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Spring is here and the Bass and Crappie will be heavily involved with spawning. Their spawn starts about this time every year when the morning water temperature is at 61 to 62 degrees. As the water clears up the spawn will pick up. The spawning season will last about five weeks.

Largemouth Bass will make nests in 1 to 5 feet of water and always choose a location where it will be sunny for at least half of the day. On most lakes they prefer for the weather to be sunny for at least three days in a row.

The sunlight is key for their eggs to hatch so the bass spawning in shallower water will have the first hatch. During most years the Largemouth Bass in Kentucky Lake start about one week sooner than the bass in Barkley due to Barkley having cooler water.

In 1991 I had an awakening and learned everything I needed to know about the Largemouth Bass spawn. I target them in 1 to 3 feet of water and my favorite technique is a weightless trick work. The weightless trick worm is deadly and a real tournament winner on most lakes when it is rigged and fished correctly. Personally in my tournament fishing days I won 150 plus events using the technique, many were small tournaments but some were big events. Very few anglers fish it the way I do.

I have been out crappie fishing testing the waters a few times and had great success catching them on a float and jig and with a live minnow and a bobber. Right now some anglers are catching them in super shallow water while others are taking them deeper water. The crappie fishing has really come back on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. I have caught them really well from some staging banks that haven’t produced since 2016. There are many ways to catch crappie on any given day this time of year deep, shallow, in brush piles, spider rigging, long lining, and long poling.

Another fun fish to catch and eat is the rainbow trout and Kentucky does a great job stocking them in neighborhood lakes and some streams. When fishing streams I like to use an ultra light spinning rod with just the right amount of split shots then let it drift slowly in the current using a red worm hooked one time in the head. When fishing in the stocked lakes I use a small inline spinner and I'll also fish on the bottom using corn or a small marshmallow. You can fry, bake, grill, or better yet smoke the trout. Rainbow Trout are a real delicacy.

As a guide I specialize in taking people fishing to make sure they get to catch as many fish as possible and have a great time doing it! However, one of the best values to fishing with me is what you can learn in a day, I know for certain I am as good as anyone can be at teaching any aspect of bass fishing.

If you want to gain an edge in your tournament game I am here to help you. I have had several anglers win tournaments to include championship events. I can show how to use your electronics to catch more fish on any lake. I use the same skills I honed as a baseball and wrestling coach to help anglers better their fishing game.

I have traveled to clients' home lakes where I have never fished to teach them how to catch more fish and win tournaments on their favorite lakes/bodies of water. Please checkout and like/follow my Shelldivers Guide Service Facebook Page and my updated shelldiversguide.com website.