Welcome to our Kentucky Lake Fishing Home Page
Kentucky Lake is one of the world’s largest man-made lakes. The lake covers 2,380 miles of shoreline and 160,000 acres of water. Kentucky Lake is a very popular vacation destination. Whether you’re coming here for a fishing getaway or a family vacation, there is something to do for everyone.
Primary Species of Fish
Crappie & Largemouth Bass
Kentucky Lake is one of the better lakes for largemouth bass and crappie fishing. You can find both species of fish here in big numbers and big trophy fish are here too. Crappie up to and above 15 inches long are caught here and largemouth bass up to and above 7 pounds are in these waters.
Secondary Species of Fish
Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Striped Bass, Catfish, Sauger, Yellow Bass & Perch
There are so many fish in Kentucky Lake. You can target a variety of fish here. Just because largemouth bass and crappie are the primary species of fish for most anglers, that doesn’t mean that you can’t go out and catch good numbers of smallmouth bass, white bass, catfish and bluegill. Perch and striped bass are here in limited numbers.
Good Multi-Species Fishery
Kentucky Lake gives anglers a good chance to target and catch a lot of fish with lots of variety. Depending on your lure or bait choices, you can catch largemouth bass, white bass, yellow bass, smallmouth bass and crappie without even changing lures. If you’re looking for action, you can definitely catch good numbers of fish here.
Current Plays a Major Factor Here
Current plays a role in how well the fish feed here. While the current may not play as big of a role in the bite back in many of the creeks, when you are out on the main lake, it can be the difference in finding a school of active fish or nothing but scattered and uninterested fish. When the current is running, this will help move baitfish into certain areas and game fish can school up and ambush lots of bait.
Check out the Tennessee Valley Authority for Kentucky Lake flow conditions on its website.
Fish the Creeks
Kentucky Lake has lots of creek arms that provide some excellent fishing for largemouth bass, crappie and other species will be there too. The spring and the fall are the best times to be fishing the creek arms. In the spring, warm water brings fish in the creeks to spawn and in the fall, lots of game fish will follow baitfish back into the creeks as water temperatures drop.
Fish the Dam
The dam is usually where anglers go to target catfish, but depending on the time of year, you may also run into some excellent fishing for white bass and striped bass. Anglers also target sauger below the dam during the cooler months.
Fish the Main Lake
In the summer, large numbers of fish will move out from the creek arms and head out onto the main lake. Kentucky Lake is famous for its mid-summer ledge fishing where anglers fish steep drop-offs out on the main lake for big largemouth bass. Smallmouth bass, crappie and other fish can be found out here also. In the spring and the fall, the main lake points can be great places to target fish as well.
Fish the Points
Main lake points and secondary points are great spots to find a variety of fish. The secondary points that are back in the creek arms can be very productive in the spring and fall, however, most of the better fish will be found out on the main lake during the heat of the summer. The main lake points are also good in the spring and the fall and at times, you can find some good summer fishing off the deeper main lake points.
Fish the Rocks
The east side of Kentucky Lake has a lot more rocks than the west side. You can catch plenty of largemouth bass around the rocks, however, most of the smallmouth bass anglers will head over to the eastern shoreline since more smallies will usually be found around the rocks.
Fish the Shorelines
Depending on the water levels in the spring, the fishing can be amazing along the shorelines around all the cover. You will find docks, brush piles, some laydowns and lots of bushes. When the bass move into the creeks to spawn, some of the most exciting fishing can be found along the shorelines. While you can still work the shorelines and catch some bass in the summer, you’re most likely going to have more success by structure fishing out on the main lake. Spring is by far the best time to pound the shorelines here in the creeks, but the fall provides some good shallow fishing too. There are also some deep water shorelines out on the main lake that offer some good bass fishing through the summer.
Fish the Wood
Since Kentucky Lake doesn’t have a lot of vegetation in it, most anglers target a variety of fish around wood. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish all love hanging around wood and there is plenty of wood in the lake. There are tons of brush piles in Kentucky Lake as well as downed trees and bushes to fish.
