LOTS AND LOTS OF LAKE
CUMBERLAND
by Dennis Hoover
Good times and big fish at Lake
Cumberland.
Lake Cumberland shines during Crappiethon USA when 1,200 to
1,400 tagged tournament fish offer a chance to win big prize
money. That's about one fish per mile of wonderful rocky and
wooded shoreline! However, Cumberland offers more than fine
crappie fishing. Many species run bigger. There's a solid record of a 58-pound
"rockfish" which Yankees call striped bass. A 22-pound walleye seems almost
reasonable, but you'll have to ask the folks at the Visitors
Center about a catfish that
supposedly weighed in at 208 pounds.
Do, given the huge size of the lake, consider a
guided trip early in your visit if you plan to fish for several
days. One thing seems certain, at least ten species of fish give
you plenty of chances to, as one local put it, "make the
grease stink." 
Typical Cumberland rocky banks and solid cover.
Even if a guide shows you the best general areas to fish it's
always wise to check the lake's surface temperatures -- these
will vary near live stream inlets -- against the optimum temperatures
for the gamefish species you seek. Then adjust your methods and
depth. For your convenience we've added a Water and Air
temperature chart below.
Catfish and panfish provide a year-round "basement"
to building big catches. Catfish bite best in the lake and its
tributaries from just before Memorial Day to Thanksgiving. You
can try the usual stink baits for catfish, but live and
"recently" deceased shad minnows and lively
nightcrawlers do at least as well, and wives whon't make you
store your bait in the fridge in the garage.
Crappie are the mini minnow munchers of all time and tiny jigs
tipped with various oddments and suspended under bobbers do the
job if there's just enough riffle on the water to move the jigs.
Bream -- bluegills to Yankees -- offer solid light tackle action
too. They're especially nice for fly anglers and ultralight buffs
who can take them with little popping bugs. Tiny spinners work
too, but your best bet is a lively cricket or small red worm.
Ultralight Action
Crappie and white bass offer light tackle action just about
everywhere with March, April and May the hot seasons. Minnows
work well, but my choice is small jigs and spoons that offer a
bit more lateral and vertical coverage and make sure I stay
awake. Move until you find fish and check out some of the back
coves.
During summer months, specimen panfish can suspend in the lake
just about anywhere, or head up into live stream inlets for cool
water. Even better, white bass go "on the jumps" when
schools savage bait in the middle of the lake.
Bucketmouth Bass
The crappie pattern works for largemouth bass that hide in and
around cover on major tributaries. If you houseboat,
consider a john boat, bass boat, skiff or even a canoe so you can
get back into the heavy, often shaded sections that produce good
action all year among the stumps and along mud banks. Early and
late in the year there's no finer place to toss spinner baits or
big plugs. And, if you fish points in the main lake in the spring
before spawning season you may get a striper too.
Wild Walleye & Super Sauger
Walleye and Sauger may seem odd fish to find in the south, but
they do well in the deep cool waters behind dams and fill in the
angler's winter months nicely. Best spots include the Big South
Fork headwaters and tailwaters below Wolf Creek and other dams.
Minnows and jigs, minnows alone either freelined or under
bobbers, jigs and most of the usual combinations work. Big walleys, like big "rocks" hit trolled plugs too. So do
very large smallmouth
bass and the odd black bass. So pay close attention to your
flasher or graph finder. Those big marks aren't gators.
Realistic Rocks
"Rocks" AKA striped bass offer your best shot at a
big fish in the shoulder seasons before and after summer crowds.
Stripers spawn by running up into free flowing streams that
suspend their released eggs. Before this happens in the spring,
big stripers -- almost all are females -- tend to hang around
long points.
A big Redfin or Cordell in rainbow trout or red head/white
body can, if you properly position your boat, be cast well up
along the bank and every so slowly retrieved so it leaves a long
V-wake as it wiggles, but does not submerge. You need a windless
morning or late evening before or after the light's on the water
for this. You won't catch many fish, but you will catch a very
big fish that, with an eye on the future, you can release to
spawn. Besides, the smaller males in the four to 15 pound range
taste better.
Life After Fishing
There's lots
to do at Lake Cumberland besides fish. So when we stay in
resorts or B&Bs or trailer in our own boats we usually fish
early and late during summer. During the day you can play golf at
the Burnside Island Golf Course on Christmas Island or at several
decent Somerset courses. 
Paddling offers quiet days, and an excellent chance to
sneak up on fish and wildlife.
You can run white water, admire Yahoo Falls, the tallest in
Kentucky, ride horses, check out the game refuges or admire the
scenery and more
in Daniel Boone National Forest.
Several marinas rent boats, party barges, canoes, wave runners
and other watercraft. You'll find guides available through
resorts and a host of accomodations. Many resorts and other
accommodations offer attractions like swimming pools, beaches,
playgrounds or tennis courts. There are at least five campgrounds
-- one, General Burnside Island State Park -- even has an 18 hole
golf course. But wherever you go Southern hospitality deserves
its capital reputation. When folks say, "You'all come
back" they really mean it.
Publisher's note: To see what's where on the many local rivers
and ponds topographic maps help. While you can buy individual
"quads" for limited areas you might consider the new,
and up to date CD-ROMs that might cover 200 or more quads. These
let you examine large areas in great detail to turn up new spots
to fish, and they allow you to then print only the areas you
want. Even better they work with GPS systems as well
Information Sources
Other Information:
Somerset-Pulaski County Tourist Commission, Box 622, Somerset,
KY 42502 800-642-5287
Daniel Boone National Forest, 2995 Lincoln Farm, Rod.
Hodgenville, KY42748 606-745-3100
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, 452 Versailes Road, Box 817,
Frankfort, KY 40602 502-694\504700
Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, Game
Farm Road, Frankfort, KY 40601 502-564-4336
Kentucky Licenses (1995)
Resident Non-Resident
Annual
$12.00
$30.00
Combo Hunt/Fish
$30.00
n/a
Joint Husband/Wife
$22.50
n/a
Trout Stamp
$
5.00 $
5.00
3-day Fishing
n/a
$12.50
15-day Fishing
n/a
$20.00
Note: Kentucky offers free fishing days the first weekend
in June.
Creel & Size Limits
Day Possession Size
Species
Limit Limit
Limit
Black Bass
6
12 15"
Rock Bass
15
30 none
Walleye & Hybrids
10
20 15"
Sauger
10
20 none
White/Yellow Bass
30
60 none
Striped Bass (rockfish)
2*
2 24"
Crappie
30
60 10"
Rainbow Trout
8
8 none
Brown Trout
8
8 none
Kentucky Bass
6
6 none
* Lake Cumberland Restrictions
Lake Cumberland Average Temperatures
Month
Air Surface
January
40 44
February 42 45
March
52 48
April
62 62
May
70 73
June
77 81
July
78 84
August
73 83
September 66 73
October
53 63
November 43 56
December 40 48
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