Q&A AI
For an upcoming fishing trip to Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, what is the best part of the lake to fish for smallmouth bass?
Lake Cumberland in Kentucky is a fantastic spot for targeting smallmouth bass, especially during the cooler months when they tend to be more active. Based on the insights from the TacticalBassin video, a few key areas and techniques stand out for successfully catching smallmouth bass.
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Main Lake Points and Ledges: These areas are prime spots as they often attract baitfish, which in turn draw in smallmouth bass. Fishing off ledges in about 27 to 33 feet of water, as mentioned by Kristine Fischer in her video, can be particularly effective. These spots provide a sudden change in depth that smallmouth bass often use as ambush points.
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Using the Right Baits: The videos suggest using smaller baits to match the hatch, as the bass were feeding on very small baitfish. Baits like the 2.8 Kai Tak on a little revenge dart head can be very effective. Also, using a Rover or similar topwater bait on a slow retrieve can entice bites from bigger smallmouth bass, especially when they are feeding on surface baitfish.
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Seasonal Tactics: During the colder months, as highlighted in the videos, smallmouth bass might be more sluggish and require a slower presentation. Techniques like drop shotting or using a ned rig can be very effective during this period.
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Graphing and Spot Checking: Utilizing a fish finder to locate smallmouth bass holding near structure or changes in the lake’s bottom composition can significantly increase your chances. As noted, checking areas with a hard bottom near a nice drop-off can be a hotspot for smallmouth activity.
Remember, adaptability is key. Keep an eye on the conditions and what the fish are feeding on, and adjust your tactics accordingly. Whether you're a seasoned angler or new to bass fishing, Lake Cumberland offers a diverse fishing experience with ample opportunity to land a quality smallmouth bass.
Related videos
Transcript
Video04:47
08:34
Winter Bass Fishing - Lake Cumberland by TacticalBassin → a chasing schooling striper and they're smart get back in this pocket into the bath catching fish on the exact thereat choke choke beautiful fish alright guys it's just a little bit afternoon we had to call it at a half-day we've got to get on to the next Lake get back on the road but just wanted to swing out here to Cumberland see see it while we were in the neighborhood see if we couldn't get some striper we did not get some striper but we got one really good striper it's a good time the lake is a hole at fish stuff for us we didn't catch her many fish but we did get some so the way that we caught them first thing we sat down on some busting fish it turned out to be those little spotted bass the bait they were blowing up on was so small we're playing into throwaway rigs but you know we're throwing a rings of the 4.8 high tech and just didn't match what was going on there so drop down to the little tiny yellow magic popper the smallest one that they make on six pound line and a spinning rod and was able to get a handful of those fish to bite we got I don't we got like six or seven bites and put like four or five of them
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Video09:39
12:17
Winter Bass Fishing - Lake Cumberland by TacticalBassin → in the boat you know not big fish but still fun to catch a true Kentucky spotted bass in Kentucky and then Jared's stuck one on the two-point-eight Kai Tak and then there at the end I don't know if we got footage of it or not but I had a big smallmouth on like five to six pounds and ran around the boat for a while and eventually just popped off not sure why she popped off either but she did that was on that little two point eight Kai Tak on a little revenge dart head again on the spinning rod eight pound line eight pound floor oh you know fluoro leader over braid of course and then got one nice small e to go on top that better fish that was on a rover and I like to throw that rubber on braid so braid again a mono leader fishing it really slow because again the bait they were busting was so small and that's critical you you really have to adapt to what the fish are feeding on right if they're eatin great big baits you throw great big baits they're eating little tiny stuff you've got a downsize problem is you know I'm halfway across the country from home we weren't planning to throw top water at all so we had to work with what we had in the boat so pulled up a Rover which is of course
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Video00:00
03:58
