How would YOU fish this spot?? Yatesville lake Kentucky

[The Rooster]

OK, first things first. This weekend several of us went bank fishing (cause gas is too expensive to take the boat!) and we did decent. Dad and I both caught keeper bass at the bank, me using a Bandit 100 series Taco Salad colored crankbait, and Dad using a plastic frog with a spinnner he had rigged onto the front of it. This made for an odd looking lure but his bass was larger than mine at 16" where mine was just barely over 15", so it worked well for him. Here's the pics.

Me with my fish...

Dad with his fish...

Now my REAL question is.....sometime soon I plan to come back to this area with a boat and I'd like to know a little about how YOU would fish this place. What lures, what techniques to use?? I'm fairly experienced in catching bass but nowhere near as much as I'd like and this keeper is the first one I've caught in over 8 years....honestly.

The water is always very stained in this part of the lake, almost muddy at times, and there are stumps and stickups EVERYWHERE, many are 6 feet tall or more. They're all in water anywhere from 6' deep to less than 1' deep on average. There is a creek channel running roughly right through the middle of it that should be about another 8 to 10 feet deep on top of the 6 foot depth of the lake at summer pool in that area. There is a bridge that crosses over it with pilings that go right down into the water. The water is less than 30 feet wide at that point but then it opens up again on the other side of the bridge. There is also an underwater bridge that used to serve a road that the lake now covers back in this area. Small, but is large enough to hold bass under it I think. The bottom is just a mucky muddy surface but there are some pretty large rocks near one shoreline, put in when they made the lake. Otherwise the shoreline is all dirt with grass that grows right out into the water from it, a few feet out into it in some places. The lake is about 17 years old roughly and should be well established by now for having whatever fish population it's going to have.

I know all this detail because every year when the lake is at winterpool, we used to walk on the lake bottom to the creek channel and catch crappie out of it and all of this is visible then. But I've never bass fished it in a boat, and only a couple times on the bank and this time is the only time I've ever done any good.

Here are a few photos of what it looks like to give you an idea. There's just so much structure and cover in this area that I have no idea where to start, but this place just looks like it would hold fish. I do know there are a LOT of carp rolling around back in there though. Will that effect anything??

[Big Tom]

You are fishing my absolute favorite bass lake in Eastern Kentucky.  It really does have some nice bass in it.

The lake is a little bit older than 17 years old and it had some huge bass in it from the get-go because they flooded a lot of awesome farm ponds.

I know you did good at the spot in the pictures, but honestly there are bass like that all over the lake.

If you don't want to use much gas then the best place for you to put in is called Greenbrier Creek.  I caught a keeper there a couple weeks ago and I was only 30 yards away from the boat ramp.  If you do decide on putting in here, you will want to fish as soon as you put in, and make your way to where the idle speed buoys end. Then take a right and fish all the way down the left bank.  I have caught about four keepers here the last couple times I went.  

You really could spend a whole day just in this area and you don't even have to start up the outboard.  

Here is a list of lures that I have consistently caught bass on at Yatesville Lake this year:

Pumpkin Zoom Baby Brush Hog - Texas rigged with a 2/0 wide gap hook and a 1/4 or 3/16 oz. sinker.

Watermelon Zoom U-Tail Worm - Texas rigged the same way.

Pumpkin Zoom U-Tail Worm - Texas Rigged the same way.

Pumpkin Berkley Power Lizard - Texas rigged the same way.

Watermelon Red Srtike King Zero Worm - Senko imitation.  Wacky Rigged on spinning gear with a 2/0 wide gap hook.

The fish here really like the more natural colored baits.  

I caught a couple keepers Monday throwing crankbaits.  One that was around 17 1/2 inches hit a Strike King Red Eye Shad in the Sexy Shad pattern.

I hope this helps some.  The guy I fish with the most really knows a lot about Yatesville lake.  I will talk to him later and see if he has any more advice/information about this lake.

 

[The Rooster]

Thanks a lot.  I fish Greenbrier a lot with my boat, that's about the only ramp I use now.  Haven't fished the launch area though, usually pass it up to go straight back into the no wake zone of Greenbrier, way back passed the campgrounds of Lawrence County Park.  I catch a lot of bass in there too, just no keepers though. They all seem to be 14 inches or less.  Had one keeper on last year that likely would have went 16 or better but I lost it at the boat after fighting it in.  Wasn't hooked very well.  

I have a few of those lures you suggested and can get a few more of the ones you said that I don't have.  

I also have noticed that the left bank up Greenbrier creek is the better side too, so maybe I'm on the right track after all, just need to keep at it.  

I appreciate any information you want to share on this lake since I fish it a lot........Yatesville and Grayson both is where I spend my summer mostly.  Occasionally Paintsville too, but Yatesville about 85% of the time.  Thanks a lot for this info.

[Big Tom]

You are welcome.  The guy I fish Yatesville with just joined the boards so maybe he will post more.  Good luck, and I hope you catch some nice ones.