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Cranking Kentucky and Barkley Lakes

– A Primer for Seasonal Shad Patterns – Part II

by Chuck Bailey

With the post-spawn bite winding down, Captain Dave Stewart suggests “…working the secondary points and banks coming out of the creeks and bays, using deep diving crankbaits.  When the shad move onto the ledges, you’re getting into a lot of big schooling fish and the crankbaits are your number one ‘go to’ lures.” 

Summer Pattern

“That takes us right into our summer pattern,” Stewart explains.  “The summer pattern for crankbaits here will be the last two weeks of May and the first two weeks of June.  That is prime crankbait time for your summer ledge pattern.  At that time we’re throwing deep diving crankbaits.  We’re throwing DT16’s, DT20’s, Norman DD22’s, Fat Free Shads... those types of baits.  And pretty much in shad patterns.”

Dave admits that there are a number of anglers who will seek these summer time bass by trolling.  Obviously tournament fishermen (who are not allowed to troll) will ignore this pattern, but as Dave points out, “A lot of guys out fun fishing will troll - if nothing else but to help locate the fish.  Because sometimes you can pinpoint them a little quicker by trolling.” 

As the beginning of summer takes the shad and the angler back into deeper water, the fisherman's electronics start playing an increasingly important role again.  “Oh there is no doubt about it.  Electronics is everything as far as ledge fishing goes.”

Ledge Fishing

What is ledge fishing?  “Well, a ledge and a drop off are the same thing.  All it is, is the bottom at one level dropping into deeper water.”  Dave goes on to explain that a ledge can be in 6 feet of water, or a ledge can be in 20 feet of water – or anywhere in between.

“The key ledges that I am typically keying in on,” says Dave, “are those dropping into channels.  That’s always good; it’s prime for bass fishing because when you are on a shad lake - the shad always travel the channels.” 

“You may pull up on a ledge that has a 6 foot top on it, and it is dropping off into 25 feet of water.  There you will throw a DT20 on top in 6 feet of water and dig the bottom with it, until it comes over the side.” 

“Typically your ‘heavy feed’ will take place on the top of the ledge.  And in May and June you get a lot of those schooling fish.  I know the longest ‘feed’ I had last year lasted 45 minutes.  I had two clients who were throwing DT20’s on an eight foot top ledge, and they didn’t make a cast in those 45 minutes without a fish on, (and a lot of doubles).  Of course, that’s not the average length of a feed, but when you are fishing ledges that is what you are looking for - ‘feeds’.” 

Away From Cranks - Back To Cranks

Unfortunately this early summer crankbait bite doesn’t go on forever, because the water temperatures rise.  Dave explains, “I will put my crankbaits down in July, because the water gets too warm.  You will catch one once in a while, but you are better off with slower baits.” 

“But then,” our master guide points out, “as we come out of the summer near the end of September, the water starts cooling down.  Of course, the shad are going to transition back into the creeks and bays again to feed up for winter, and the bass are going to follow them.  As the water cools down, we are going to go back to the crankbaits.  And we are going to be throwing a lot of crankbaits real shallow, especially the lipless crankbaits.”

Base Temperature

Now the term “cooling down” is a relative term.  On Kentucky and Barkley, Dave says “What I am looking for, is what I call my base water temperature, 75 degrees.  I have developed a method to gauge my shad movement that uses surface temperatures.  Basically ‘base temperature’ is the surface temperature on your main lake at first light.  If you measure and record that throughout the year, then you can come up with a method that allows you to get key temperatures as to when the shad are going to move.” 

“It's important to understand that what moves the shad from shallow to deep water in late spring (and into summer) is oxygen – which decreases in the shallows when the water is heating up.  I figured out years ago that when the base water hits 75 degrees, the shad are going to start moving out to deeper water.  Again, it’s the change in oxygen retention that is moving them.  So obviously in the fall, when the water temperature goes below 75, that’s when they are going to move back in again.”

Any students of Captain Dave eventually recognize that all of his seasonal patterns are based around the bass’ dinner.  Where their dinner goes, the bass follow.  “When you think about it,” our guide explains, “that’s true of everything in Mother Nature.”

