Eastern Kentucky Fishing Report

Cave Run Lake: As I expected, the lake has risen to 4.5 feet over winter pool due to continued rains that have turned headwaters muddy. Water temperatures remains at 43 to 45 degrees. General activity has slowed as rains have kept many anglers off the water. Musky: slow. However, some anglers continue to fish gliders, jerkbaits and bulldawg type baits with some success. No smallmouth reports came in this week. If you get on the water let us know how you did. Largemouth Bass: Reports continue to be slow. Fishermen trying to fish for LM should fish deep areas with slow moving swim baits or vertical jigs, spoons or blade baits.

Grayson Lake: Water levels are on the rise as headwaters muddy. Water temperature is 44 to 46 degrees. Bass: Slow, use jigs and spinnerbaits. Active bass are spotty. Crappie: Slow, fish swim jigs around down timber, letting the jig fall into the 10 to the 12-foot range. Yellow 1/8 jigs have had the best success for the last few weeks. Catfish: We had been getting reports of some catfish being caught below the dam.

Greenbo Lake: The lake is in good shape and the water has cleared for now. Water temperature was 43 to 46 degrees. Bass: Fair, fishing jigs and blade baits. Active fish have been in 15 to 20 feet of water. Best results have been on Sliver-Buddy type baits jigging vertically. Trout: Greenbo was stocked in October and the trout fishing continues to be the bright spot in our fishing reports, including this week using Berkley’s power bait. Trout have also been caught below the dam fishing small spinners and red worms. Greenbo may be spotty as the winter deepens, but this lake produces all year even though some days may be slow. If you fish this lake let us know how you do.  Catfish: Slow. Fish very early and at midday with live bait, chubs, small bluegill and cut bait.

Ohio River: The river is catching a lot of water right now. While some anglers had good success last week, we look for this week to be slow. If you fish the river let us know how you did. Largemouth Bass: Slow, use jigs around rocky areas and secondary points. Below the Dam: With water levels rising, the sauger bite has been slow. Twin tail grubs on ¼ oz. ball jigs are still the best producers. Use slow bump the bottom retrieves. Stripe Bass: We had no reports of stripers this week. If you have success, let me know so we can pass it along. Bass: Above the dam has been slow this week. Some fish were reported taken on lipless crankbaits fishing coves that are holding shad. Catfish: We didn’t get any reports from catfish anglers this week. However, with the river coming up so fast we expect it to be slow.

Yatesville Lake: As expected, the lake is coming up fast due to continued rains. Headwaters are muddy with little activity reported. Temperature is 43 to 45 degrees. Bass: Slow this week. Fish deep-water structure using jigs and vertical jigging baits. A few fish were reported active around fish attractors using jigging spoons. Crappie: slow. Fish the edges of flats in channel bends and old fish attractors using 32 oz. white crappie jigs or live bait.

This fishing report was compiled for the week of Jan. 15, 2013

Editor’s note: The warm temperatures have increased your odds of catching a good fish this past week. However, rains have some lakes on the rise and headwaters muddy. If you got on the water, or you have been fishing from the bank, drop us an email and tell us how you did.

Cave Run Lake: At press time the lake is still near winter pool but as rains continue we expect the lake to start coming up. Water temperatures remain at 47 to 45 degrees. This week we have got reports of Crappie being caught in standing trees near channel bends. Musky: The musky fishing remained slow, however, some anglers continue to fish gliders, jerkbaits and bulldawg-type baits with some success. We also got a report that a few Musky were caught below the dam area. Bass: Some smallmouth were reported caught on live bait this week near the riprap areas of the main lake. Largemouth Bass reports continue to be slow. As the shad move from the heads of creeks to deep water, the fishing has been very spotty. Jigs and drop blade baits should be on your list of possible baits to use.

Grayson Lake: Water levels are expected to change as headwaters muddy. Water temperature is 44 to 46 degrees. Bass: Reported slow using jigs and spinnerbaits. Crappie: Slow, fishing swim jigs around down timber. Let the jig fall into the 10 to the 12-foot range. Yellow 1/8 jigs have had the best success for the last few weeks. Catfish: We have been getting reports of some catfish being caught below the dam.

Greenbo Lake: The lake is in good shape; the water has cleared for now. Water temperature was 43 to 46 degrees. Bass: The bass fishing continued to be fair, fishing jigs and blade baits. Fish that have been active have been in 15 to 20 feet of water. Best results have been on Sliver-Buddy type baits jigging vertically. Trout: Greenbo was stocked in October and the trout fishing continues to be the bright spot in our fishing reports. Some good reports came this week fishing with Berkley’s power bait. Trout has been caught below the dam fishing small spinners and red worms. Some trout success has also been in deep water this past week, this may be due to the lake becoming clear. Catfish: Slow, fishing very early and at mid-day. Fish live bait, chubs, small bluegill and cut bait.

Ohio River: The river has been back to normal levels, however, reports we received this week say the fishing has been slow. Some good fish have been caught, but the bite has been slow. Rains are expected to put the river back on the rise. If this happens, the already slow bite may become even tougher. Largemouth Bass: Slow, use jigs around rocky areas and secondary points. Below the Dam: With water levels rising, the sauger and walleye bite has been slow. Twin tail grubs on ¼ oz. ball jigs are still the best producers using slow bump the bottom retrieves. Striped Bass: We had no reports of stripers this week. If you have success, let me know so we can pass it along. Bass above the dam have been slow this week. Some fish were reported taken on lipless crankbaits fishing coves that are holding shad. Catfish: good. However, many of the fish were small. The most success came from night crawlers and red worms.

Yatesville Lake: The lake has had a lot of water from rains, but levels remain near winter pool, however, it is expected to rise as rains continue to put a lot of water in the lake. Water temperature is 43 to 46 degrees. Bass: Slow, fish deep-water structure using jigs and vertical jigging baits. A few fish were reported active around fish attractors using jigging spoons.  Crappie: slow. Fish the edges of flats in channel bends and old fish attractors using 32 oz. white crappie jigs or live bait.