When conversations turn to black bass combinations with smallmouths as the main attraction, three Kentucky lakes really stand out. Dale Hollow, Lake Cumberland and Laurel River Lake are all well known for their capacity to kick out hefty smallmouth bass, and all three earned excellent smallmouth ratings in the most recent Fishing Forecast. In addition, all three also garnered good or excellent ratings for the other black bass species.

Dale Hollow, of course, still holds claim to the world-record smallmouth bass, and anglers who spend time plying its deep, clear waters know that the smallies still grow to jumbo proportions there. It’s important to note that a very restrictive slot of 16 to 21 inches protects Dale Hollow smallmouths. No fish within the slot range may be harvested and only one fish over 21 inches may be taken daily. The minimum size for smallmouths at Lake Cumberland and Laurel River Lake is 18 inches, with a two-fish limit also applying to Laurel River Lake.

The smallmouth fishing can be especially good during late winter and early spring on all three lakes. The biggest bronzebacks in the lakes become more catchable during the cool-weather months than during other times and attract a lot of angling attention. The most popular approaches in these waters among anglers who favor artificial lures are float-and-fly fishing and casting blade baits, such as Silver Buddies and Heddon Sonars. Fishing live shiners on free-lines or split shot rigs over main-lake points are also extremely popular and productive methods.

Moving back to largemouth fishing, Hickey pointed toward Barren River Lake as offering very good prospects for 2010, noting that this lake produces a lot of fish in the 3- to 5-pound range with good overall numbers of bass for anglers to enjoy. Big-fish numbers have been on the increase in Barren River Lake, which spreads over 10,000 acres in Allen and Barren counties and is managed with a 15-inch minimum size for largemouth bass (except that one fish within the daily limit and two within the possession limit may be undersized).

Finally, no overview of Kentucky bass-fishing opportunities would be complete without mention of an abundance of cool-water streams that lend themselves nicely to float-fishing and in many cases wading a little later in the year. Smallmouth bass are the main species in streams like Elkhorn Creek, the upper Cumberland River and the Red River, but many of these streams also support a mix of largemouths and spots, plus a host of other species that will all go after the same baits. The KDFWR Web site offers a list of floatable smallmouth streams in the “Where to Fish” section, and the list includes more than 100 creeks and rivers that collectively run thousands of stream miles.

A variety of relatively small lures, including crankbaits, jigs, assorted soft-plastic lures and topwater lures, work well for stream smallmouths, and the best artificial lure options vary by season and according to water conditions. Among the most popular and effective way to fish these waters, however, is to collect hellgrammites and crawfish from the streams themselves and drift them in the current on split shot rigs. Live bait can be hand collected by flipping stones, but a small seine dramatically increases an angler’s efficiency.

BEFORE YOU GO
Bass populations in Kentucky rivers and lakes are managed with a variety of special regulations. Although the statewide largemouth and smallmouth limit is six fish, with a 12-inch minimum size, the minimum size is 15 inches on many of the state’s major reservoirs, and regulations are more restrictive on some waterways. For complete, current regulations, visit fw.ky.gov.