Lake Barkley is a fantastic largemouth bass lake. Anglers fish here during the major bass tournaments every year and there are a lot of nice bass caught on Lake Barkley. Most of the better fish in the tournaments usually come out of Kentucky Lake, but Lake Barkley can definitely hold its own. Anglers do well flipping the shallow water cover on Lake Barkley during the spring and early summer. From summer through fall, the better bite is usually deeper.
Lake Barkley is a lot Shallower than Kentucky Lake
Compared to nearby Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley is a lot shallower. It’s still a good-sized lake with lots of fishing opportunities, however, the main river channel is pretty narrow compared to Kentucky Lake and there is a lot less deep water here. For the shallow water anglers, Lake Barkley is shown as a good shallow water lake. Many of the pro bass anglers will make the run over to Barkley to flip the bushes. You can still target fish deeper here, but most anglers prefer to spend more time on Kentucky Lake when fishing the ledges because there is so much more deep water to fish on Kentucky Lake. You will usually find a lot more big schools of quality largemouth bass Kentucky Lake’s ledges once summer rolls around.
Fish the Shoreline Cover
Anglers love fishing the shoreline cover on Lake Barkley. While the bushes get most of the hype on Barkley, you can catch plenty of fish around rocky shorelines, around brush piles and around laydowns. Because Lake Barkley has a lot of shallow water, it is very important to be targeting cover because that cover is going to hold a lot more fish than shorelines without cover.
Catch Big Bass
Kentucky Lake may get most of the attention when it comes to big bass, but there are a lot of quality bass caught on Lake Barkley too. Many pro anglers will put some nice limits from Lake Barkley. For some anglers, they prefer to spend time on Barkley instead of Kentucky Lake so they can target less-pressured fish. Once the bass move into the shallows to spawn, both lakes will get a lot of attention, but Kentucky Lake gets a lot more angler pressure, so it may be a little easier to get that big bass to bite shallow when it hasn’t seen a couple dozen different lures already. Bass in the 4 to 7 pound range are caught on Barkley, but the spring is usually your best chance at consistently getting bigger bass here.
Current Plays a Major Factor Here
Current plays a role in how well the fish feed on Lake Barkley, especially as you get closer to the dam. The current may not be a factor in some of the creek arms, however, out on the main lake, the bite can be much better when the dam is releasing water. The current will help position baitfish, which will make it easier to find schooling fish that are willing to bite.
Check out the Tennessee Valley Authority for Lake Barkley flow conditions on its website.
Fish the Creeks
The creek arms are awesome in the spring for largemouth bass and pretty good in the fall as well. In the summer, water temperatures warm up a lot and most of the largemouth bass are going to be found in deeper water. You may still find some quality bass in the shallows all summer long, but the creeks are definitely better in the spring and fall.
Fish the Main Lake
The main lake ledge fishing is not as popular on Lake Barkley as it is on Kentucky Lake, however, the main river channel does have good enough depth to hold some nice schools of largemouth bass. You may not have as many deep water spots to fish on Lake Barkley, but there are still good numbers of largemouth bass in the lake and you will have less fishing pressure on Lake Barkley during the summer months. In the spring and fall, main lake points and shorelines with good cover will also be home to plenty of largemouth bass.
Fish the Points
There are plenty of points on Lake Barkley. The points with access to deeper water as well as with a variety of cover will usually be better spots to fish. With the murky water, you will find plenty of largemouth bass up in the shallows around these points in the spring. Fish a little deeper in the summer and fall. Some of those secondary points back in the creeks can be great spots to fish in the spring and fall as well.
Fish the Rocks
You will find some rocks through Lake Barkley. The deeper rocks will likely hold some smallmouth bass, however, there are way more largemouth bass in the lake, so plan on finding plenty of largemouth bass around the rocks as well.
Fish the Shorelines
You have a lot of shorelines to fish here. Whether you are targeting bushes, laydowns, rocks, brush piles or docks, there is a lot of shallow water cover to fish along the shorelines. The shoreline bite is usually very good in the spring along the shorelines back in the creek arms.
Fish the Wood
Whether you are fishing the bushes, brush piles or laydowns, there is plenty of wood in the lake to fish. Most anglers will target the wood early in the year during the spawning season, however, you can fish wood from spring through fall and find some largemouth bass on Lake Barkley.
Learn More About Largemouth Bass
Our largemouth bass section is huge with information on the best live baits, lures, where to catch them and how to catch them. Visit our largemouth bass page to learn more.
