With heavy rainfall the lake has risen close to five feet or at one foot above summer pool. Since I have been guiding for over 30 years on this lake this is nothing new to me. When St. Louis the flood control center for the Corp says hold your water then no current gets in the lake and the mud settles up on the extreme north end of both rivers. Just find suitable water color and it exists from just south of the RR bridge or just west of the Coalshaft bridge all the way south so 90% of the lake is very fishable.

Since water temps are still mid fifties I would still be fishing a jig in some sort of chartreuse. My 1/8oz. Deep Ledge jig and a Brushpile Hammer is my choice. Wyatt’s Blue Magic, Green Goblin, Peppercorn Pearl are my go to colors. We are tightlining with three anglers up on the nose putting a jig right on top of a hungry crappie and watching it live on my 16in. 1643GPS Map Livescope unit. If you have never seen this it is a ball and I have about the best unit money can buy for this.

I had to cancel most of my trips down on Kentucky Lake due to Biblical flooding. Everywhere from Paducah down to Little Rock has experienced anywhere from 12-16in. of rain since Thursday. If you are not down there you don’t see what I did. Backroads washed out water running down the steep terrains everywhere. They said 274 billion gallons of water has went through the Kentucky and Barkley dam in the last 24 hours. Entire lake is just mud and with a ton still coming in I thought it best to just come home to slightly less flooding.

Since I had to come home I have April 15,16,17 open next week. The weather is getting warm again and very little rain is expected so give me a call otherwise I am booked solid until June 16th the only day I have in June then it is July. My number is 217-840-1221

Steve Welch
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