Brandon Hunter

Well guys and gals, we made it through the 4th of July! I hope everyone had a great holiday celebrating our nation's independence. Our country is in a mess, but we still live in the greatest country on earth.

It’s hard for me to believe that we are already halfway through the year and boy has it been a treat this year. Our lake is in better shape than it’s been in a long time from shad, fish spawns, numbers, quality, and all of the above. A special thanks to the KDFW and TWRA for their efforts in battling the invasive species and getting our lakes in better shape. It truly is incredible to see the efforts made working and seeing the lake come back so quickly.

I have lived here on Kentucky Lake my entire life and have seen it in its best days and have seen it in its worst days. Just a few short years ago, there wasn’t a school of bass to be found on the river and offshore because of lack of fish and lack of bait, and now we have made it through the summer and I can say it was as good of a summer as I have seen in quite a few years for numbers.

The smallmouth have come back stronger than ever and will continue to be hard to find during the summer months, but in the spring and fall they will show out. Smallmouth will run with the largemouth and they will treat you by surprise, that's for sure.

The largemouth population of 2-3 lb. class of fish is incredible. The next few years will be incredible and I look forward to sharing it with you.

Lake Conditions and What's Happening on the Lake

Water Temps: Mid 80s
Lake Level: 358 Just below Summer Pool
Water Color: Lake is overall clean and normal water clarity with local heavy rains from hurricane.

As summer continues to be hot and humid here in Kentucky, the fish will continue their normal summer patterns. There are still a good number of fish offshore, but the schools will continue to break up due to heat, lack of current, and fishing pressure. We are getting late enough in the year now that fish will start to migrate and move shallow.

This doesn’t mean that every fish in the lake goes to the creeks. When I say shallow, that doesn't always mean, move to shallow creeks. Always remember, even on the main lake, there are shallow areas and this is where a lot of fish will start to move in late summer for oxygen.

Did you know that fish actually go shallower the hotter it gets and not deeper? Now you know. If you want to target schools, our best days have been found in that 14-20’ range. For the shallow ledges start looking in that 8-12’ range with shells and stumps.

There is also a good number of bait up on the bank along with some mayfly hatches going on. When you see this, you can catch fish on topwater walking baits or buzzbaits. Fish will also start using shallow brush piles this time of year. Let's dive in a little deeper.

Techniques & Where

Deep Cranking - This time of year the deep crankbait slows down, but if you find the right school and time it right, you can have some fun with the big plug. 14-17’ Depth Range

Specifics - 6th Sense Fishing Crush 300DD and 500DD depending on the depth, Colors Smashfest, Bluetreuse Shad, Citrus

Swimbaits - A swimbait is always on the deck of my boat, if not 2 or 3 of them. It's a bait that you can cover water with and search for those bites. You will find fish that are suspended to fall for swimbaits more because you can get it up in the water column. Same depths as the crankbait.

Specifics - Ignite 4” and 5” Frenzy Shad with 3/4oz Ignite Head Colors American Shad, Sexy Shad, Ky Lake Special, GBG 6th Sense Divine 3.8 with 3/8oz Head rigged on Spinning Gear

Football Jigs or Casting Jigs - A jig is a great bait for offshore fish. When fish are ticked along the bottom and even when they are up, there's a way to catch them on a jig.

Specifics - Dirty Jigs Tackle ¾oz Football Jig Colors Green Pumpkin, Watermelon, Black Blue

Drop Shot or Neko Rig - A drop shot or neko rig is the bait you put in your hand when you can’t seem to get them going. These baits fished around breaks or drops where you have located schools will get you some bites.

Specifics- 6th Sense Fishing Glitch Colors Morning Dawn or Plum Dawn, 6” Roboworm Colors Morning Dawn or Hologram Dawn 6th Sense Fishing Bamboosa Worm Colors Plum Fleck and Whiskey Dust

Damiki Rig or Hover Rig - Same places as Swimbaits but targeting fish with forward facing sonar Specifics- 6th Sense Juggle Minnow or Flush 5.2 on FFS Head Magnum Spoon- When fish are schooled up and hard to catch, the Magnum Spoon will get you some bites and it will also get you a big bite.

Specifics - Nichols Magnum 8” Spoon or 6” Mini Mag

Big Texas Rig Worm - The Texas Rig Worm is great for fishing brushpiles in 8-14’ of water this time of year.

Specifics - 6th Sense Fishing Boosa Ribbon Tail Colors Blue Fleck or Plum

Buzzbait - A buzzbait around shallow rock or water willow grass early morning is a geat bait to get bit on this time of year.

Specifics- Nichols Lures Reflex Buzzbait 3/8oz Black or White

SwimJig - A swimjig is a fun little bait to toss around docks, rocks, water willow or any type of shallow cover. When fish move shallow this is a go to bait to cover water.

Specifics- Dirty Jigs Tackle SwimJig 3/8oz Bluegill Colors or Black and Blue Colors with the 6th Sense Fishing Divine Swimbait 3.2 as a trailer.

For those of you who are not familiar with my service, I competed for eight years on the FLW Tour. I am a full time, licensed and insured Captain, with first aid and CPR certification. I offer one-on-one training, technique-specific trips, fun bass fishing trips, and electronics training in your boat.

I would love the opportunity to share a day with you in my Vexus VXS20 or in your own boat to get your electronics dialed in. I am here to help you and to help you become a better angler and to give you confidence in your equipment. If you're in the area on the north end of Kentucky Lake, make sure to visit us at Hitec Outdoors.

We are a full line electronics dealer/install center and also have a great selection of bait and tackle for your trip to the lake. Come see us! Follow me on Facebook and Instagram @brandonhunterfishing and @bhunterfishing for anything fishing. Make sure you are following along and subscribe to my YouTube Channel BrandonHunterFishing. Please visit brandonhunterfishing.com and shoot me an email to book your next trip. See you on the water!