| Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley Outdoor Guide- Fishing, Hunting and everything outdoors...... | |
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| Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley Outdoor Guide- Fishing, Hunting and everything outdoors...... | |
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Home Sporting Goods, Bait and Tackle Hunting Stories and Information Fishing
Stories
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FALL
FISHING ALIVE AND WELL Fall fishing is often underrated and overlooked by anglers here on Kentucky Lake. Yet the angling action is alive and well in both the bass and crappie departments. This is my “you-ought-to-go-fall-fishing” story and I seem to write one every year about this time. Reasons for it are clear and simple. The last couple of weeks I’ve had some nice days on the big pond as crappie have been tugging on the line in deep and midrange depths as live minnows and jigs darted around submerged stumps and stakebeds. A few mornings I found shad up and the surface action from aggressive bass was well worth getting out of bed early. Tossing a topwater jerk bait along the clean gravel banks produced a few “commode flushing” strikes and that never seems to go out of style. Seeing a fish hit surface baits seems to jump-start any angler’s day. In the midst of it all I’ve stopped and looked around, scanning the sky for a newly arrived bunch of teal or perhaps a duck or goose descending from the high heavens. Ospreys have put on a show too. Their aerial display is nothing short of magnificent. I’m mesmerized by them hovering over a fish and then collapsing their wings in a rapid attack, hitting the water at high speed and emerging with their prey. I wish I could catch fish like they do! There’s been an eagle or two crossing the mouth of Big Sandy each morning. I saw one holding a fish in his talons that was just about too big for the old boy to manage. A couple of times he lost altitude as though his cargo was too heavy only to spread his huge wingspan and rise above the wet tarmac below. Gulls and terns have been feasting on schools of shad over shallow sandbars, squawking as competition increased. They sometimes tell me where to fish for white bass as their feeding frenzy means baitfish below. Trees are beginning to fade and soon a parade of colors will be there for all to see. Already the sweet gums are red and the maples are fading yellow and loosing leaves. A few foggy mornings have faded into warm sunny days. Those jacket mornings and shirtsleeve afternoons have been a nice replacement for hot and humid conditions. What’s missing in this outdoor Mecca? Even with all the nice weather, good fishing conditions, and outdoor scenery there have been very few people on the lake partaking of the fall festivity. The season seems to slip by many lakers. After Labor Day the lion’s share of recreational boaters and anglers seem to decline dramatically, which is a plus in many ways. After all, if you don’t like to fight the crowd then fall ought to be your favorite time on the lake. It’s true that many changes take place as lower lake levels intimidate many boaters and fishermen. Shallow sandbars and other hidden dangers play havoc with outboards, pontoons, and pleasure boats. Channel markers help guide you down safe paths but the little green and red traffic directors are not always on the job or in the right place. Other things tug at the leisure time ranging from school activities to ballgames and hunting seasons. Bottom line is, there’s ample parking at the launch ramp. The lake isn’t crowded and the fish are biting. Weather is on your side as cold fronts and gale winds are rare. Give fall fishing a chance and you’ll pretty much have the lake to yourself. This time of year you can be alone out there…. but never lonely. Nature will keep you amused if you just take the time to soak it all in.
Steve McCadams |
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