The 5 Best Bass Fishing Lakes In The State Of Kentucky

Kentucky has a lot to offer, from beautiful hills and forests to horse racing and bourbon. We can also thank them for the Louisville Slugger baseball bats, the world-famous Kentucky Fried Chicken, and much more. The state has plenty to offer, including some excellent bass fishing spots.

1) Kentucky and Barkley Lakes

These two giant lakes are likely the most famous bass fishing spots in the entire state. Kentucky Lake is over 160,000 acres and the connected Barkley is 58,000 acres. They have had days of glory for professional fishing tournaments and were once known as one of the meccas for offshore ledge fishing. Currently, the fisheries are in a down cycle due to invasive Asian carp and other issues, but they are both still a great place to catch a bass.

Largemouth bass have been the primary target here for years, but the smallmouth bass are showing up in better numbers now. The smallmouth bite has always been decent, but it's really showing out now and producing most of the tournament-winning bags.

2) Lake Cumberland

This reservoir is giant, at 65,000 acres, but still much smaller than Kentucky and Barkley. Cumberland was built in 1952 for flood control and hydroelectricity and has become one of Kentucky's best fishing spots.

It's a highland reservoir with clear water on the main lake and dirtier water the further you venture into the creeks. One plus about this lake is that it is home to all three major bass species. Largemouth fishing is the best shallow in dirtier water; smallmouth can be found on the main lake points and bluffs and spotted bass usually fit somewhere in between.

3) Dale Hollow Reservoir

The 11 pound, 15-ounce world record smallmouth bass caught from Dale Hollow Reservoir in 1955.

This legendary lake sits on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee and is home to the world record smallmouth bass. That 11-pound, 15-ounce fish was caught in 1955 and the record is still the mark to beat for smallmouth anglers everywhere.

Dale Hollow is fishing excellent now and maybe the best lake in the state and has been for several years. It fishes similar to Cumberland with rocks, bluffs, channel swings, and plenty of grass.

It has remained a top smallmouth fishery because of restricted slot limits for keeping bass. While this helps anglers, it also changes things for tournaments as most anglers target largemouth as they make it easier to weigh in a limit. The largemouth fishing is good as well and they grow big here.

4) Green River Lake

Credit: Campbellsville, Kentucky

This lake is roughly 8,000 acres and produces excellent fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass. While it may lack in size compared to those listed above, it sets up nicely for the angler with flats, creek channel bends, and plenty of offshore brush. There are many ways to catch fish here and nobody is surprised when multiple tournament weights exceed the magical 20-pound mark for a five-fish limit.

5) Cedar Creek Lake

This small 784-acre lake is relatively young as it opened in 2003. The lake was also developed and managed specifically for fishing. It was flooded with all of the trees left to serve as fish habitat. It also has selective size limits for fish and has become a great place to catch bass, crappie, and catfish.

In addition to standing timber, the lake also has a good amount of grass and some roadbeds to target. You can catch bass around the grass with ChatterBaits and lipless crankbaits and it's also an excellent topwater lake.