Kentucky Lake is a very good channel catfish lake, although, most anglers don’t really take advantage of this catfish fishery because they are busy fishing for crappie or bass.
Fish the Spawn
From late spring through early summer, you’ll find channel cats spawning along the shallow rocky shorelines inside the creek arms throughout the lake. During this time of year, they are fairly easy to catch once you find them. Live nightcrawlers, chicken liver, live minnows and cut bait will work just fine.
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. From spring through fall, the tailwaters below Kentucky Lake dam are a good place to fish for catfish.
Fish the Main Lake
The main lake channel offers excellent fishing during the summer. Using your electronics to find fish will help you to put more fish in the boat. There are a lot of catfish schooled up during the summer and they won’t always be right on the bottom. Sometimes, live shiners fished higher up in the water column will actually catch more fish than fishing on the bottom during the mid-summer through early fall time period. Because they feed on shad out on the main lake, it is not uncommon to catch a catfish on accident while using a deep-diving crankbait.
Learn More About Catfish
Our catfish section is huge with information on the best live baits, lures, where to catch them and how to catch them. Visit our catfish page to learn more.
