The lake level is at 598.12. Normal summer pool is 599.7 or roughly a foot and a half low. Water temps today was 77 and gin clear.

Not much has changed since last report. I am watching the Pelicans every morning. They are on or near bait fish. Shad are busting on flats until about mid morning up on the north end.

“WHITE BASS’
I am throwing my spoon/hair jig combo like I have been for over a month. Up on flats or on the edge. I motor along the edge watching my side imaging for clouds of bait. Plus my eyes are glued to surface activity. I cast my spoon up on the flats right into busting shad. Allow it to hit bottom then pop it up catch up with my slack and do it again. Whites will hit it on slack line all the way back to the boat.
If I get a good wind I then start moving south to fish ledges. Never before 10am. Down there I want to see schools on drops about 15-18ft. They are mixed in or right beside big schools of Buffalo Carp. You can see the size difference pretty easy and the Buffalo are on bottom. For this I am just fishing my spoon straight vertical under the boat. Jigging it up and down and watching my Livescope for fish on the bottom coming up and hitting my spoon. Wind is a must to help push bait up against the ledge.

“CRAPPIE”
Finally these last few days I throw my slip bobber and minnow into structure on the north end and I am greeted by some quality crappie. All summer they have been hard to find simply because they are out roaming chasing open water balls of shad. Give me a couple weeks and I am going to stop on the whites and concentrate more on the crappie. I want to see surface temps below 60. Early mornings are best for both species now. You must pick with me but I went out a few days ago and just crappie fished and picked up some nice fish. Fall is looking pretty good the crappie are fat.

“OPEN DATES”
September 23,27,29,30
October 1,2,3,6-13,16,20,23,24,27,28,29
That is all for 2025 on Lake Shelbyville

“KENTUCKY LAKE”
November 11
Season Over for 2025. See you at the Shows.

Steve Welch
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