Common Mistakes

“You know,” insists Dave, “there’s two mistakes bass fisherman make, (and a lot of them make them all their lives).  The first thing they try to do is ‘out think’ a creature that doesn’t have much of a brain to think with.  And the second mistake angler's make is they tend to fish spots because they ‘look good’.” 

“Everything is based on the food chain out there.  And I’m not sure what the forage base is in your local lake, but whatever it is, you don’t need to study about the bass, you need to study about the primary forage.” 

Predators and Primary Forage

“A bass is a predator.  We’re a predator.  And all predator’s are opportunity feeders.  That means we will eat anything.  (And a bass certainly will.  He’ll eat anything he can put in his mouth).  But whether a predator is land-based, or in the water, Mother Nature always provides wild predators with a primary forage. And that primary forage is going to be prolific enough that those predators in that food chain will be able to have enough to eat, (enough protein and nutrients to survive on).” 

“Now the bass follow their primary forage, just like wolves follow caribou.  That wolf may follow that caribou 500 miles, because it is his primary forage, even though he may eat a whole lot of rabbits and squirrels along the way.  Likewise, a bass eats crawfish, bluegills, and other snacks along the way, but that bass won’t be anywhere unless there is a shad population nearby.” 

Keying in on the primary forage has made Dave and other professional fishermen highly successful on shad-based lakes.  Dave recalls, “I started developing this back in the 70’s when I got into the bass fishing, (because as I told you, when I was growing up – if we didn’t catch it – we didn’t eat.  The one thing my mother taught me when I was 7 years old was to catch some of those fish and cut them open and figure out what they were eating in order to put more dinner on the table).” 

“It actually brings things down to a simple level.  If you can figure out what your forage base is doing, (trying to survive), what it requires, and how it will react to environmental changes (being fragile), then you won’t have any problems putting a bass in the boat.”

When Things Change - Think Forage!

It will often puzzle fishermen when the typical annual patterns on their home lake suddenly stop producing.  When the bass are not located in the usual places at a certain time of the year, anglers are mystified.  But the answer is simple; something in the food chain changed and the bass have moved to where the food has gone.

Dave explains, “If I have an area that is a really good pre-spawn location, and suddenly it changes; the only thing that has changed is the plankton, because that’s what those shad eat.  And if something happened up stream and I’m not getting the plankton in that area like I used to, then I’m not getting the shad.  And if I’m not getting the shad, I’m not getting the bass.”

“I guarantee you, anytime a place goes dead or another takes up - it’s all based on the amount of food available.  You’ve just got to figure out what has happened and where that food is at.  Because after all, that bass only does three things out there; it has babies for about a week, and then it eats and rests the remainder of the year.  And that’s it.”

Admittedly, Dave knows there will always be some fish shallow, some deep, and some in between during any part of the year.  But if an angler wants to find bass consistently, they need to become primary forage experts.

A Ledge = A Bank Under Water

Another adjustment that is difficult for anglers, is moving away from the shoreline when the bait does.  “A lot of people get blown away when they are out in that open water fishing the ledges,” observes Dave, “but really, there is no difference fishing a ledge than there is fishing a bank.  All a ledge is, is a bank or shoreline with some water on it.  And once you start looking at it in those respects, it takes all the mystery out fishing your creek channels, and your river ledges.  Then you will be looking for the same things out there that you would be looking for if you were fishing a bank.  You are looking for cover, you are looking for current breaks... that type of stuff.” 

Mapping the Way

Dave suggests that if you have never fished ledges and are coming to Kentucky or Barkley lakes, you need to get a really good topo map.  “The one I would recommend on the lakes here (that makes ledge fishing real easy) is the Atlantic Mapping Company GPS Map.  It’s not only the latest map of the lakes but its color shaded.  And you can easily pick your ledges out – they just jump out at you.  And of course on your electronics, if you’ve got the Navionic type maps, they make it easy too.” 

The Fall Bite

So as the seasons shift into the fall and the forage base starts moving back into the creeks and bays and the shallows again, it would be easy to assume that we simply go back to a springtime crankbait pattern again.  But Dave warns us, “Well, it’s a little bit different in some ways; it just depends.” 

