CJ

Way to go Mike!!! That's gotta be an awesome feeling! Very big and beautiful (the fish, not you ;D)! Congrats bud! CJ

Had a chance to get out for a little while with my fishing buddy/girlfriend, Nikki. Summer temperatures have set in and the fish have got out there right where I want them. We caught to many fish to count but our thumbs show proof that the bite is warming up! We caught several fish on Ragetail Thumper worms, jigs, and shakeyhead worms but, the big girls wanted the big cranks. Most importantly, we had a blast! Here's a few pic's. Nikki didn't want any of her pic's posted but I'll get her to come around and not be so humble before to long.

I'm on the fence but I will say that the fisheries that the pros fish aren't effected by bedding fish being relocated during the spawn. While relocation of mature bass isn't the best thing for them, a female will lay her eggs wherever she goes. Another thought is that not as many bass as you might think need to spawn in order for a fishery to be stocked for that year. Too many kreel can be worse than not enough. I believe that relocation is how tournament fishing may hurt bass more than anything....well other than improper care while in the livewell.

Fourbizz, fishchris, or Catt. I have different reasons for each of them.

WOW!.........WOW!!! Man that's whackin' em right there! I'm glad to see ya'll get on some good fish and it sounds like a lot of em too! Way to go guys! I wish I could of made it down there.

Don't worry about the fishing this june. The water will go back to normal and the fish will still go out to the ledges. There is an upside and a downside. The upside is that a lot of threadfin shad should get moved down here. The downside is that the high, stained water will hinder the growth of grass for the fall season.

It was a great day for me too Paul. And always enjoy a day out on the water with you bud! We were fishing in Paul's neck of the woods. My boat is in the shop so I haven't been out for over a week up here. From what I've seen, a majority of the fish have got their business done shallow. They're are still a lot of fish shallow but the ledges are starting to stack up. I expect ledges to heat up soon with the water generation schedule being on the up side!

Nice fish Roger! Are you still on Walk-In-Water?

This year, you better look for ledges and points near the bays 10-15 ft.deep.

Awesome pics bud! Glad to see you're sticking a few!

That looks like a great trip Steve! Those are some really nice fish! Is that color available yet? It looks awesome! CJ

I would get 2 colors. Being from Ky., green pumpkin and black w/ blue flake should have you covered.

Very nice northern Chris. Your pics are second to none. Thanks for sharing them. CJ

I fished it in Oct 2005. It was way low. Your right, it probably would fish better with some water in it. I saw lots of good stuff on the banks then. I know it's got some good fish in it. The parts I fished just seemed to be really deep channels that went straight up to a shallow flat. There was no in between.

Bomber Fat Free Shad and Rapala DT16 and DT20's are probably what I throw the most. Both are great crankbaits. I here Strike King has some new ones out that are supposed to be good but I haven't tried them yet. The Series 6 isn't as good as the Bomber in my opinion. It doesn't get down enough. If I' fishing less than 12 ft., I like Bagley's deep diver.

It would be a lot easier to try to help out if we knew what regional area and what type fishery you were going to. For example, fish in shallower, structure lacking waters like the Florida lakes are probably more affected by unstable climates than the fish on deeper river reservoirs that involve current.

I'm glad you posted this Chris. It is a reminder and was just what I was looking for. I needed a pair of these last year when a 5 lber inhaled my crankbait in a tournament. I cut the line and threw her in the livewell after the catch. After I got checked in and trailered my boat I had to operate. Many of the anglers said I didn't have to remove the crankbait but I wasn't gonna let the bass go like that. All I had was some small side cutters. I got it done and was confident she survived but those cutters would have made it a lot easier.

What a great topic. I have 3 kids, 2 of them are boys. One of them doesn't really care much for fishing and the other one is a rare breed. Gavin is 9 years old now and will fish for hours not getting a bite and never complain or stop watching his line. I think the new technological world has robbed some of the younger generations of experiencing the outdoor life. Here's some pictures of how Gavin's patience has paid off! And the one in my avatar was from a day when he had over 15 lbs. by himself fishing 15-20 ft. deep on a worm. Don't mean to brag.......or well...YES I DO!

Guess I'm a little late in the game but here is my best from the Tennessee River (Ky. Lake) last year. Caught her at the roadtrip. 4 lbs. 13 oz.

WOW! That's awesome! What tournament was it?

Ky. Lake in TN waters is still a 15" size limit on smallmouth. I fished a BFL regional at Cherokee. I really didn't like that lake very much. The structure it too radical. At least your partner can say he caught a wallhanger!

I would subgest reading some of the crankbait articles on this site to learn a good basic knowledge. Most all of the brands work fine. Some better than others but the ones listed above are fine. As far as color I keep it pretty simple. I use three primary patterns, shad or baitfish colors: colors that are primarily white, silver, gold or chrome like sexy shad, Tennessee shad, or blue chrome. bluegill or perch colors: colors that are primarily yellow, chartuese, or green like fire tiger or chartuese rootbeer craw colors: colors that are mostly orange or brown. Then there is the colors that are in between or a mix. These are some of my favorites. Citrus shad, rootbeer, or tablerock shad.

UK is looking good. They made Wake their pregnant dog (don't you love the site's editing) too! Murray State is my the college in my home town. I just wished Butler could have played a little more poorer. LOL!

Stroking a jig is a presentation that was originated here on Ky Lake. Used on ledges during the post spawn and summer, it works best when fish are in a positive feeding mood, on top of the hump yet suspended somewhat. Usually works best in deeper water (8-25 ft. deep).

WOW! Bud, she looks good! 10 lbs. easy.