Thread: Best lake in Central KY to Crappie fish?

Probably Green River Lake near Campbellsville is your best bet. Check with Ky Teacher he is a guide there. Taylorsville used to be a good crappie lake but has dropped some over the past couple of years. I would say these 2 would be your best bet. Kentucky/Barkley Lakes are the best lakes in Kentucky for numbers and size.
Bassky

Don't forget Herrington. My dad fished it for about 60 years and caught a lot of crappie there. A lot of people shy away from it because it's deep and narrow, but it can be productive.

Lots of other fish in there, too.

... over the next couple of months, for current reports on area waters.

Everything depends on the weather, and you're ability to time your trips.

Herrington Lake is ~ 45min away ... has launch ramp use fees ... no size limit/30fish creel limit ... potential for 2lb fish ... not an easy lake to pattern, but wood cover in 2-8ft of water is key.

Taylorsville Lake is ~ 1.5hrs away ... no launch fees ... 9" size limit/15fish creel limit ... potential for numbers of 9-12" fish ... pattern is generally wood cover in 8ft of water or less.

Cave Run Lake is ~ 1.5hrs away ... no launch fees ... no size limit/30fish creel limit ... potential for 1+lb fish ... pattern is generally wood or grass in 10ft of water or less.

Green River Lake is ~ 2hrs away ... no launch fees ... 9" size limit/30fish creel limit ... potential for 2lb fish ... pattern is generally wood cover in 2-6ft of water.

These are just my opinions & observations ... and the info may be dated, since I haven't fished these lakes, all that much, in recent years. So, if someone that does fish them, makes a comment that differs from mine ... take theirs over mine

... cp

thanks for the input guys, it is much appreciated...

Crappie Pappy's summary is excellent info, as always.

You might be in interesting in checking the Kentucky River. Some guys on here mentioned it earlier in the winter, and I am looking forward to getting down there and checking it out.

Cedar Creek Lake is about 2 hours. Who knows what's going on with the Crappie there. It's managed as a trophy bass lake, and this past year they removed the size limit on Crappie because they thought it was choked full of small ones. Well, there sure weren't many reports of people bringing home big numbers of fish either on here or on the Cedar Creek Outfitters website. Seemed Crappie fishing was slow all year.

Right in Lexington is Lake Ellerslie Fishing Club. As far as I know, it's a private lake with restricted access, and the only way to become a member is to live in Lexington. I would like to know more about that place, but I haven't found any more info on it. It would be pretty sweet to be able to fish within the city limits.

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your trips!

Originally Posted by TeqSheriff

Crappie Pappy's summary is excellent info, as always.
You might be in interesting in checking the Kentucky River. Some guys on here mentioned it earlier in the winter, and I am looking forward to getting down there and checking it out.
Cedar Creek Lake is about 2 hours. Who knows what's going on with the Crappie there. It's managed as a trophy bass lake, and this past year they removed the size limit on Crappie because they thought it was choked full of small ones. Well, there sure weren't many reports of people bringing home big numbers of fish either on here or on the Cedar Creek Outfitters website. Seemed Crappie fishing was slow all year.
Right in Lexington is Lake Ellerslie Fishing Club. As far as I know, it's a private lake with restricted access, and the only way to become a member is to live in Lexington. I would like to know more about that place, but I haven't found any more info on it. It would be pretty sweet to be able to fish within the city limits.
Good luck to you and keep us posted on your trips!

... to add to Teqsheriff's comments :

Yes, the KY River can produce some quality fish. You just have to learn the nuances of a changing cover topography ... 'cause your honey hole may get swept downstream :p

Cedar Creek is just a little over an hour away from Lexington. The Crappie did not grow as fast as expected. Indications are, that the comeback of the Gizzard Shad is the culprit. KDFWR was expecting the Bass and Channel Cat population to keep down the overpopulation potential of the Crappie, Bluegill, & Shellcracker. With the Shad incursion, the Bass & Channel Cats were allowed to feed on their numbers ... thus allowing the Crappie, Bluegill, & Shellcracker population to explode. Many people thought that someone had brought the Shad to the lake, in a misguided effort to jumpstart the growth of the fish. But, after having talked with some in-the-know locals, and seeing other species of fish in the lake (that were not supposed to be there) ... I'm more inclined to believe what my local sources have long suspected. They believe that the KDFWR did not poison out ALL of the fish that were present in Cedar Creek, before allowing it to fill and before they stocked it with the species they intended to be there ... which was LM Bass, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, and Shellcrackers. It has not been determined whether this was a KDFWR mistake, or whether local farmers were against it ... believing their livestock to be in harms way, if allowed to drink from the incoming creeks. In any case ... Gizzard Shad are present, as are several Sunfish species that were not part of the stocking program. This has added much more biomass, than the lake can support. The species that are negatively impacted, are the Crappie/Bluegill/Shellcracker group.
Now, you can still catch a ton of 6-8" Black Crappie from Cedar Creek Lake, during the spawn. The size limit has been removed, and the 15 fish creel limit has been increased to a 30 fish creel limit. But, that's only been in effect for one season ... so the jury is still out on how that will impact the size.

As to Lake Ellerslie ... that's a private club lake. There's a limit to the number of active members that can be in the club, and fish the lake. You must be selected by a current member, but that only puts you on a waiting list. It can take many years before your chance to join comes up. There's also a joining fee, of several hundred dollars, and yearly dues. I think a active member can bring one guest ... but, most (if not all) of the fish are considered catch and release only. I think that info is correct, but I wouldn't swear to it.

... cp

Cedar Creek is definitely on my list of lakes to try this spring, i don't mind catching a lot of small crappie as long as the numbers are there to keep me interested...it seems like that lake will be my best bet location wise, it is only a 30 min. drive for me... and herrington sounds like from its description it would be a little more difficult to pattern for a beginner like me....i will let u know how it goes....and thanks crappiepappy for the wealth of knowledge you provide...you definitely make it easier on beginneers like me who didn't grow up with someone to teach them how to fish...i look forward to learning as much as i can on this forum from guys like you...

Give Herrington Lake a shot...I have caught some nice slabs from there...not nearly as much crappie fishing pressure Cedar Creek and the fish are much better...you will catch alot of crappie from Cedar Creek, but I can almost guarantee that they will be thin and short...Herrington is a nice place to go in the spring and I have went some weekends and the fishing pressure was really non-existant...you will find that Cedar Creek is very,very busy...if not crowded. Bryant's is a nice place to put in ($6) and Pandora is too ($5, I think). Gwinn Island area is a place where I have had great success. I just don't like Gwinn's ramp or their big hill, so I put in at Bryants and make the 10 min run to Gwinn and also fish around Dunn Island and Key's Creek on the way there...also don't overlook Herrington in the spring for some big blugills...on Herrington, get you some minners and slip floats and fish around any trees or even around the floating debris, which you should have no trouble finding. I have caught nice slabs just by finding a hole in the debris and fishing with a minner about 1'-3' deep. Chartreuse jigs seem to work well too. You may even catch a few nice white bass in the process while jig fishing. Purple popeyes (Cabin Creek size 0 or size 1) tipped with wax worms are great for catching the bluegills and crappie. Try drifting cricket against the rock walls for bluegills; I guarantee you some nice tasty bluegills with that method. Hope that there is some info that you can use. I am not an expert fishermen, but I have fish Herrington for many years. I can tell you Herrington will humble the most experienced fishermen. Let me know if I can offer any more info...like I said, I am no expert, but I will offer any help that I can. Good Luck and stay safe.