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Two full moons in May is a bit unusual but that’s okay with bluegill anglers who are reaping the benefits.

After hitting the shallows early this spring and making an aggressive spawning run in late April and early May the bluegill are about to return to active spawning phases.

Their second surge is underway as May 31 brings another full moon and that will trigger bluegill and some redear to return to spawning beds.

Kentucky Lake’s elevation has fluctuated the last week to ten days. It’s now several inches above the normal summer pool level of 359. As this reported was posted lake levels have risen to the 359.8 level.

Recent rains and more in the forecast could see lake levels rise even more in the days ahead.

Water color remains clear across the reservoir, which can make shallow bluegill and especially red ear quite spooky. They can be sensitive and easy to spook in that crystal clear water. Surface temps have risen to the 75 degree range.

Some dandy stringers of bluegill have filled coolers lately and more good fishing should be on tap for next week. Females were beginning to bloat with eggs in preparation for another spawning spree.

Most fishermen have been casting slip bobbers using light tackle, using crickets or artificial grubs and larva imitations. That has worked well as have tipping tiny jigs with meal or wax works to entice strikes.

When lake levels rose recently it inundated buck bushes and weedbeds and that quickly appealed to bass that moved up rapidly into the shoreline habitat. Tossing Texas rigged craws and lizards plus spinnerbaits and top water jerk baits has paid dividends.

Schools of newly hatch shad fry are beginning to show up around weeds, bushes, treelaps and boat docks. That will attract bass for the next few weeks.

Some bass fishermen have turned their back to the banks and targeted post spawn bass out on humps and ledges. Tossing finesse baits out there on the ledges has worked as have big deep diving crankbaits as the fish take on a summer pattern to some degree.

During the recent Bassmasters tournament here on Kentucky Lake many of the top stringers came from anglers targeting main lake ledges.

It’s that time of year when a good shallow pattern can produce as the shad fry are hatching out and relating to grass and bushes while at the same time guys are finding the deeper bite working too.

Watch for those schools of fry hiding around structure and it should lead you to a few bass.

Catfish continue to stay on the prowl. Decent numbers were taken this week on rocky banks as spawning phases were still underway. Some bluegill fishermen were tying into catfish that occupied the bluegill beds as the fry began to emerge in big schools.

No doubt the catfish can smell the bluegill beds. It’s a nice surprise for bream fishermen to tie into a hefty catfish on that light tackle presentation now and then.

Crappie remain in post-spawn and continued to scatter in a variety of depths. Some fish were taken in 6 to 9 foot depths while a few were backing out to 11 to 14 foot areas. It’s not unusual to find a few up on shorelines around buck bushes at times but most appear to be scattered in midrange depths.

In another ten days or so expect to find more crappie moving back out to midrange depths where stakebeds and brushpiles will be holding more fish.

Live minnows have produced for crappie anglers lately as have jigs tipped with minnows at times.

While it may sound like a broken record anglers across Kentucky Lake continue to battle nasty winds at times. Normally the strong breezes have settled down by mid-May but such has not been the case this year.

Heavy rains are presently changing the picture. Up until this week it has been dry across the region.