much better choice.

like many have said, just use common sense, i know its paid for and you want to get your enjoyment out of it but it is not worth risking your life. A example of this although different, was we went to florida one year and the weather was terrible, red flag almost everyday. but my brother in law had the attitude of, i paid to come down here, and drove 700+ miles i am going to swim in the gulf anyway. The thing that changed his mind was watching from our balcony, life guards and ems pulling another man that thought the same thing. unfortunately it was the last mistake that man made as we learned later that evening on the news that he did not survive.

Dave, Im headed to big bear resort early thursday morning from cincy. Im hoping the weather will work out as well! This will be my first trip also. I did buy a drift sock to use if needed. We are fishing out of a 19.5 ft starcraft deep V. Great fishing boat but since its aluminum and sits high out of the water the wind pushes it pretty easy. Just hoping for some great fishing! Are you staying at big bear as well?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by liprippersc78

Dave, Im headed to big bear resort early thursday morning from cincy. Im hoping the weather will work out as well! This will be my first trip also. I did buy a drift sock to use if needed. We are fishing out of a 19.5 ft starcraft deep V. Great fishing boat but since its aluminum and sits high out of the water the wind pushes it pretty easy. Just hoping for some great fishing! Are you staying at big bear as well?

---

We are staying king creek. Our tracker is great too but sits pretty high as well. This is our first time using the drift socks so we will see how it goes. We are supposed to have a guide Thursday morning. Hopefully we can find a place to hide from the wind. Maybe we will see you out there.

Thanks for all the help guys. We are leaving in a few hours and despite not having the best weather predictions we are excited. At worst we sit around the cabin, drink a few, and hang out with some buddies. That sure beats any day at work!

Good luck and stay safe.
As they say, a bad day fishing is better than a good day working :biggrin

I was wondering about you all when I was driving today with my steering wheel turned 10 degrees to the west to fight the wind. Hope it was better down there.