36 Hours to KY crappie vacation

In just under 36 hours I'll be making tracks and headed to northern Kentucky Lake for five days of chasing slabs. This has become a yearly tradition. Some years have been better than others but we usually manage to catch a few. I'm hoping the weather forecast holds and we get a few nice days on the water.


I know the lake has been a mess lately (I was last on the water March 1). Has any one been out recently? I'm not asking for specifics just a little worried as I haven't seen much for reports or even fish stories. We will have fun either way but it would be nice to know they weren't all washed away with the flood water :Rofl. I stop by and read the board a lot more often than I post but I always appreciate the knowledge being shared.

I hope everyone is too busy catching to post!

Well .... they've pulled it down 10ft in the last two weeks, and right now it's 2.5ft below Summer Pool : Kentucky Lake Water Level

That's all I know !!

i hope you have a great vacation

Good luck and be safe!

Hope you all tear them up and have a great time! Can't give any current info but I'll wish you well. Wish it was me going lol


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I had a few fish over this last weekend and with the help of a livescope transducer i noticed that the fish were holding at about 14-18ft of water just off of the blood river channel.. they would not go for a jig but opted for a live minnow instead. Water is muddy and is always tough to fish.. water temps were around 50. I would first look for suspended fish and then move shallower as the water temp should start to climb.

P.S. I didnt fish or look for fish any shallower that 10ft.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rippinlips

In just under 36 hours I'll be making tracks and headed to northern Kentucky Lake for five days of chasing slabs. This has become a yearly tradition. Some years have been better than others but we usually manage to catch a few. I'm hoping the weather forecast holds and we get a few nice days on the water.


I know the lake has been a mess lately (I was last on the water March 1). Has any one been out recently? I'm not asking for specifics just a little worried as I haven't seen much for reports or even fish stories. We will have fun either way but it would be nice to know they weren't all washed away with the flood water :Rofl. I stop by and read the board a lot more often than I post but I always appreciate the knowledge being shared.

I hope everyone is too busy catching to post!

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Water is clearing and temp yesterday afternoon was 55 degrees after sun all day but these near freezing night temps are keeping the temp steady. Have found fish in 14 FOW and not alot of fish yet but BIG fish and heavy...full of shad with big bellies.

ebeaird and Bigbaddad - Thanks for updates!!! It's good to know someone is catching a few fish. It sounds like things are pretty similar to this time last year. And last year we caught enough to keep us busy. We usually start targeting suspended fish in about 20 FTW and then work our way shallower. Sounds like we should run the system and hope they cooperate.

Bigbaddad - We experienced the same thing March 1 during the flood. We didn't catch a lot of fish but the ones we did were some of the biggest KY lake crappie I have seen in years.

That is good news, BBD!! Last year the fish were too thin it seemed, this year they've got more shad, correct?

It looks like the fishery is doing better from that point of view.

The shad are everywhere. Everyone blamed the AC for bad crappie last April but I believe it was lack of shad. Not one Crappie I cleaned last year had anything in it's stomach. Here is a pic from this year!! Not the best pic but her stomach was just bulging with shad!!
Attachment 335359

Great report !

Here is a pic from yesterday. I am posting this to show the bellies on the crappies this year....FULL!! (Kinda like mine)!!
Attachment 335482

Thought I'd report back on our trip. It was great to be back on the water and we caught several great fish but never could find a workable pattern.

In summary: we caught far fewer fish than we normally catch although the fish we did catch were bigger than recent years. We had several over 14 inches

Full report:
Trip started out rough. Wednesday I arrived early afternoon to find a screw in my trailer tire. Long story short, my fishing time was spent addressing the issue. Got it put back together and ready to hit the water Thursday morning.

Thursday morning was cold and a little breezy. We crossed the lake hoping to find some in our favorite 20+ foot water. We didn't get a bite in several hours. The midday trip back across the lake was the roughest I've been on. Once safe and across the lake we loaded the boat and trailered to a safer bay and fished the afternoon. Tried multiple deaths (between 20 and 10) and the results were the same. Zero fish caught.

Friday we managed to catch a fish here and there. Caught one or two in 16 foot and one or two in 22 foot. The frustrating thing was nothing we did seemed to be repeatable. We would catch a fish or two and go back and try the same run again and not get another bite. By the end of the day we had a dozen crappie, all over 12 inches.

Saturday my brother and I went out and caught about 10 good fish in 12-16 foot before noon. Still the same. A fish here and there but nothing predictable and not the numbers we have seen in the past.

Best part of the trip was Saturday afternoon. My wife and kids jumped in the boat and we fished a few hours. We caught every fish in the lake, except a crappie. But that didn't matter the sun was shining and the kids were smiling.

Sunday we were headed home but I couldn't resist one last trip out. Hit the water and found the same. A fish here and there but nothing was repeatable. And once the sun came out the fish quit (at least for me).

All in all a good trip. I am still puzzled by the fact I never could find any kind of pattern. (At least for me) Hoping to get back before long but hope everyone finds a few more than we did.

Sorry so long.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rippinlips

Thought I'd report back on our trip. It was great to be back on the water and we caught several great fish but never could find a workable pattern.

In summary: we caught far fewer fish than we normally catch although the fish we did catch were bigger than recent years. We had several over 14 inches

Full report:
Trip started out rough. Wednesday I arrived early afternoon to find a screw in my trailer tire. Long story short, my fishing time was spent addressing the issue. Got it put back together and ready to hit the water Thursday morning.

Thursday morning was cold and a little breezy. We crossed the lake hoping to find some in our favorite 20+ foot water. We didn't get a bite in several hours. The midday trip back across the lake was the roughest I've been on. Once safe and across the lake we loaded the boat and trailered to a safer bay and fished the afternoon. Tried multiple deaths (between 20 and 10) and the results were the same. Zero fish caught.

Friday we managed to catch a fish here and there. Caught one or two in 16 foot and one or two in 22 foot. The frustrating thing was nothing we did seemed to be repeatable. We would catch a fish or two and go back and try the same run again and not get another bite. By the end of the day we had a dozen crappie, all over 12 inches.

Saturday my brother and I went out and caught about 10 good fish in 12-16 foot before noon. Still the same. A fish here and there but nothing predictable and not the numbers we have seen in the past.

Best part of the trip was Saturday afternoon. My wife and kids jumped in the boat and we fished a few hours. We caught every fish in the lake, except a crappie. But that didn't matter the sun was shining and the kids were smiling.

Sunday we were headed home but I couldn't resist one last trip out. Hit the water and found the same. A fish here and there but nothing was repeatable. And once the sun came out the fish quit (at least for me).

All in all a good trip. I am still puzzled by the fact I never could find any kind of pattern. (At least for me) Hoping to get back before long but hope everyone finds a few more than we did.

Sorry so long.

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Thanks for following up and letting us know. Wish you all had done a little better but still a good trip with the family!


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