Photo by William J. Bohica.

You don't have to go to a huge reservoir in Kentucky to catch quality bass. Sure those big, well-known impoundments offer great bass fishing and have earned their reputations. But don't forget, there's plenty of great angling in our smaller lakes as well.

In some regards, the chances of catching some really large fish on some of the smaller locations are even greater than at the huge impoundments.

Kentucky has many small waters that provide anglers with some great opportunities to catch quality-sized largemouth bass. Of course, some of these waters waiver in quality from time to time, due to their size and subsequent spawning success.

So, here's a look at five lakes in the state that are serving up some great bassing right now!

MAUZY LAKE
Big things are happening on 456-acre Mauzy Lake, which is part of the Higginson-Henry Wildlife Management Area. To be specific, big bass are happening. Since the recent renovation of this Union County lake, the bass fishery has taken a major jump in quality and shows no signs of letting up.

Formerly, to be frank, the bass fishery was simply not very good at all. The lake was tremendously overpopulated with small bass in the 8- to 11-inch range. The shoreline was choked with thick vegetation that in many areas continued a good distance out into the lake. Some of the coves were completely saturated with pond scum and this vegetation -- which not only made fishing difficult, but also contributed to the demise of the bass fishery. Forage fish tended to stay within the thick weed growth and were less accessible to the bass. With a lack of food sources, their growth became severely stunted.

In the summer of 2003, a major renovation project took place. The water was drawn down 13 feet to facilitate repair work on the levee and to install a bottom-water withdrawal system that allows water to be lowered more efficiently, to help control weed growth and also improve stratification problems.

While the water level was down, the weed growth was eliminated, which has allowed the bass to feed more effectively.

According to biologist Rob Rold. "The bass have done wonderful. The bass are fat, chunky, and healthy. Everything really looks fantastic."

Fall sampling from 2006 bore this out. There were a lot of fish in the 15- to 17-inch range. One bass measured an impressive 19 1/2 inches! Rold says the fishery should develop into a very stable, thriving bass population. He anticipates this spring being a very good one for anglers.