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Kentucky Lake’s fishing scene has been good and it’s heating up even more with the arrival of some hot weather now entering the picture.

Surface temperatures have climbed to the 74 degree range and may rise even more this week as daytime highs were projected to reach the mid to upper 80’s for a few days and then fall back to the normal low 70’s.

Lake levels have been a few inches above the normal summer pool elevation of 359 this week. Water color is clear.

Still dominating the conversation among the ranks of anglers up and down the lake is the fantastic bite underway by bedding bluegill and red ear sunfish (shellcracker). It has been holding up on a consistent basis as impressive stringers have been taken by anglers targeting the 2 to 5 foot depth range.

Pockets just off the main lake and shallow backwater bays have been home to spawning bluegill and shellcracker for the last few weeks. The powerful panfish have been fanning those craters in shallow gravel and mud bottoms for egg deposits. The bite has been good.

The bite should hold up for another week or two as the fish enter a post-spawn phases. Early summer is still a good time to catch them but nothing compares to the peak spawning phases.

Also filling the coolers of Kentucky Lake anglers have been hefty stringers of catfish. Both channel and blue catfish have been spawning around shallow structure and hanging around the bluegill beds too. Plus, those rocky shorelines have really been appealing to spawning catfish.

Most anglers are relying on nightcrawlers for bait but a variety of commercial baits are working well too. Levees and any rip-rap rock shorelines such as the old railroad levee east of Big Sandy at Danville on the Tennessee River, Paris Landing bridge approach, the little rock island up Big Sandy adjacent to Sulphur Well Island and rocky banks beneath the power lines on Big Sandy are but a few of the popular catfish producing spots.

Bass fishermen are finding fish shallow at the same time some of their friends are backing off the banks and targeting the post-spawn pattern. The post-spawn pattern usually sees bass backing off the banks as surface temps rise to the mid to upper 70’s.

Lately several decent stringers have been taken as some anglers stay on a shallow pattern and continue to pitch and flip Texas rigged craws and worms around buck bushes, blowdowns and logs. Grassbeds are holding bass too. Tossing a spinnerbait and buzzbaits or jerkbaits have been accounting for some good fish still lingering in shallow areas.

Out on the ledges anglers are relying big crankbaits to help them cover a lot of water. Shad colored variations, along with black and chartreuse have been productive colors as the ledge bite begins to improve.

Tossing big Texas rigged worms in the green pumpkin pepper, along with swim baits and hopping a jig and craw will continue to be popular choices as summer approaches.

A few nice stringers of post-spawn crappie are still coming in from anglers who are stalking midrange depths of 9 to 15 feet out on main lake areas. However, some crappie are still relating to structure back in the bays in midrange depths too.

Tightlining jigs and live minnows has worked well. Some boats trolling crankbaits and Roadrunner jigs are finding several suspended crappie in the 9 to 15 depth range as they cover a lot of water out on main lake areas.

Kentucky Lake’s fishing scene chalked up another good week as the bite has been good.