Late-season largemouth bass on Kentucky Lake: a picture of the week

Fall on the water means cool mornings, fewer boats and fish feeding up before winter. With about 160,000 acres and roughly 2,064 miles of shoreline at full pool, Kentucky Lake is a lot of water to cover. At its deepest the lake reaches around 75 ft. Anglers come to Kentucky Lake for largemouth bass, crappie and catfish. Knowing which fish are comfortable at that day's temperature narrows a big lake down to a few good spots.

Kentucky Lake: TN River Folklife Center at NBFSP Eva TN. Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com), CC BY 3.0

Kentucky Lake: Kentucky and Barkley Lakes aerial view. Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (public domain)

On the water now

The surface reads 60°F (on November 6). On Kentucky Lake, largemouth bass are a strong bet. The 60s are a sweet spot: bass are active, roam widely and will chase moving baits. Then there are crappie, in a good mood. In the 60s crappie spread out over brush and docks in the 8 to 15 ft range.

The level reads 354.2 ft, 0.3 ft lower than a week ago and 0.4 ft down over 26 days. That puts it 0.5 ft below the usual level for this time of year. A steady level keeps fish on familiar spots, so what worked last week should still be close.

Where to go

The marked spot on Kentucky Lake is a point drop-off that covers 4 to 16 ft. The bottom falls away fast off this point; fish rest deep and move up the slope to feed. It is a good place for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass; try tube or ned rig on rock.

Depth map of Kentucky Lake: shoreline, depth shading and contour lines, with today's free fishing spot — **Kentucky Lake lake bed.** Darker blue is deeper water; contour lines every 20 ft. The star marks the free spot named in this report (point drop-off, 4 to 16 ft).

See this spot in 3-D

Plan a visit

Places to stay near the water are listed below if you want to make a weekend of it.