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FTDoo7.
Allow me to explain my problem. I fish on Kentucky Lake alot. When the fish are pushed up, I shine! I can flip a jig into a 3″ hole from 50 yards! lol Kentucky Lake is a ledge fishing paradise, but I cant figure it out. Ive read every single thing that has ever been written on the subject, I understand it and I try to implement the tactics, but when you get out there and pull up your navionics chart and its slammed pack full of ledges, it seems like a monumental task! I have tried to pick the brains of ledge fisherman. I have tried to hire guides to show me what Im doing wrong. Its like its a deep dark secret and anyone who has mastered it doesnt want anyone else to figure it out, and I get that completely! You go showing everybody and their mother the tricks to the trade and before you know it theres 10 boats parked on every productive piece of cover. My question is this…Is their anyone that would be willing to help me out? Im not wanting somebody to take me out and show me all of their hotspots, or even one of them. Im just looking for somebody who might take me out and show me what Im doing wrong when Im trying to locate productive ledges. I have an older 19 Pantera II with an HDS 7 on the console and an HDS 5 on the bow. It is in Arkansas being refurbished by Gary Wright right now, and when I get it back I plan to put a structure scan on it. I am willing to pay somebody, pay for gas and food, shine your shoes…..whatever it takes! Im just tired of not being able to compete in the summer when I know where the fish are. My boat or yours, I dont care. I just love the sport and I want to be the best I can be at it! Can anyone help me?
Water temp for sure and the most important thing at Ky Lake is current ,they linger ,then they group up for feeding ,shell beds mixed in w current is a bonus. And remember they all do not go into the creeks to bed in the spring on that lake.You can catch that 15lbs in the bushes but you can also catch that 25lb sack out on the river in April and May down around New Johnsonville around those old river stumps on the flats. June- Sept still catch them deep also,you can really catch them deep year round . The graph is your main tool to be honest on that lake and what to look for on it and bottom contour. Thats the best advice i can give you,it probably didnt help ya much.
Thanks for the input FTDThe Duck River to Paris Landing is where I do most of my fishing. I have literally spent 100+ hours reading about it. Heck, I could write a book on it myself Ive read so much. Its just so overwhelming with the number of ledges out there….theres 1000s of miles of them! Im hoping that once I get my structure scan for Lowrances, that will make my prefishing alot more productive! A little help sure would be nice though! lol
Ive never really done well ledge fishing either, especially at Ky Lake. If you want and can afford it, get a trip scheduled with Dave Stewart, probably the top guide on Ky. Lake. He has trips designed for whatever type of fishing you are interested in. He is a wizard in ledge fishing and can tell you all you want to know about that techinque and more. He fishes mostly the northern part of the twins, but his advice and teaching is applicable to any lake or any part of Ky Lake. Ive been out with Dave, it was in the spring, so no ledge fishing was involved, but I know he has taught a bunch of people how to fish that way. Go to Bassboatcentral.com and look at the fishing reports for Kentucky, then look for Kentucky lake. During the fishing season, Dave posts a report every Thursday. In that report he has all of his contact info. Schedule him early for sometime during ledge fishing season, as he books up really fast. He is a great guy and has forgotten more about fishing than most people know about fishing.
I fish the ledges nearest the drops. Drops with a nearby feeding flat are best for me. I do a lot of vertical jigging in those areas. A football head jig dragged in the same area works also. There are no secret spots. The key to fishing these drops are shad schools. If your sonar doesnt have shad on a drop, move to another. Lots of good ledge guys on that lake and most will talk if you just ask. The nice thing about Kentucky Lake is there are so many ways to fish it. Whatever technique you want to use, there is a place on the lake to do it.
The man on the northern end is a ledgemaster mentioned above by billius. See if you can book him around the 3rd week of May til the end of the summer or you can try it now while the water is down where you can see alot of visible stuff . If you dont want to go up north and stay around the Duck River(south end) end see if you can get in touch with Stump Spencer,he lives in New Johnsonville and has fished that lake for the last 30yrs. And there is always Sam Lashlee( Strike King Lures probably has his and Stumps # for ya ) wich lives in Camden ,wich is one of the best known sticks on that lake also from Paris down to I-40. Larry Frazier might take you out ,hes the one who helped Byron and Skeete 2 yrs ago when BASS was out of Paris ,but they say you better dig deep $$ if you want his help on learning. Hope those names i mentioned help you out .
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