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Midsummer transition to test anglers at Kentucky/Barkley lakes BFL

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Will it be smallmouth or largemouth that rule the day at the upcoming BFL on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes? Photo by Matt Pace. Angler: Jake Lawrence.
July 7, 2024 • Sean Ostruszka • Phoenix Bass Fishing League

Few places are more famous for summer ledge fishing than Kentucky and Barkley lakes. Yet, that late-summer bite wasn’t quite fast and furious. Throw in the lakes’ new, booming smallmouth population and a three-fish limit, and the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine presented by Suzuki LBL Division tournament on July 20 will be an interesting test for pros and co-anglers alike.  

Tournament details

Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine presented by Suzuki LBL Division

Kentucky-Barkley lakes

Gilbertsville, Ky.

July 20

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About the fishery

Few lakes host more tournaments and are more well known than Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The sister reservoirs run north-to-south and parallel to one another, stretching from Kentucky well into Tennessee. 

Kentucky Lake, which is on the Tennessee River, is one of the largest reservoirs in the country at more than 160,000 acres. And underneath all that water is what’s made the lake so famous – ledges. The underwater humps and plateaus are loaded come summer with bass hanging out waiting for the dam to start pulling water, and the shad along with it. The north end of Kentucky Lake tends to fish deeper, with more offshore patterns in the summertime. Yet, plenty of anglers will run far south, where it’s shallower and some are convinced the fish get bigger thanks to less pressure.

Meanwhile, Lake Barkley is the often overlooked sister. She’s smaller, narrower and shallower, and while there are some ledges, anglers venturing here often do so to flip copious amounts of cover.

But the biggest change in recent years has been a shift in targets. While largemouth have long dominated on the fishery, recent years have seen smallmouth become the go-to fish to target, as the majority of tournaments are won solely on smallmouth or at least a mixed bag. 

What to expect

Deep or shallow is going to be a tough call during this event, both for the anglers and the fish.

“In July you see this separation,” says Kentucky Lake sharpie Jake Lawrence. “Some fish leave the main lake to go to secondary bars and bays. They’ll scatter in that mid-depth zone, which makes things a bit tougher because there are not as many groups.”

That transition may prompt anglers to give Lake Barkley a little more serious look than they would earlier in summer, as the flippable cover there can be very tempting for a one-day event where you only need three good bites to compete.

With that in mind, Lawrence figures 13 to 14 pounds for three fish is what it will take to win. Can that be done with smallmouth? There’s a definite possibility for guys who figure out how to pick off singles in the depths, but largemouth will definitely be a focal point.

“Used to be you’d want to catch 50 fish in a day,” Lawrence said. “For this one, being only three fish, someone is going to want to focus on quality over quantity.”