“Typically what I would do is go shallow and play with your topwaters, and maybe a Rat-L-Trap, early in the day.  And then, as the sun gets up on the water, if your shallow water bite turns off, you can back out into deeper water in the creeks.   You can start throwing things like spoons and Rat-L-Traps, and flat-sided baits. Try ripping them under the shad schools that are swimming around out there, (because your bass are going to be under them).” 

Surface Breaking Schools of Shad

Most anglers have probably watched a fishing television show that recorded shad schools breaking on the surface as fishing celebrities caught bass after bass. The question that often comes to mind is “Is that a common thing?  Does it happen regularly?”

Dave answers “Well, it’s not an uncommon thing; you will see a lot of that in the fall.  You might see some in the summer, but you won’t see much of it in the spring.  (Of course, your bass don’t school a lot in the spring time).  But you will get shad breaking on those ledges.  It’s not unusual to have a school of bass push those shad right up to the top, and have at them, and in the fall you see a lot of it.”

“There’s a lot of schooling bass in the fall.  And what they will do is surround those shad and push them back as shallow as they can get them, so they can cut off their escape route (which is going down).  From the end of September through November, you are going to see a lot of surface feeding every morning - unless you get a cold front.”

When Fast Moving Cranks Don't Work

Does surface activity always mean you are going to catch bass?  “Not necessarily, though most of the time you can get them on topwater or a Rat-L-Trap or a spinnerbait.  But there are times when the bass are chasing shad and you can’t get them, (especially in the early part of the fall transition).  And a lot of times you’re throwing fast moving baits and you can’t get them to bite.”

But there is a solution, although it doesn’t include crankbaits.  “All you have to do at that time is to throw a Senko -  you’ll get them.  They will bite it.  I know it goes against everything your eyes are telling you.  We’re visually oriented, and when we see all that activity on the surface, our adrenaline starts pumping and we want to throw those fast moving baits.  But if the bass don’t want it, you’ve got to change gears and try to calm yourself down and start fishing a Senko real slow.”

The Gull Pattern

“During the month of November, the majority of the bait fish will be in the creeks and bays, which is prime fall fishing.  You can play shallow with topwaters, and if that isn’t working, you will need to move out a little deeper.  Then what you want to start watching is the 'gull pattern'.  You watch the birds.  They’ll tell you where the fish are schooling.  You will see the gulls diving.”

“Now, if you get one of those post-frontal days, you will see the birds but they’ll all be sitting on the water, (there’s no surface feeding activity). So that’s when your electronics come into play.  You need to start following the channel and idling your boat until you find that deep school of shad hanging over some brush piles or stumps and then you go to the slow baits; the shaky heads, Carolina rigs, and that kind of stuff to pick those fish up.”

The Effects of Late Fall Cold Fronts

At the end of fall, the water temperature drops and the shad start heading for deeper water. This transitional movement is based around the increasing cold fronts.  “The reason the shad are out deep in the winter time is fluctuating water temperatures – that’s what kills them,” explains Dave.  “They are cold blooded, and all cold blooded animals have a ‘temperature range’, and if the surrounding environmental temperature changes too fast, it will kill them.” 

“So typically in the winter time, you are getting those cold fronts coming through every 24 to 48 hours in North America.  As a result, your shallow water becomes unstable.   And so the shad will move deep.  While the surface temperatures will fluctuate, the shad will just make a vertical move down into deeper water.”

When does that happen? “Typically, your base water temperature will drop to 50 degrees; then they are definitely back out in deeper water.”

What’s deeper water?  “Well, deeper water for a river-lake like Kentucky may be 20-25 feet deep – that’s deep water here.”

Winter Cranks?

That also means there is no reason for crankbait enthusiasts to put their crankbaits away during the winter, because it’s possible to cast and retrieve crankbaits throughout the whole 25 foot water column.  But before you start reaching for your deep divers, Dave insists that “Your primary winter lure is going to the suspending jerkbait.  And you will just down size it.”

