road trip guys are in for a real treat.

[paul.]

kentucky lake is on fire! over 30 fish yesterday with some nice ones in the mix - even in the sleet. and the fish have obviously been eating well. everything i caught yesterday looked to be at least half a pound bigger than it "should be". to say they looked like footballs was an understatement. they looked like footballs that had swallowed softballs. i think the guys who fish the road trip should have an absolute blast (barring another epic flood and lake closing of course ;D). here's a pic. this one was 5 on the nose and it has to be one of the shortest 5's i've ever caught. and all the fish from yesterday were shaped like this. just really, really fat and healthy bass. talk about a good time! hoping for another outing like this one again next week.

[roadwarrior]

Nice fish, great pic!

So, what lures and baits are hot? It's all about

square bill crankbaits right now on Pickwick.

8-)

[Dwight Hottle]

Sounds like you had a great day Paul. WTG

[slonezp]

Are they in the creeks? Secondary points? Primary points? I'm heading down Wednesday thru Sunday this week. Any help is greatly appreciated. Also any crappie action?

[Big-O]

WTG Paul, Hope to see you there!

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[paul.]

So, what lures and baits are hot? It's all about

square bill crankbaits right now on Pickwick.

Are they in the creeks? Secondary points? Primary points? I'm heading down Wednesday thru Sunday this week. Any help is greatly appreciated. Also any crappie action?

right now Kent a variety of lures are working. i caught the picture fish on a secret spinnerbait. i won't give away my favorite spinnerbait, but i will tell ya that i prefer the smaller profile, double willow baits in the half ounce size. several companies make baits that have the majority of the weight hidden behind the skirt, and these have always worked well for me on ky lake this time of year.

but a spinnerbait is not the only lure that will work well for the fish i'm on by any means. square bills and rattle baits are money as well. eliminating water until you find fish is key, so i prefer baits that i can sling a long way and cover a lot of water with. do not sleep on cranks that run in the 8-12 foot range either. it never hurts to have your favorite topwater tied on either because believe it or not, the fish will come up and bust shad this time of year. i prefer a super spook because you can throw it a mile and it has big fish appeal, but that's just me. once you do find a good school of fish, slowing down with your favorite plastic will often put a lunker in the boat for ya.

as you can tell, there are a variety of things working. one thing that does NOT seem to be working well yet is the bush flipping bite. 2 reasons for this - falling water and water temps falling back into the 50's. if one of these factors changes, the flipping bite should improve a bit because it will cause some a few fish to move up into the bushes and shallow cover. if BOTH of these factors change (water rises and water temps climb past the magical 60 degree mark), you better have a jig and flipping stick in the boat.

right now, i think a few people are trying to rush it. finding shallow fish can be tough when the aforementioned factors are working against you. but several people are still trying to force feed 'em a jig in the bushes. i have heard that success has been limited at best for these taking this route and this tactic has been hit or miss lately- mostly miss.

based on what i've said so far, you have probably figured out that i'm primarily fishing points and flats. the single biggest key, at least for me, has been finding key areas CLOSE TO DEEP WATER. the spot i did the best on friday was relatively close to the channel. i would give the nod to primary points first. but secondary points will work too, as long as they are close to deeper water. this will not matter nearly as much once the water level stabilizes, but it seems to be very important now. if you do attempt to fish a pockets or cove, i would stick to those with deep water access. and i would concentrate my efforts on the first few yards going in on both sides as fish tend to pull to key areas at the entrance of pockets and coves as long as the water is falling.

now some other folks may be slaying 'em doing something else, but this is what's working for me. i am BY NO MEANS an expert on ky lake as i have only been fishing it regularly for about a year and a half. there are several reliable guide reports available online. but to me the most reliable source to dictate how and where i'm going to fish is TVA info. the two things to pay major attention to is the water level trend (rising or falling) and how much current they are pulling (anything over 100,000 is great). here's a link: http://www.tva.gov/lakes/kyh_r.htm.

sorry, but i don't know a thing about crappie. the only ones i catch are by accident when i'm bass fishing.

hope this helped.

[fishinfiend]

Great work as always, Paul. I'm digging the cap!

[slonezp]

Thanks Paul. Every bit of info helps. This will be my 3rd trip down in the last 4 years. Being able to eliminate non productive water will help greatly.

[Shane J]

Niiiice! Wish I was going down there for the roadtrip. I really gotta get one in one of these years.