Your Kick'n Bass Fishing Report for May 17, 2018
From the deck of the Kick’n Bass pontoonWeather has really warmed up!! Mother’s Day saw a record breaking 92 degrees. There is a midweek cool down that will feel nice. We have been mixing up our trips the last ten days. Starting out, we have been pulling crankbaits for crappies until they slow and then bringing out the redear/bluegill gear to finish the trip. This has worked out very well for a mixed bag of eating fish! Water temps are perfect for the gill spawn soon. Even having six clients and all the long rods hasn’t been a problem because of the space on the pontoon. And the Talons on back let me park exactly in casting distance. |  |
Lake conditionsWater temps are about 74 degrees in the morning and warming up to about 78 degrees in the afternoons. These temps are about average for this time of year. Water levels are at 359.35 and headed down to summer pool… TVA is pulling 30,000 cfs right now, trying to stabilize the levels. You can get the latest TVA info here:tva.gov/Environment/Lake-Levels/Kentucky Weather forecastweather.com/weather/tenday/l/42025:4:USCrappiesThe crappie spawn has been sporadic at best. Some days fish are shallow, but we have caught most of our crappies in 14 to 25 feet of water. Best crank colors have been the Arkie hot pink, blue/chartreuse and the Jenko Chartreuse Tiger colors. Let-ting out enough line to get us down 12 to 15 feet. Best speed has been 1.8 mph. No big catches but some very nice fish. Have had a couple days of 15 crappies. |  |
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Redear/BluegillWe have had some very good success on these fish. As of this writing I haven’t found them on the beds, but they are staging shallow to get started. Almost all that we have caught have been male fish of both species. Crickets and wax works on a Crappie Hut Jigs Crazy Cricket under an ESB bobber has been the best choice. Fish are up in near the bushes off of pea gravel banks. Had one gill that went 9 ½ inches!! Redears have been about a pound. |
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 | CatfishWe haven’t been fishing for cats at all but man we have caught some dandies. They have been full of eggs, but none looked as tho’ they were close to spawning. My personal opinion is that they are up shallow looking for a meal of bluegill fry. But we turn the tables on them and fry them up instead.WhitebassWe have been catching some nice whites and yellows while pulling cranks for crappies. Their spawn will be over soon if not already. Didn’t clean any with eggs in them…can’t wait to chase them soon. |
 | ESB BobbersWe have been using these ESB bobbers for years now. They are very visible in different colors (Great when I have a bunch of fishermen, so each color is different). Each one comes with its own stop knot in the package and they are durable. I still have some that I used last year and are still in great shape. I use braided line for fishing and the ESB’s don’t show any line wear inside the glued in ball. That’s the key. No messing around with the ESB’s like other brands. My customers always ask where they can get these bobbers, so they must be good. They come in a wide variety of sizes too. Try ‘em, you’ll like ‘em!hloutdoors.com/ |
ATTABOY: We had an awesome time Captain. Thanks again! —Ben S., MichiganBook now with Captain Rich! |
