CJ

Kinda crazy! I expect to see razorwire around the fields next year and padlocks on the barns. You ain't got any floor scraps left from last year do ya Burley? Might could start an underground market?

Cart7, Marlboro Lights are $42.00 a carton. :'(

If you can't run with the big dogs, stay in TEXAS :

The gas station is less than a mile away. I hope a cold front does come through! Makes the bass easier to find! WARNING!!! Please do not attempt to cross the main channel on any days that have strong winds slightly favoring the north or south on Ky. Lake! It may look like you can but, if you don't have the experience, please don't try it.

LOL! Cheating is when you break a state law or tournament rule. Why is dropping brush not cheating? Because, if its not against the law, it's not against tournament rules. Anybody can do it! Is fighting with a knife cheating....when it's a knife fight? To me, angler's who drop brush are really dedicated to winning if you think about it. I don't drop brush because I'm too lazy. And no, I have never and will never follow or mark someone elses spots. My GPS shows me the structure (which is most important) and my side sonar shows me the cover. And don't get me started about the pros. :-X

I would plant some of my own brushpiles. Once they placed the brushpiles in the public water they are "open to the public". However there is this thing about finding your own fish. It's not very sportsman like to fish a spot that you found by watching or marking where someone else is fishing. Around here we call it GPS pirating. I stay off any of my less known spots during practice times for bigger events because of this. All that said, the choice is yours and I guess the situation would dictate.

WOOHOO!!! Way to go Preach! Congrats to you and your wife. Nothing has ever made me more proud than my kids. CJ

Mike, I can't promise anything. The fishing gods have their own mind sometimes and I think they discriminate. Just look at Burley for example. They have damned him in the worst of ways. : Okay, all jokes aside, you definitely have a shot! I promise!

yeah kelley forgot about the white lightning! One of the most famous shine stills sites was right across the lake from the roadtrip site, casey jones'. OT, this is my first post from my new iPhone! Way over my head but I figured out how to get on BR!

Hey, I didn't forget you youngsters. I'll throw in a couple of boxes of Fruit Loops for ya'll. BYOM Good one Gary!!! ;D Just never seen a wine and cheese party in Ky. It's usually a whiskey and crackers with rag bologna kinda party around here! :-? LOL

I flunked! 60% However, that was very informative and a great thread with a cool idea. Thanks Paul!

So Saturday night is the team Depends pow wow? Wayne...Blaine..AJ..we may need to organize something here? They may be plottin' somethin'?

Your truck rocks Chris! The Fish emblem is just too cool! And I love that color!

Fine Burley....just be that way! > LOL! Sorry AJ. I had to man. Is Burley staying with y'all? Somebody better fix that diet.

We'll eat like kings in the evenings Burley! My buddy just called me and caught 3 6 lbers today, and 2 that weighed over 8!!!!! J/K! LOL! ;D Just trying to kill some of you with the fever!

And with this rain we can throw those predictions out the window! I'm showing 358.85 now! It is holding steady but wait till tomorrow when all the run off makes it into the lake!

We are getting some big time rain today! I expect to see elevations above summer pool! The timing could not have been more perfect. Fresh fish in the bushes!

That is great info Chris. I know it is what works best for you and many others. Before I go on I want to explain about the water I fish and that I am referring to post spawn fish. The water clarity is 4 ft. at it's best but, mostly around 2 ft. on the average. Most of the structure I fish is anywhere from 8-20 ft. on top and may drop off into as much as 35 ft. of water. Different fisheries have different features to it's structures. Some points may drop off extremely sharp where others are more of a slow tapering drop. Staying in contact with the bottom is no problem for me when fishing from shallow to deep. I do agree that stealth is important when it comes to catching big bass. I simply shut down well off the drop and troll in. I'm not saying I don't fish uphill sometimes, I do but only on a few spots. I know I preach about current a lot but, it is such a strong factor for me. When water is being released the fish almost always position themselves on top of the structure, near the bottom. The top of the hump, point, or ledge is the supper table for Ky. Lake bass. The current stimulates the baitfish which turns on the bass like a light switch. If I were to try and approach the bass from shallow water I would most likely spook them by running over them. It's hard to dictate just how far the fish will be upon that point or the shallow top of the structure. I am in no way saying either way is wrong. I just believe an angler shouldn't limit themselves to only one way. For some, one way may be the only way due to that fisheries characteristics. Other short points on the subject: Contact lures such as deep crankbaits usually don't fish well uphill for me. I do love to parallel them to the structures ledge. A lot of the quality size bass I catch hit the lure on the fall. Especially on the edge of the ledge. Presentation is almost always key. Dragging tubes or jigs uphill on a rock pile is tough to do. Some humps and points may be fished both ways in one cast. How you fish a structure may need to be determined by the fish's position relative to the structure for that given day. There are many factors that may help determine that. Fish face the current. With all that said, my eyes have been opened for those days "my ways" don't work. Especially since I'm gonna be trying out some swimbaits on ledges during the hot months when the current flow is low. Thanks Fish Chris, you may have just gave me the idea that will give me a needed break through! Sorry if I got off topic. The answer to the original poster's question is answered within all of the thread's responses. One thing to keep in mind about why bass gravitate to structure is within their needs. A mature bass will stay close to shallower water that serves as the "supper table". They spend most of their daylight hours however suspended in the nearby deep water. I being a tournament/recreational fisherman am looking for the more active feeding fish that are at the table. Points have their extra benefits such as a migration route and also serve as current breaks. CJ

And that's what you get for cheating!

mattm, you're right, I don't have a lot of experience with true or false. I stand corrected. I miss read the question. I will correct that for you. CJ

Well this is my weakest subject paul. LOL! Here on Ky. Lake I get the luxury of fishing around the spawn with fish becoming in all three stages at one point or the other. But here goes buddy. 1. true though I think positioning downwind might help? 2. b 3. false 4. false 5. false 6. true 7. true 8. b 9. d 10. false I'll be surprised if I have even a passing grade.

The yellow flowers are more plentiful and now in the water on the east side, north banks. Barkley however has lots of them on the north end. Greg is correct. I have been catching good fish shallow. The lake rise will cause the fish to move on back. They'll be in the flowers and on the wood. There is grass mostly on the east side, especially on the north sides in about 3-5 ft. of water. The feeder creek channels are a good place to start. Really there will be different patterns that are gonna work well. I'll be going out one more time before this starts. It will be a couple of days. Hopefully the fish will settle into the new water elevations. Let the lake rise or let em' turn on the water! Either way will make for great fishing! CJ

For some reason the TVA site is stuck on the 28th. I was out for 3 hours yesterday evening and a 4 lber that came out of 3 ft. of water told me the cold weather didn't bother them at all. I know the lake has came up at least to 357+. T-rigged craws in green pumkin and blackberry have been working great. The bass are starting to relate to wood cover.

WOW! Just reading your stories and seeing the awesome pics get me so stoked! Congrats on the great catches. That is a beautiful LM and a beautiful SM. Those 3 lbers can be dynamite! BTW, I'm steppin' into the world of Hud this year. Got me some of the 4 in. shads. I really think they're gonna work great on the ledges here! CJ

I gotta add, burning a DT16 all day long in 90 plus temps. I still think the lack of rest and the mental stress wear me out the most though.