GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Their offshore bites get all the headlines, but Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley’s spring bites have long been a favorite of those in the know.
Spawning smallmouth, flipping buck brush, looking for yellow flowers up shallow – there are plenty of opportunities throughout both fisheries. It all comes down to conditions, and those conditions will be key to monitor ahead of the second Plains Division event of the season for the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats April 9-11.
What to expect
Smallmouth have been all the rage the last few years on Kentucky Lake, and for good reason. They’ve been anchoring a lot of winning bags.
That said, unless conditions change, local Harbor Lovin is not sure they’ll be as big a factor as usual.
“They haven’t been rolling any current lately, and the smallmouth aren’t taking too kindly to that,” said Lovin. “We complain about a lack of current when they’re pulling 40,000 and 30,000 (cfs). Today, they were only rolling 7,000.”
Now, Lovin said it only takes one solid rain to get the current back up, and the water levels with it. He hopes that happens, because it opens up more than just the smallmouth.
With the water temperatures over the 60-degree mark, the largemouth in both lakes are wanting to be on the bank. Problem is, the low lake level doesn’t leave much cover in the water for them to hang around. That is, unless someone heads to Barkley or the far southern end of Kentucky Lake, which both feature a lot of cover regardless of water level.
“Barkley has a really good chance to play in the event,” Lovin said. “I’m not sure you can win there, because it’s always hard to catch them three days, but you can definitely get paid there. I also think you’ll see some O.G.s running way down south and doing well.”
All of that lines up for an event where the field will spread out to all reaches of both fisheries. While all those areas will likely produce some fish, the key will be which offers some manner of consistency.
“It’s going to be a fun event where you’ll be able to do whatever you want,” Lovin said. “You can go crank the bank, get back in dirt-shallow water, stay out in the middle for the smallmouth, because they’re always out there.”
Baits to bring
What anglers have on their decks is going to depend a lot on whether they plan to fish deep or shallow.
Out deep, forward-facing sonar will be key during the allowed three-hour windows. Jighead minnows will be big, but so will drop-shots or tubes on bottom around cover.
For those fishing shallow, Lovin figures a vibrating jig will be a top lure regardless of conditions. If the lake comes up a little, expect flipping jigs and Texas rigs to get a workout.
What will it take?
This is a hard event to predict weight wise, as so much can change.
If the water and current stay low, Lovin feels cracking 60 pounds might be enough to win. However, if the current kicks up and the lake level comes up with it, so will the weights. In that scenario, he increased his prediction to the mid- or upper 60s for the win.
“This is probably the toughest week of year for patterning and consistency,” Lovin said. “They want to spawn, but they’re not doing it yet. And even if they want to, there’s not much in the water to do it. But if conditions change, the fish will change quick, too.”