Thread: Time for a candid conversation

It does seem that the bluegill aren't as easily caught as they used to be. Same goes for the redear.

I feel like it's just that the lake is continuously changing, and gets a little more clear each year. The old places where I used to catch are empty, but I have adjusted my tactics and now catch more deeper than before.

Plus, many of the areas where I used to catch fish shallow have gradually silted in, and the available buck brush gets to be less and less each year. As shallow cover becomes less abundant, I think the fish adjust by staying out in deeper water instead.

I think the way to stay on the fish is to continually adjust to an ever-changing lake. The fish are still in there, you just have to adapt your tactics.

If you're fishing the same spot/dock year after year, then you probably are going to see your results continue to decline over time.

Oh, and as for the white bass, I've been catching much larger ones in recent years than I have ever before. I used to not have to worry about the 15" size limit on them, but it's become more and more of a factor in recent years. The white bass are alive and well, and fat! They don't get into the big jumps like I remember back in the 90s, but they do still school up on the drops in big numbers where you can hammer them pretty good with a jigging spoon.

There was a lot of bait on Barkley this winter into early spring. The crappie fishing is still pretty good in places, just have to look for them more this year than in some years past.


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The majority of reports indicated that large schools of traditional bait fish were back in the lakes. Did the ice storm in February affect their numbers?

Guys, not trying to start an argument, but the redear, bluegill and crappie populations on both Barkley and KY Lake seems fine to me. I moved back to this area last fall after being away for 8 years, and, after reading and hearing all about the Asian carp situation and their possible effect on fishing, I truly expected to find these big lakes in terrible shape. However, this has not been the case. Before the weather turned really cold for the winter, I was catching awesome size bluegill (and the occasional redear) on Barkley in great numbers. And the crappie? What can I say but "WOW!" I've been catching crappie all winter long and into the Spring and they have been some of the best crappie I've seen on these two lakes. So I'm stoked about the fishing situation on Barkley and KY and really looking forward to this year. (By the way, if you want to catch redear during the summer and fall months, locate a shell bed along the main river channel is15 to 25 FOW and fish right on the bottom. I accidentally hit upon some while catfishing a few years back and learned that these fiesty fish can be caught throughout the year. You just have to find them.)

I fish north of Little River and so far the crappie fishing has been decent. I'm not catching big numbers but have been able to catch some the last four trips. What I'm experiencing is that I haven't been able to find several on a spot, most of the time just one and occasionally two. I'm having to cover a lot a water.