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July 8, 2011
Lake
Conditions
Lake Levels – Both lakes are at summer
pool give or take a few inches.
Water Clarity – Both lakes have ideal
water for fishing..
Water Temps – Lake temps on both lakes
are in the low to mid 80’s with surface temps
fluctuating higher in the afternoons due to the
unseasonable heat
Fishing Report
Fishing is very good for some
species and somewhat difficult for others. Here’s what’s
going on in the world of Kick' Bass.
 Largemouth
Bass … What a difference a week makes.
Last week bass were biting at will and a lot of patterns
were working. This week fishing is more
challenging. Anglers who bear the heat and stay
focused can still make some good catches. (Photo) Chalon Lassiter
and his son Brandon with a nice Shakey Head bass.
The lakes area hasn’t seen much wind this week and the
lakes have been slick calm at times. This has
baitfish near the surface and consequently we have seen
a lot of surface feeding activity. Mostly anglers
are finding that these fish are stripes and smaller
largemouth bass. While it’s hard to pass up a
feeding frenzy keep in mind it is what it is …
Boat Dock Pattern … A lot of fry and
shad are milling around boat docks and bass are being
caught flipping and pitching small plastics. Best
docks seem to be ones with spud poles on the corners.
Another technique that worked especially well was to
skip a weightless pearl colored tube under docks and let
if fall on a slack line. We caught several nice
fish doing this. Ledge Bite …
This pattern has been very challenging at times.
With the number of baitfish present the bass are being
very selective. Overall the crank bait bite has
gotten a lot tougher for bigger fish. The primary
forage for bass is shad about on inch long and deep
diving crank baits just don’t mimic that size bait fish.
That being said it’s not impossible to catch fish on
crank baits, just be prepared to spend a LOT of time
throwing one to be successful. Our best results
came fishing baits that DID NOT mimic bait fish in hopes
to get a reaction strike. We used Shakey Heads,
Free Style football jigs with a 10 inch worm, a Texas
rigged big worm and a jig. The best bait of the
lot was a 7” & 4” Green Pumpkin ZMan Finesse worm on a
3/16 oz. PJ’s Bass Extractor jig. One technique we
used when the bite got tough was to downsize to a 4”
Zman Finesse worm and use the current to drift the bait
thru the school. Some of our bigger fish were
caught this way. When we fished the ledges along
the Tennessee River channel during times of increased
current, we used either a ½ or ¾ oz Freestyle Football
headed jig and a 10 ½ “ ZMan Saw Tail worm in Black &
Blue to catch a few good ones. Two factors are
critical … Current and presence of baitfish. Check
the generation schedule for peak current activity
http://www.tva.gov/lakes/kyh_r.htm
and look for schools of bass that AREN’T mauling
baitfish and you be a lot more successful. We found the
bass that weren’t feeding on baitfish to be more
catchable and bass quit biting when schools of bait fish
showed up. I know this is not what you want to
hear but it’s the way it is with the enormous baitfish
populations we have at this time.
Top Water Early & Late
… Bass are chasing bait and the top water bite,
while not as reliable as other patterns still has its
place. If you’re at the right place at the right
time you can get well. We caught a few nice fish
in the jumps on shad colored Pop R’s and Rapala Skitter
Props in baitfish pattern. The Skitter prop was
especially effective. When jerked the back prop
gives the bait a whoosh sound that is especially
attractive to feeding bass. The Skitter Prop is
not a well known bait here on KY Lake, but none the less
it’s a very effective one. My clients like it
because we didn’t lose many fish after the hook-up.
Smallmouth Bass are far and few between
but when we did catch one they were at the end of long
underwater points that extend out to the mouth of the
bays. A Pj’s ½ ounce jig in Missouri Craw with a
Zman CrawsadZ was the lure we used.
(Photo) Dr. Josh Price of
Clarksville, Tn. with a nice KY Lake bass and a
monsterous carp. Sorry Josh, I know I said I wouldn’t
but I couldn’t resist! Ha, LOL!
White Bass … JUMPS! , JUMPS!
& MORE JUMPS! The whites are really
feeding on schools of shad. Best locations are the
mouths of the bays and where the creeks meet the river
channel. Before sunrise when the fish are up
shallow, they can be caught by casting a ¼ oz. white
Rooster Tail type lure or by trolling a Ken’s rig.
While we caught some doing both, we caught two at a time
on the Ken’s rig and the bigger fish came on the Ken’s
Rig too. The Ken’s Rig (The
Fisherman’s Friend in Lake City 270-362-4323)
resembles a spinner bait without the hook and blade.
Instead, a ball bearing swivel is attached where the
hook and blade would be. Monofilament leaders of
different lengths are attached to the swivels with the
top leader about 30” and the bottom about 18 inches. A
white rooster tail spinner (1/16 oz) is tied to the top
leader and a deep diving crank bait on the bottom.
I snip off the middle hook on the front treble to reduce
hang ups and troll at idle speed in the mouth of the
bays in 15 - 20 feet of water. Once you locate a school
of fish and get a hook-up mark the spot and make
multiple passes and most likely you’ll catch a bunch.
Bluegill & Red Ear … Although we didn’t
spend much time fishing for bluegill & red ear when we
did fishing was very good and some are really good size.
Best areas are gravel banks 4 to 5 feet deep and around
boat docks. Best lures were a
Ken’s Cricket (The Fisherman’s Friend) and a Shelton’s
bluegill bug fished either with or without
a cricket or meal or wax worm.
Catfish & Crappie ...
We didn’t have the opportunity to fish for
these species therefore there is no report.
Sonar Tip of the Week
The screen shows a huge school of
bass feeding on a long tapering underwater ledge next to
the old river channel. We used a deep diving crank
bait to pick off the aggressive biters and then cleaned
up using Shakey Heads. With out the aid of our
electronics, locating these fish would not have been
possible.
Kick’n Bass can help you get
more out of your electronics and become a better
fisherman. Here’s just some of what Kick’n Bass
can do to make your units more user friendly and in turn
help you become a more productive angler …
- Make sure your HDS
unit(s) has the correct settings for the type of
fishing you do. In a lot of cases the units
are set for “general use” not specific.
- Install the overlay data
on the screen that you want. Example: Depth, Water
Temp, Time, etc.
- Arrange the screens to
show what you want them to show, making those
fishing hot spots easier to find.
- Eliminate unwanted,
non-practical on screen data that clutters your
screen and gets in the way of using your unit to its
maximum potential.
- Demo the unit for you to
help you be familiar with the screens and commands,
so you’ll have a good understanding of how to use
the unit and take advantage of its fish finding
capabilities.
- If needed, install
the most recent updates.
As a bonus Kick’n Bass
will help you learn to read an electronic topo map and
find “places of interest” that could be potential
fishing hot spots.
To schedule an on the water
fishing trip with instruction send an email to
rk@kicknbass.net
We’re going back
to Canada!
Our second group of eight
anglers will be headed up north to camp and fish in a
couple of weeks. To check out the recap of our
first trip and all the cool photos, click on this link
http://www.kicknbass.net/archives/Canadian_Recap_2011.htm
For more information about being part of this exciting
adventure call or email today!
To Book a trip with Kick’n Bass Guide Service email
rk@kicknbass.net or call
(270)703-6133
Tight Lines,
If you want to talk fishing
or book a trip with Randy ens call him at (270)
703-6133 or email him at
rk@kicknbass.net
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