Crappie fishing is what you are planning. There is plenty to do and see throughout the country when it comes to crappie fishing. If you are one that is looking to enjoy Kentucky lake crappie fishing, the good news is that there are a number of great places to get started. Before you begin your plan for catching crappie, start by grabbing a map and laying out your goals. The fact is, you will want to plan how to hit just about all of the areas within this great state that offer excellent crappie fishing for anglers. Here are some tips to help you, but know that there are plenty of other great locations to fish than the Kentucky lake crappie fishing we list here.



Kentucky is well known for providing anglers with great slab crappie fishing all year long, so choosing two top lakes in the state in which to fish for crappie is a daunting task to say the least. As is always the case, the perfect fishing hole is largely a personal preference, and each angler is entitled to his or her own opinion. Known as the Bluegrass State, Kentucky is known for several lakes and other bodies of water that consistently produce terrific, record setting crappie fishing all year long. The depths and techniques are what varies, not the abundance of crappie, because anglers statewide can easily find crappie to catch whenever the urge to bait a hook and hit the water finds them.

Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake are arguably two of the very best crappie fishing waters in Kentucky, if not in the whole country. These tributaries are located in southwestern Kentucky, and are well known for the consistency of their crappie catches each and every year. These lakes have a huge black and white crappie population. The sizes of the papermouths regularly pulled from Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake is amazing as well. Catches of two pounds plus are not uncommon, and tournament fishermen are consistently required to catch two pound fish in order to place well in the local tournaments.

Black crappie in Kentucky Lake tend to move into the shallows much sooner than white crappie do, which allows anglers to fish different depths longer, depending on whether they are after black or white crappie, than some other popular places do. Recent studies showed they were moving into the shallows as early as March, so adjusting your techniques accordingly should prove to increase your catch in these areas.

Crappie fishing is always best in March through May, but after a little bit of a lag, you will find plenty of fish again in the autumn through the winter months of the year. Most of the crappie seem to be caught in the deeper water areas. Many anglers actually prefer the months of June, July and March for crappie fishing in Kentucky Lake, and bringing in 30 keepers in the ten plus inch range is certainly not uncommon!

As is always the case when fishing for crappie, fish with the smallest hooks possible to avoid tearing the fragile mouth of the crappie. Normally an eight or ten works well, as do gang hooks. Reel your catch in slowly, using a gentle pull and reel combination technique. Net the fish to bring it in as soon as you can. Even light weight rod and reel combination rigs seem to work well when fishing for crappie.