Kentucky Lake Homes For Sale  |  Levels  |   Events |   Lake Cam

• Places To Stay
• Things To Do
• Fishing
• Boating
• Local Guide

Hey Y’all from the Excel 230 Elite.

I’ve kept the road hot since my last report. I was in northern Ohio last weekend and Monday for a glorious walleye trip with my fellow Off Shore Tackle Pro Staffer Tyler Logsdon. Tyler knows Lake Erie very well and makes several trips there each year. Cuz Rickie was along. 4-6 foot waves make for tough fishing. I had my first bout of seasickness and I don’t recommend it. Once I got some Dramamine in my system, I was fine.

Our best day was Monday once the winds and waves calmed down. The three of us limited out with our big fish of the 18 we kept was 9 1/4 pounds, 28 inches. The water temps ranged from 34-37 degrees.

I’ll be at Sardis and Enid lakes in Mississippi Thursday thru Sunday, fishing with friends. My guide trips start in earnest the following week.

After the storms and rains, the Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley are about a foot over winter pool and 56 degrees. The crappie bite has been red hot for those vertical jigging for fish that are buried up in cover. The muddy-enough-to-plant water color doesn’t affect the fish nearly as much as fishermen. Several good catches have come for those who are casting jigs to roaming fish in 8-15 feet of water. Livescope has been a huge plus for both tactics.

There are still some dinosaurs like myself who have been catching fish pushing minnows at a turtle’s pace.

With the flash flooding rains in East Tennessee and northern Alabama, we are sure to see a jump in the lakes levels. At least the 10 day forecast calls for low to mid 60s temperatures.

Should we get high water and quickly warming water prior to April 1st, TVA would be expected to drop the level back down toward winter pool. We’ve been lucky to have had several average to great crappie spawns the last few years. We don’t want to lose a spawn when the crappie hit the banks in high water then TVA pulls the plug and drops the level down several feet.

I want to say a word about my long-time friend, Danny "Pete" Henson, who died while crappie fishing on Jonathan Creek Friday. I first met Pete when I was a junior in high school. He was always smiling and a sportsman’s sportsman. Pete never failed to ask me how fishing was going but he was a better fisherman than I could ever hope to be. Pete died doing what he loved and that should be something we all wish for.

Be careful out there. Water levels are still low enough to allow those gremlins to pop their ugly heads up and ruin a fishing trip or your fishing boat.

Make sure your boat is ready for the water BEFORE you block that launching ramp to try it.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.