By JOEL WILSON
GLASGOW — They’re calling it the "Dead Sea.” That’s how our fishing reporter Todd Logsdon described the frustration that crappie fishermen are feeling about their favorite fishing hole, Barren River Reservoir. "Or they’ll ask, ‘When are they stocking crappie in Barren?’”
With high water and the resulting strong drawdown, Barren has not been an ideal place for crappie this spring but those conditions may be changing soon. As of Wednesday, the lake level was about a foot over summer pool and the drawdown has been slowed. There may not be a true crappie season this year but conditions are expected to be much improved in the coming week, barring further heavy rains.
Todd reports that Lake Cumberland is still the hot spot for most all species. They’re still catching fish at night because shad are spawning there. Walleye, bass, rock fish and even crappie fishing is said to be good at Cumberland.
At Dale Hollow, the smallmouth have moved into the grassbeds which brings new opportunities for those who are after old bronzeback.
Crappie fishing is on the downswing at Kentucky and Barkley. Todd's dad Bill, who also helps compile the weekly fishing report, was at Kentucky midweek and had switched from crappie to bass. Bill had boated several nice bass but had lost a couple of lunkers that hit short.
Meanwhile, back on the home front, people are catching fish at Barren. One of Todd’s customers had caught six bass early in the week up Skaggs and had caught them on topwater, crankbaits and even on plastic. He said he couldn’t establish a real pattern.
I talked to Cave City Mayor Bob Hunt Tuesday and he said he had gone to Barren on Monday and caught bass, but nothing big.
On Tuesday, another customer stopped by Todd’s shop in Southgate Plaza with a nice string of brim including a couple of goggle eye (rock bass or warmouth) in the one-pound range. He had been fishing from the bank way up Skaggs near Matthews Mill.
And another fishermen who was willing to try something else, came by with several channel cats he had taken drifting along the beach area out of Parksite.
What we haven’t heard is anyone with a good string of crappie.
This weekend’s Kentucky Afield show on KET will feature a crappie trip to the Ohio River tributaries. Host Tim Farmer joins guide Richard Butler of Breckinridge County to a honey hole just south of Louisville.
Mrs. Farmer joins the show this week for a Mother’s Day feature on pond fishing with their son.
And there will also be another segment on hunting history in Kentucky. The show airs on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and repeats on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Parents have just one more week to sign their children up for summer conservation camps operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
The application deadline has been extended to May 15 for Camp Currie on Kentucky Lake, Camp Webb on Grayson Lake and Camp Wallace on Lake Cumberland. Kids from this area go to Camp Currie.
The summer camps are open to all Kentucky students who are in grades 4 through 6 and not older than 13 years. Camps run from Monday through Friday. The camp fee is $215 and includes all meals, lodging, activities and transportation. Last year, 4,300 students attended.
The camps afford an opportunity for students to complete their hunter education certification. All hunters born after January 1, 1975 must carry a valid hunter education certificate course completion card at all times while in the field hunting.
To apply to camp, go to https://fw.ky.gov/app/CAintro.aspx. Follow the instructions located there. You may also call 1-800-858-1549 for more information and or to register for camp.
Online applicants can save $15 off the registration fee. Summer camps run from June through August.
This week from the Department, we learn that as you would guess, turkey is the favorite game meat available in the state. Whether frying, smoking or baking, the possibilities are endless for the turkey hunter with a taste for good eating. But what about all those parts that aren’t edible?
Turkey wing feathers make excellent arrow fletches. Many avid bow shooters fletch their own arrows for greater consistency and money savings.
You can use turkey spurs to make necklaces, as well as other jewelry and crafts. Cut through the leg bone above and below the spur, leaving about an inch of bone attached. Next, clean the spur and bone cavity. Some people boil spurs to help with the cleaning, and use bleach or peroxide to whiten the bone. You will need a saw to cut through the bone, a knife or steel wool and a rifle-bore brush to clean the spur and bone. Turkey bones are hollow and easy to string onto a necklace.
Wing bones can be made into a turkey call. To do this, you will need the radius, ulna and humerus from the turkey’s wing, and the same materials used to make a turkey spur necklace. Cut these bones from the wing and clean them. As with spurs, the bones may be boiled to assist in cleaning and bleached for whitening. Next, cut the knobs from the ends of the bones. The straight pieces of bone are then fitted together to make the call, using the radius for the mouthpiece, ulna for midsection and humerus as an end piece. Use sandpaper to help fit the bones together and then glue them in place.
