September 30th, 2010

The lake level is about three and a half feet below summer pool and the water temps are in the low to mid 70’s depending on which part of the lake you are on and the time of day.  The Lake is slightly stained in the main river channel but clear in the bays.
 
Fishing Patterns
Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass: Other than when the wind blew like crazy out of the North / North East bass fishing has been pretty darn good.  The bass are following schools of baitfish, which are roaming big time.  Find the schools of baitfish and the bass won’t be far behind.  Our best success for both species has come in three areas; chunk rock banks along secondary points (6-10 feet deep), on mid-bay shell beds 10 to 13 feet deep and flats in smaller bays close to the main river channel.  When they’re in the mood the bass have been eating up a mid sized shad colored crankbait, especially the Lucky Craft Fat CB DR series.  Other times some of our best fish have come on Shakey Heads and blade baits.  A Shakey Head with a 4” or 7” Pumpkin / Green Flake trike King Finnesse worm fished on a 3/16 oz PJ’s Bass Extractor jig has been a pretty hot bait.  A very slow presentation has worked best.  Casting blade baits over the shell beds has located willing schools of bass and we’ve alternated between catching them on the blade bait and the Crank Bait.  When the aggressive biters slowed we switched to the Shakey Head to clean things up.  So basically it’s a three pronged approach.  Fish a crankbait to find the aggressive biters, then switch off to the blade bait to prolong the bite and then pick off the remaining fish using a Shakey Head or soft plastics. Something that has worked for us when you’re throwing the Blade Baits (1/2–3/4 oz.)  is this; when using the  yoyo retrieve and bring the lure off the bottom let it fall on a-tight line.  The sheer weight of the bait on a freefall drops so fast that the fish can’t catch up to it, especially if the bite is waning.  Tight lining the bait allows it to flutter downward giving the bass a better look at it. 
 
Ledge Fishing has been either feast or famine but best AT NIGHT during a Southerly wind and current generation.  Most fish were caught 8-12 feet deep where the ledge transitioned into deeper water.  Best baits; during the day a Strike King series 6 crankbait, a Shakey Head and a ½ oz. jig.  For us the ledge bite has been the most inconsistent of all the patterns.   No current no bass!  The

Top Water Bite has been hot and cold but when it’s on it’s really good.  Your best bet is evening hours along chuck rock banks and on the shallow flats in the bays. The best surface baits have been the Pop R in chrome & black and a Lucky Craft Sammy 65 in any kind of shad pattern.  Also buzz baits are catching a few fish too.  It’s obvious that the top water bite is becoming more of a factor as fish continue to move up.

NIGHT FISHING. We had three great trips this week and the best lures were the Shakey Head and a Spinner bait.  Primarily we fished main lake points and chunk rock banks to catch some really nice fish.  Best depths were 5-8 feet with deeper water close by.  I even got in on the action and caught a big one!
 
To sum it up, bass fishing is still unpredictable and changing but improving.  My advice is, if you get on a school of fish stay on them even if the majority of the fish are under 15 inches.  The smaller more aggressive fish are going to bite first and often but sooner or later the big ones will bite too. 
 
If you’re visiting the Lakes area and are in need of any Silver Buddy or Vibra Maxx Blade Baits stop by Fisherman’s Headquarters in Draffenville, KY and see John, he’ll get you squared away on these baits and anything else you might need.  
 
Experience the Thrill of Bass Fishing at Night …

They say a picture is worth a thousand words …
 
Well, the smiles say it all!  Greg McAtee and Mike Glass from Indianapolis, IN. (Photo-L) caught these big ones night fishing with Kick’n Bass this week. 
 
The same lures you use during the day are very productive at night and the best spots during the day can be even better at night.  Basically you just about have the whole lake to yourself!  There’s something about catching a really big bass at night that really gets a fisherman all tore up!
 
For more information on putting together a night fishing trip send an email to rk@kicknbass.net or call 270-703-6133.  Book your trip today!
 
Bluegill, Redear and Crappie ….  Bluegill are being caught on main lake shorelines and gravel bars at the mouths of the bays and creeks.  A Shelton’s Bluegill Bug tipped with a cricket or a meal worm or nightcrawler is a killer bait right now.  Some Redear are mixed in with the bluegill. 

Crappie fishing has improved considerably this week and should continue to get better as the water cools.  Most fish are being taken on secondary channels in 8-18 feet of water over stake beds or brush.  The best lure has been a 1/8 oz. leadhead with a Kentucky Green curly tail (Green w/silver flake). 
 
Catfish, especially Blue’s, are good to excellent on main lake flats and on the first drop off on pea gravel banks. The preferred method we used to catch the cats was a ½ oz Carolina rig baited with live shad.  A cast net was used to net the baitfish schooling in the main lake and the coves.  Also some cats are active along chunk rock points on shrimp.   No doubt, the main-bay flat pattern was by far the most successful.  Be sure to keep the bait in your live well and continuously recirculate the water to keep them lively. 
 
