Photo by Jeff Samsel

Kentucky waterways have always given anglers much to choose from in terms of bass fishing. High-quality streams, large rivers, small lakes, major reservoirs and even farm ponds come alive with bass activity in early spring. Most of the best and biggest bass will be caught from now through early May, regardless of where you choose to wet a line.

According to reports from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Department (KDFWR) biologists, things look promising in many spots for 2006. Our forecast will highlight a variety of fisheries in the Bluegrass State to help you find a good place to be for bass action this spring. So dust off your fishing rods and reels, get your boat seaworthy, and let's go see what shape things are in for this season.

MAJOR LAKES
Kentucky has 18 major reservoirs containing 1,000 surface acres or more, and they are fairly well spread out into the various regions of the state. The smaller waters, and generally less productive for bass, are found in the eastern end of the state, while the bigger waters that tend to be more fertile are located in south-central and western Kentucky, spanning to just over 50,000 acres in some cases.

Although there is a significant size difference in our major lakes, don't let that fool you into thinking only the vastest and most sprawling waters contain the best bass fishing. As we'll see even more clearly, when we touch on the top lakes of under 1,000 acres, size isn't everything when considering what spot may be best for hawg largemouths or smallmouths.

The KDFWR fishery biologists throughout the state paint a pretty good overall picture for bass fishing this year, assuming weather trends are normal. In Kentucky, that's a big assumption as of late. But as with most other fishing or hunting activities, flexibility and luck play a big role in success. Anglers routinely have to adapt to the cards they're dealt. Perhaps that's one reason why Kentucky fishermen are fortunate. There are so many types of bass fishing available, if one slows down, another can be found somewhere else.

Let's look at some of the big waters where population studies and other research are indicating bass are doing well into the spring of 2006. We'll begin with a couple of those smaller, eastern Kentucky reservoirs that sometimes don't get as much notice. Biologists report that in some cases, looking elsewhere may cause you to miss some potentially high-quality action.

Leading the pack of about five reservoirs in the 1,100- to 1,500-acre size range in the eastern third of Kentucky for bass fishing this season is Dewey Lake in Floyd County. The past two or three springs have resulted in good bass production, providing some back-to-back strong year-classes coming into the population.

This is something biologists love to see, because it usually means three or four years down the road, some sustained, higher-quality fishing will be available. That's exactly what's expected at Dewey starting in 2006 and holding for a few years. Biologists also like to find good size distribution in a bass population, which tends to provide better fishing in the long term. Dewey is in that category right now as well.

When populations get skewed, and either a large percentage of fish are small, or too many are big, it leaves a gap that eventually turns into a year or two or three of poor fishing for keeper-sized fish. Having a good balance is key in maintaining equal opportunity over several seasons to catch some quality-sized fish, rather than a couple of years of feast, followed by two or three years of famine.

Right next door, Fishtrap Lake in Pike County is also getting high marks for the 2006 season. Biologists have actually touted Fishtrap for a few years now as one of the best eastern reservoirs in terms of holding harvestable size bass. In addition to the usual spring shallow-water fishing opportunities most bass anglers take advantage of, it is also recommended that fall fishing for bigger largemouths not be overlooked.