Lake Cumberland Bass by Kristine Fischer → so I've always wanted to fish Cumberland because of the variety here you can catch trophy spots largemouth smallmouth there are giant striper in here good walleye fishing I'm fishing it in the middle of December I'm used to being on the ice right now it is 53 degrees I don't have gloves on this is great I know that I'm still gonna have to fish pretty slow but I I'm gonna commit to this bait all day I'm fishing it right off the ledges Maine like points are going to be my go-to that's kind of where all the bait is stacked up right now so we're gonna see what we can do with that so here's kind of when I'm fishing about that 27 to 32 33 foot of water and just right off the there's a hard bottom and a nice drop there just kind of check in doing a lot of graphing and seeing if I can't find any fish kind of hanging around off these ledges this lake is just the coolest here's this island out here well guys that pretty much wraps up the Cumberland trip it's gonna get dark here in about 20 minutes I only had a few hours today was pretty happy with the good bites everything was quality fishing really slow shad imitations finding bait utilizing your graph so we'll see if I can't put anything together tomorrow thanks for watching guys and we'll see you next time
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Video00:00
04:25
Winter Bass Fishing - Lake Cumberland by TacticalBassin → hey guys man Allen here welcome back to tactical Bassin about a year ago I got the opportunity to go out to Lake Cumberland headed back east had a ball caught some beautiful fish on that trip got to fish quite a few places actually fast forward it's been almost a year the footage from that trip is now relevant it's the right time of year so we can take you guys back take out on the water and walk through a day out there on Cumberland come along let's go fishing hey guys Matt Allen here welcome back to tactical Bassin out here with my buddy Jared Caesar we are on Lake Cumberland in Kentucky early December and it is cold first light we're gonna run out here striper is what's on the minds what we're gonna take whatever we can get just checking out a new Lake Pease fish deer I've never been out here but it looks like it's gonna be fun come along with us we'll go chase some fish Oh a little different than California's water baths out here on Cumberland catching these giant Kentucky spotted bass on a popper in December they're blowing up on little a one inch inch and a quarter bait fish I don't even know what they are but he's throwing a 2.8 ty tactic I'm throwing that little popper and they're taking a shot at it little guy strikes spot
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Video12:14
14:32
Winter Bass Fishing - Lake Cumberland by TacticalBassin → smallmouth at home on Berryessa or any of our other reservoirs and that's that morning dawn it's definitely the most consistent color and it worked she had that thing choked and that was a fun ride so we're headed off to the next leaf now we're gonna hit the road but had an absolute blast here only got a few hours on the lake got to see about this much of it we burned three-quarters of a tank of gas and basically saw none of the lake this place is massive but it's awesome on a lake this different from home this big clear it's got striper in it all sorts of things that are got walleye in it's so different than what we've got at home but the fish themselves are the exact same I could have pulled all four of these rods out of the rod Locker at the bow tie line at home you know a bass is a bass no matter where they are it's fun to run around see new water and catch them with familiar baits and familiar ways thanks for coming along if you enjoyed it hit that like button subscribe to the channel and we'll talk to you soon you
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Video11:12
14:17
Tournament Fishing the Spawn - Cumberland Lake - Limits by BassGeek → different section of the lake but as the saying goes second verse same as the first and the deal really was the smallmouth actually seemed to be biting the flick shake a little better I was just throwing a morning dawn worm and I was actually throwing it on a ned head so like a little Zeman's ned head rig with with the weed guard you know again as a co-angler you've got to be flexible and that that had worked very well for both applications seem like the smallmouth were betting a farther out deep main Lake Point secondary points a lot of rock that they needed to be around the spots were on the floating worm they were kind of midway back into your creeks your cuts you know they were super aggressive that spots are and we're coming after that worm any time it would get around Sycamore trees later in day two we actually find that the largemouth are beginning to pull up in the backs of the pockets so we actually had all three species coming to the bed right now so you'll notice we caught a lot of smaller fish and that's because it was the males that were really coming to the bed at least in the areas that we ran as the day went on as far as weather conditions day one was nice it was sunny we get a front moving in today sore training about you know one o'clock and
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