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Barkley Lake
How bad is the situation on Barkley with Asian Carp? Is it continuing to deteriorate? Also are the crappie you are catching still healthy? I've heard many of the fish that are caught are thin?
Is Kentucky or Barkley producing better these day?
Sorry for so many questions but I've been so discouraged by the Asian carp situation, I have about given up on these two lakes. Several years ago I was thinking hard about moving there when I retired. I loved both those lakes, now I wonder if it's worth the trip anymore.
Any opinions of the overall health of the lake would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Are you giving up on these lakes without even knowing the situation?
Yes, both lakes have been affected by the carp. That is because of them competing for food with the small fish like Shad.
I have been on both lakes in the last month, only missing a handful of days. I have not seen a jumping silver carp in months. That may be because I tend to frequent deep water areas. I have seenBigheads feeding on the surface but we just troll right thru the schools of them.
The crappie are in wonderful shape. Same goes for bass , yellows, catfish.
Yes, we have carp. Yes, we have carp nets even though I haven’t seen one in 2 weeks.
I just came off Barkley. We caught some of the healthiest crappie you would ever want for this time of the year and we trolled right thru schools of carp on the surface.
The commercial fishermen are working their tails off to remove Asian carp from the lakes.
The demise of Ky and Barkley lakes has been greatly overstated. Attachment 348152Attachment 348157Attachment 348158Attachment 348159Attachment 348160Attachment 348161
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Thanks! Glad to see the fish looking so healthy!
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Those are some healthy fish.
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The bottom 3 are today on Barkley. The bottom fish was 2 pounds. It was 2+ inches thick.
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Not bad at all, plenty of carp around but not as many as it has been (IMO). More bait than I’ve seen in a while and they are biting crankbaits. Here’s a couple from this morning Attachment 348195
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Doug we thoroughly enjoyed this learning experience and couldn’t thank you enough! Good times and good fish!
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Some nice fish sure guys! Glad to see them
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There are a lot of "the sky is falling" people out there saying things that they have no idea what they are even talking about. KDFWR has put out a lot of information about the situation but many aren't taking the time to read it and understand the situation.
The carp are in there, and have been for many years. People act like the sport fishing is declining, but the reality is that the carp presence has simply changed the habits of the sport fish........the sport fish didn't just up and disappear, my fishing results indicate that their behavior has changed to be more scattered and seem to be less schooled up, it's almost like they are always moving now.
I continue to catch nice sized crappie, largemouth, and white bass on both Kentucky and Barkley. I am continually amazed at the white bass I have caught over the last 3 or 4 years as they have been some of the biggest I've seen on Kentucky and Barkley in my 30+ years of fishing them. Also, this year on largemouth I haven't caught any monsters, but I have had a really nice mix of 3 to 5 pounders, and I'll take those all day long, good healthy bass too.
No reason to be depressed.