Why?  “Because the shad on most winter days will suspend near the surface because it’s warmer up there.  See the shad can’t survive in real cold water - that’s why we don’t have them up north.  In the winter, the shad will come to the warmest water which is typically around the surface during the day.  So suspending jerkbaits is going to be my number one bait most days in the winter (unless I get a cold front that pushes them deep).” 

“You just have to fish the jerkbait slower, pause it longer, and use a smaller bait because the fish aren’t really into eating a lot because of the water temperatures.  Remember, they are cold blooded, the temperature is down, their metabolism is down, and that’s why they feed up in the fall.” 

Winter Reaction Bites

Dave finds fish to be funny creatures in the winter time.  He explains, “A land-based predator feeds up in the fall because his food source gets scarce, and if he doesn’t have that fat stored up, he’s going to go through some thin times and not make it.  But that bass has the same food in front of him that he had all summer.  Because his body temperature is down, his metabolism slows down, and he is sluggish.  If he didn’t feed up in the fall, theoretically he could starve to death with plenty of food right out there in front of him.” 

“So, in the winter time, we basically go back to that ‘territorial’ thing and try to elicit a strike by getting a jerkbait in his face.” 

Kentucky-Barkley Resources

Now if the idea of fishing the famous Kentucky-Barkley Lakes appeals to you, but the shear size of these huge bodies of water intimidates you, Dave has some good news.  Everything you need to know is within reach of your computer.  “Starting the 1st of March, every Thursday night I write a fishing report that goes all the way through to November.  And it is very detailed, and tells you exactly what the water temperatures are, what patterns are working that week, and exactly what lures are working that week.”

“It’s got a big following because it is very accurate.  If it is not done in my boat, I do a lot of networking with the pros, (but it takes two of them to tell me the same thing or it doesn’t go in that report).”  http://www.kentuckylakeguide.com/ 

Another unbelievable resource Dave has provided is found on http://www.KentuckyAngling.com  “There you will see about 8 years of my archived weekly fishing reports,” says Dave.  That means an angler can study 8 years of detailed history on these lakes before they ever show up to fish them.  This allows an angler to start building their tackle box and getting ready for their trip.  Dave adds, “And http://www.BassBoatCentral.com now has about 3 ½ or 4 years worth of my logs on it too.” 

Dave's fishing reports reach about a million people a week through the radio, television, and internet.  “That fishing report is my reputation, I built my business on it, so you can bet it is as accurate as anything can be.”

A Guided Investment

Still, on large lakes like Kentucky and Barkley, it makes a lot of sense to spend the first day out on the water with a guide – to reduce the learning curve and get a handle on what is going on.  Dave naturally agrees. 

“I get a lot of the business from folks that are coming here and going to spend a few days. They hire me the first day out to clue them in on some areas, patterns, and baits.  You can spend a lot of money on gas on this lake, and a lot of time trying to find those fish.  And the money you pay a guide - you’ll more than make that up on what you would lose out there on these big lakes trying to find fish.”

If Dave is booked on the day you want to come, he knows some great guides he can pass you on to.  “Oh yeah, certainly.  There are some good guys around here that can get you out on the water.”

And Don't Forget The Topwater!

One last but important topic that crankbait enthusiasts are eager to ask Dave, always concerns the best time of the year to experience the best topwater bite.  “Well, the number one time of the year would be late October and early November.  That will be primetime. And then, the other time would be the last few weeks of April (late pre-spawn).”

With so many topwaters available – does everything work?  “Well, everything will work, but I can tell you the Sammy (Lucky Craft) works here extremely well.  That would be my number one ‘go to’ bait.  The buzzbait would be my next favorite topwater, and a popping bait would be my third choice.” 

If there is anything more fun than fishing Kentucky or Barkley lakes, it’s fishing topwater on Kentucky and Barkley lakes!  Or as Dave puts it, “It’s the epitome of bass fishing.”

 

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In Part I– Captain Dave Stewart described Kentucky and Barkley lakes, the structure, cover, current and other unique features. He then went on to explain how a shad-forage lake works and how seasonal crankbait patterns should be centered around the movement of shad. We took a detailed look into the spring patterns in Part I.

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