MACHINE GUNNING FOR KENTUCKY LAKE LARGEMOUTH
by Vernon Summerlin
Upper Kentucky Lake, from New Johnsonville to the state line, has
two
distinct bank types. The eastern bank has clear water feeder creeks with
rock and gravel bottoms - good for smallmouth bass.
The western bank is lowland mud. These creeks feeding the lake are
shallow, stumpy, and humpy, have a lot of ledges, are off-color and provide
great places for largemouth bass.
Franklin's pro angler Danny Dodd knows these waters well. He says,
"My
favorite lure is the 1-ounce spinnerbait with a #7 silver willow leaf
followed by a #4 gold one. I like to see my bait at all times because I'm a
sight fisherman. I cast to cover I can see and I love to see when the fish
hits my bait."
Many of the creeks along the western bank are similar but Danny
favors
Harmon Creek. "I would just as soon stay in Harmon Creek all day long. It's
got humps and ledges all over the place." It also has plenty of visible
stumps and stake beds, his favorite targets. (TWRA has stocked Harmon Creek
with Florida strain bass for the last three years. The first stockers
should be keeper size next year.)

Machine Gunning with A Spinnerbait
When Danny fishes the ledges and humps, his spinnerbait may drop
from
sight for a little while but not long. He only knows one retrieve, fast. He
works a bank like a machine gun spraying lead. Rapid fire casts to the edge
of the shoreline with a slight pause at the drop, back to the boat and,
bang, it's back to shoreline.

Other Early Spring Baits & Techniques
"I like to fish the Slug-Go from early spring into June, from
pre-spawn
through post spawn. I fish the Slug-go faster than most folks," he says. "I
keep it visible all the time. I keep it on top of the water and I throw it
into the thickest stuff around. Log jams, weed beds - the thicker the
better. It's rigged weedless and it's not going to hang up."
Danny savors the Slug-Go's erratic action. "I can fish the Slug-Go
where
I can't fish other baits. I'll cast it, then let it sink a little,
about
six inches depending on the cover, then jerk it and make it do its little
dance. You can see the bass when they come to get it."
He warns us not to set the hook too soon, let the bass have it for a
second. Set the hook when you feel the fish.
"During pre-spawn I flip a lot too," he says. "Most people use a
jig, but
I use a six-inch Zoom lizard." Danny pegs the slip sinker with a toothpick
pushed into the hole and breaks it off. This holds the weight in place
while casting. The pumpkin pepper lizard is rigged weedless, Texas style.
He uses a seven-foot flippin' stick with 17-pound test line. When
asked
which reel he uses, he asks, "Is there anything else but an Ambassaduer?"
He fishes the shallow bedding banks in early spring where the water
is
warmer. Kentucky Lake doesn't reach full pool until April. "I flip close to
deep water. I know where the creek channel is in Harmon and I stay on the
edge of it - hitting all the cover I see."
Danny says, "Some people use small crankbaits in March and April and
do
real good. Crawfish crankbaits catch a lot of bass off the slick banks and
points. I can't fish a bank without something to throw at, but bass move up
on those banks on sunny days.
Later in the season he'll hit the same places. "There are always
some bass
that are going to be shallow no matter how hot it gets," says Danny. "You
always can find a few fish who stay in 1 to 3 feet of water. When the sun
gets up, they just back underneath some heavy cover, under grass, or around
logs and stumps."
When he fishes the spinnerbait or Slug-Go he says, "I'm fishing the
banks,
casting to the same thing everybody else is fishing." The backs of pockets
and stump fields get a thorough going over too.
"If I catch a bass on the bank I'll go back over it, but not if I
don't
catch anything on the first pass."
One of Danny's best days was when he caught seven bass weighing 29
pounds.
One was 8 pounds, 10 ounces and several were over five. That just goes to
show you that machine gun action can load the boat.
Danny says Sulfur, Cane and Whiteoak are good bass creeks too. Other
areas
worth casting are Big Sandy, it's loaded with stumps, Ross Branch, Grannys
Branch, Lick Creek, Crooked Creek and Cypress Creek.

Spring Fishing Conditions
Kentucky Lake tends to have high water in the spring after storms
move
through. Bass move up with rising water. They follow shad into flooded
areas and they scatter among the new cover available to them.
Danny's machine gun spinnerbait technique is appropriate for this
condition. You cover a lot of water in a hurry. Cast to the very backs of
coves and as far up the creeks as you can get. Bass are taking advantage of
new food sources - you can take advantage of active bass.
Flippin' is a good technique when you need to work heavy cover. This
is an
efficient method of getting bass out of limbs and bushes.
When the water falls, bass move deeper to the channels and creek
mouths.
Techniques for fishing falling water include casting jigs or worms to drops
and ledges along a steep bank or creek channel. The points on creek
junctions are hot spots. Bass tend to bunch up during falling water
conditions and when you locate them you can usually catch several.
Often there is current in Kentucky Lake. This is the time to fish
the
bends in the channel, coves and pocket. The best places to fish are the
creeks. Cast upstream and retrieve your bait with the flow of water.
When the water is low in March before the pool fills, fish are
easier to
catch. They are concentrated at the end of points and along the edges of
the channel. Jig with a pork frog is a good bait. Casting crankbaits
upstream and counting them down is another way to entice pre-spawn bass on
Kentucky Lake.

Access Points
The following launching ramps will give you access to the creeks
mentioned
in the text. Indian and Cypress Creeks at New Johnsonville on Highway 70
west and east of the bridge, respectively. Harmon and Sulphur Creeks at end
of Clydeton Road from Waverly. From Camden, take Beaverdam Road then Pilot
Knob Road to Harmon Creek. Grannys Branch, Ross Branch, Whiteoak, Cane and
Crooked and Lick Creeks go west of McKinnon on Route 147 to Cane Creek.
From the community of Big Sandy go east on Danville Road to Crooked Creek
or to Lick Creek on Lick Creek Road. Big Sandy River has many access
points; from the communities of Big Sandy and West Sandy, and from various
ramps south of Highway 79 west of the Scott Fitzhugh Bridge.