MONTICELLO, Ky. – Sprawling Lake Cumberland is set to host the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Mountain Division anglers on May 16.
The third event of the season should provide great action, as all reports indicate the lake is fishing well this year, with both largemouth and smallmouth biting despite the lower-than-normal water levels.
What to expect
Bass Pro Tour angler and Kentucky native Bradley Roy calls Cumberland his home lake. While he’s been busy following the tour this year, he’s still kept tabs on the fishing.
“It’s been fishing really well, even though the water is a lot lower than it should be,” he said. “Normally, Cumberland gets a lot of rain and is pretty high this time of year, but that just hasn’t happened. That obviously presents a challenge, and it can be either good or bad depending on how you like to fish.”
The lower water means a lack of shallow targets, but Roy said there is still a chance to catch some shallow fish during this event, especially largemouth that are in all three phases of the spawn.
“There will definitely still be some spawning fish, but it will mainly be a postspawn bite,” he said. “The smallmouth will likely be in that immediate postspawn period and starting to move out a little more, which will open up the forward-facing sonar approach. The largemouth will still be closer to the bank, and there should be a few still on beds.”
With both species in play, which would Roy target? The answer is both.
“Unless someone can find a big unicorn largemouth, it seems like right now, you need a mixed bag with a few of those big smallmouth in your bag to have a chance to win,” he said. “That’s a decision you have to make on which species to target, because you can do well with either. On this lake, there are places where you can find both in close proximity.”
As for which area of the lake to fish, Roy feels like the lower section has the most potential in May.
“Obviously, that’s still a giant part of the lake, but there are some really good creeks right where it starts to widen out around the middle of the lake,” he said. “For this time of year, that’d be my pick on where to start.”
Baits to bring
Roy said that wacky rigs and Neko rigs will be musts, no matter which species you plan to target. Two other tools he wouldn’t go to Cumberland without this time of year are a paddletail swimbait on a jighead and a topwater walking bait.
What will it take?
Local tournament results have been good, and Roy estimates it will take 17 to 18 pounds to win, with a weight around 13 pounds needed to cash a check.
“You’ll see a couple of good bags, and then it will be really stacked in that 13- to 14-pound range,” he said. “The fishing has been pretty solid for this place all year.”