GLASGOW — Have a question about the fish in Barren River Lake?

You might get that question answered tonight if you attend the regular monthly membership meeting of the Barren River Rod and Gun Club.

The club will have a program by Eric Cummings and David Wyffels of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife's fisheries division. They have offices in Bowling Green and Barren is among the area impoundments they supervise.

They will be presenting a short program on the health of the various species in Barren and then will take questions from the audience.

The club meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at their clubhouse on Barren Lake at Lucas.

Comes word from the folks at Ranger Bob’s of a benefit bass fishing tournament coming up on Sunday, Oct. 26 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. out of the Peninsula Ramp on Barren. Entry fee is $30 per person, a three fish limit and 50 percent payback. The tournament is to benefit Gary Stinson and family. To enter or get more information, call Ranger Bob at (270) 622-6160 or e-mail rangerb64@hotmail.com.

This week’s fishing report continues to show improvement as water temperatures fall. Both bass and crappie appear to be schooling for the fall run. Some nice catches of largemouth have come in over the past few days according to our fishing reporter Todd Logsdon. Also, crappie are being caught in good numbers over cover 10 to 15 feet on both minnows and jigs. Bass are being caught on buzz baits, other topwater and shallow running crank baits as the bass appear to be chasing shad toward the creeks. Some hybrids are coming in but mostly in the 3- to 5-pound class. Catfish are hitting along the bluffs on nightcrawlers and bluegill are still hitting crickets.

A fall crappie fishing trip to Kentucky Lake is featured this week on Kentucky Afield television with host Tim Farmer being joined by famed Kentucky musician Eddie Pennington. There will also be a segment on the annual elk tour out of Pine Mountain State Park. The show airs on KET at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

Local folks who regularly fish for trout on the Cumberland River have been rightly concerned about their favorite sport because of the low water in the river.

Noted wildlife writer Lee McClellan of Kentucky Afield Magazine offers some information this week on the situation.

“The Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam is as low as it’s been since the lake filled in 1952. The summer’s drought and ongoing repair work on the dam created a situation where trickles now flow where torrents of water once swamped gravel bars. The daily water conditions of slack water in the morning rising to flood levels by afternoon common during electrical generation at Wolf Creek Dam are no more.

“The low water compresses fish into predictable spots and makes for good fishing for stocker-sized trout, but larger fish are hard to entice right now.

“For anglers who want a limit to eat or just enjoy catching fish regardless of size, an in-line spinner, a small Rapala-style floating minnow, a small gold spoon, redworm or night crawler will catch trout, mostly rainbows. Fly anglers will score with olive, black, brown or gray woolly buggers, streamers in white, chartreuse and gray, crawfish patterns heavy on orange and ant patterns fished in riffles. The Chicago fly, a generalist pattern popular on the Cumberland that looks like a black mohair leech with less marabou dressing, also works well.

“However, many of these trout will be just a little longer than your hand. The Cumberland River is a world class fishery and a 9-inch recently stocked trout doesn’t satisfy when trophy fish abound. Picking the right weather conditions and water type should put you on some of those 18-inch and larger fish.

“‘I think the bigger fish are holding in deeper water,’ said Dave Dreves, fisheries research biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. ‘There is a lack of intermediate depth at this time, whereas there is a lot of this habitat at higher water. The water in the prime fishing shoals is now too shallow.’

“Avoid fishing on clear days that come with high pressure weather systems. ‘There is a major difference in the fishing between a bluebird, bright day and an overcast day,’ Dreves said. ‘You’ll catch nothing but stockers on bright days. The bigger fish are going to leave the 2 to 3 feet of water for deeper water on those days. A dark, cloudy day or even a light rain would be the best time to fish.’

“The deeper, outside bends are productive spots for larger fish during the unusually low water. ‘The outer bends help with current,’ said Jeff Ross, assistant director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, who formerly helped manage the trout fishery in the Cumberland River. ‘Those boulder-strewn outer bends below Big Willis Creek and Whetstone Creek hold big browns. I saw a 9- and a 12-pounder come up in the fall while electrofishing the river along those banks. We always see big browns there. The rocky outside bend below the Rockhouse is also good.’

Fishing deeper than normal for trout also helps in these conditions. ‘The trout may not be willing to come up 8 or 9 feet to strike a lure right now,’ Ross said. ‘Most trout anglers are not going to fish that deep. Fish something you can get down. We once got a 9-pounder from the end of Rainbow Run in deep water in fall. It was holding deeper than our long dip nets we use.’

“Fly anglers should use a sinking line and heavier streamers or woolly buggers to fish behind large boulders and in woody cover in these deeper areas. Anglers using spinning gear should try a 1/16- or 1/8-ounce marabou jig in orange, brown, olive or black fished in the same spots. Deep-running crankbaits such as the Shad Rap in crawfish colors also tempt trout. Drifting a live shad, shiner or crappie minnow in these areas also draws strikes.

“Fishing at dusk, in the pre-dawn hours and even night may be the solution to better fish. ‘They come up on shoals and feed in really low light conditions when the water is this low,’ Ross said. ‘It may be the only time you can get a large fish to hit a lure.’

“Watch the weather, pick the right spots and get on a world class trout fishery this fall. Wet a line in the Cumberland River.”