White Bass:  Although not as prolific as last week, the White bass bite is still pretty darn good.  Kick’n Bass clients, brothers Carleton and Robert Jones of Huntington, West Virginia, caught a good mess (photo-R) casting Blade Baits and trolling a Ken’s rig.  Both methods produced good catches but the Blade Baits seemed to catch the larger fish.  The big whites were feeding on schools of shad.  Actually it’s hard to decide which way to fish, troll for numbers or cast for quality, the choice is yours.  Concentrate on the mouths of the bays and the deeper flats and you should do okay.  The best depths seem to be 18-23 feet with the fish suspending off the bottom in the deeper water. The Ken’s rig 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 or chartreuse rooster tail spinner is tied to the top leader and a deep diving crank bait on the bottom.  The middle hook on the front treble is removed to reduce hang ups.  This rig gets down deep where the fish are less susceptible to the heat. The Ken’s rig has been a killer and at times we have caught a fish on both baits.  In the lakes area you can get the Ken’s rig at the Fisherman’s Friend in Lake City, Ky. (270)362-4323.

Sonar Tip of the Week

What does the mother lode look like?  Well, here it is!  Bass in a feeding frenzy among baitfish.  We found this school of fish on the screen and threw out a marker to mark their position.  The boat was situated to take advantage of the wind direction and we would either gently drift a Shakey Head thru the school or back off and cast a blade bait and yoyo it back.  We caught a lot of fish from this school and more than once everyone had a fish on at the same time.
 
Do your electronics have you baffled?  Do you know what your electronics are telling you?  Kick’n Bass can help you get more out of your electronics and become a better fisherman.  To schedule an on the water tutorial and fishing trip, email Kick’n Bass today! rk@kicknbass.net

Yellow Perch fishing, on Kentucky Lake?  You got to be kidding me …
While sharing fish catching techniques with my clients is what I do, I always look forward to learning from them as well.  When Brian Kettering from northern Ohio booked a bass trip with Kick’n Bass to learn the art of Shakey head fishing, he asked if we might have time to do a little perch fishing.  “Perch Fishing”?   As in the ringed yellow variety?  You got to be kidding me, right?  Brian informed me that he could teach me how to catch Yellow Perch, a “Yankee Fish” on Kentucky Lake.  I was a little taken back to say the very least.  You see, in the past, my clients and I have caught perch in the spring when we fished for bluegill … by accident no less but I’ve never specifically fished for perch or caught many either.  About the only thing I did know about perch is that they’re easy to clean and really good to eat!  Unbeknownst to Brian, I was probably looking forward to learning how to catch perch more than he was looking forward to catching bass on a Shakey Head.

Since I didn’t have a clue where to find perch, I did a little research before our trip just so I’d have a little understanding of the fish itself, its preferred habitat and angling methods used to catch them.  What I found out was perch are found in relatively deep water during much of the year and as a result they are difficult to locate.  Traditionally, lakes that also produce good sauger and catfish usually had good perch fishing too.  Everyone knows that Kentucky Lake has great fishing for both species.  I found out that the Perch’s favorite foods are crawfish and threadfin shad, they prefer a water temperature of sixty six to seventy two degrees and are generally found 10–15 ft. deep.  I also found out that the perch is part of the Sauger family, they like to travel in large schools and a school of perch can have fish of many different sizes.  Preferred angling methods consisted of casting and retrieving, bottom fishing or trolling. The best live baits are small crayfish, lake shad or red worms.  Processing all this info, I now had a pretty good idea about the fish itself but not where to catch them.           

The day of our trip Brian and I fished for bass and we caught a bunch on the Shakey Head.  Brian was a pretty good fisherman and learned real fast.  When the subject of Perch fishing came up I was ready to go for it.  The rest of the afternoon Brian was going to be our guide and with his help we chose an underwater point just south of the canal on the east side of Kentucky Lake.  Brian’s grandfather had shown him this area on previous trips to Kentucky Lake where they spent their vacations fishing for Sauger, catfish and whatever else bit.  I used a cast net to get a good amount of shad that were feeding on algae on the barge tie ups and placed them in the livewell to keep them good and lively.  We used the Lowrance HDS to find what we thought was a likely school of perch about 15 feet deep.  Drifting or trolling shad, impaled on a 1/0 hook behind a bottom bouncer (Photo), allowed the bait to drift just off the bottom. Once we found the biters we’d still fish by lowering the bait to the bottom using a split shot.  The perch would bite when the bait was just off the bottom a little. While we caught several still fishing, by far, our best success was drifting using the bottom bouncer.  The perch bit good until about dark and then quit.  While most fish were between 8 – 10 inches and really fat, we did have a couple that were about 12 inches.  There’s nothing like a bunch of bonus fish after a day of good bass fishing.  Thanks Brian, for showing an old dog a new trick!
 
Guide Bookings … I still have a day or two available in October. So, if you wish to book a trip email Kick’n Bass at rk@kicknbass.net  If you feel the need to speak to someone concerning your booking make sure you include your phone number in the email.

Tournament Prep Packages Available September & October are Big Tournament months here on the twin lakes.  Be sure to ask about our Tournament Prep Packages.    
 
Kick’n Bass Photo of the Week
 
Sunrise Turkeys … Wild Turkeys feed along the bank on the Land between the Lakes side in Barnett Bay    

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Tight Lines,