Kentucky Lake Winter 2009-2010

Winter time at Kentucky Lake Dam State Park marina above, a quiet time of year, hibernating pleasure craft. Of course there are some die hard fishermen venturing out on warmer days. Me, I would rather stay home huddled close to the firebox and wait for Spring. Sauger fishing below Kentucky Dam is supposed to be excellent from mid-January through mid-February, a spawning run I have been told. In all of my 28 years on the lake, I have never tested this rumor. This past Sunday, I crossed the new US641 bridge across the Tennessee River on my way to Grand Rivers, not a single fisherman in sight below the dam. All the gates were open and the water beneath the dam was quite turbulent which might explain the absence of fishermen. We used to catch a lot of sauger years ago in the main lake, mostly by trolling or bouncing jigs across gravel bars in the main lake. But when the mussel boats started dragging the lake, the sauger fishing seemed ruined. The forecast for this week is wintry, maybe next week will bring a warm day. If so, I think I will go try for sauger below the dam. I'll update this blog with my results.