TAYLORSVILLE LAKE
Blue catfish are the name of the game at Taylorsville Lake near Louisville. Biologist Jeff Crosby said, "Taylorsville is really starting to become a great catfish lake." Of course, the lake has been popular for channel catfish for years, but the recently stocked blue catfish are really coming on strong and as of yet, are not getting anglers' full attention.

Blue catfish were first stocked into Taylorsville Lake in 2002, so they have had several years to grow. Now biologists and anglers alike are starting to see some really nice fish. Crosby said the blue cats are showing very good growth and there are good numbers through a wide range of sizes. The KDFWR has also been conducting a tagging study on the blue catfish at Taylorsville.

Anglers need to fish differently to target blue cats. They are often found in open water at Taylorsville and are not just sitting on the bottom as many anglers imagine. To catch the larger fish, anglers should use heavier tackle and bigger baits, such as live fish or chunks of cut bait.

While at Taylorsville, catfish enthusiasts can also take advantage of the other two species of catfish. Channel cats are not stocked, but are present in very good numbers as the population is maintained through natural reproduction. Crosby said flathead catfish are also present in the fishery as well.

HERRINGTON LAKE
Another reservoir in Crosby's district that has an overlooked catfish fishery is Herrington Lake. The biologist said this lake is not heavily fished for catfish, but there is some very good opportunity to do so, especially for flathead catfish.

"There are good numbers of flatheads at Herrington. A lot of bass anglers unexpectedly catch flatheads, and we see a lot of flatheads when we are shocking. There are a good number of channel cats as well."

There are probably a few good reasons why the flathead population is not heavily fished at Herrington. First, it is highly likely that many people simply don't know the fishery is that good. Also, the lake is a canyon reservoir with very steep sides and, according to Crosby, this is intimidating to some fishermen. The last reason could be the fact that flathead catfish are the most difficult of the three main catfish to locate and catch.

Flatheads are topnotch predators and will choose live forage over everything else unless food sources are in short supply. They feed heavily on bluegills, sunfish and shad. Anglers must use baits accordingly if they are to get much attention from the big flatheads.

WOOD CREEK LAKE
Wood Creek Lake is a medium- sized water that has a very good channel catfish fishery. The fishery itself is not overlooked so much, but there are more whiskerfish in the lake than anglers realize.

Wood Creek Lake is about 672 acres in size; it is located in Laurel County near London. There is one boat launch with a small concession that has limited fishing supplies. To reach the lake, follow state Route (SR) 80 west out of London until reaching Swiss Colony. Turn right onto Swiss Colony Road and follow it until reaching Wood Creek Lake Road.

We've covered a few overlooked fisheries in some of our larger waters, but there are also numerous catfish opportunities at some of our smaller lakes that are overlooked by anglers. These include lakes owned by both the state and the KDFWR. Most all are regularly stocked with channel catfish, and some are even stocked with blue cats as well.

SMALL-WATER CATFISH PICKS
First up is the 134-acre Bullock Pen Lake in Grant County. Crosby said the lake is stocked annually with both blue and channel catfish, and there are some very large fish present. The KDFWR stocks some 900 blue catfish and just about 3,350 channel cats each year.