The Best Fishing Spots in Kentucky
In Kentucky, recreational fishing centers on large lakes and flowing rivers—notably Lake Cumberland, Kentucky Lake and the Ohio River—where anglers target popular species like largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, walleye, channel catfish and panfish such as bluegill; stocked streams and tailraces also produce trout for fly and light-tackle anglers. Boat fishing, bank fishing and wading in creeks or tailwaters all offer good opportunities, with spring and fall often best for bass and walleye while spring into summer brings peak crappie and catfish action.
Top Cities For Fishing
River Fishing
Lake Fishing
Kentucky Lake
Top Freshwater Fishing Spots
Elkhorn Creek
A blue-ribbon smallmouth bass stream, Elkhorn Creek fishes best with topwaters and finesse rigs around riffles, pools, and boulder gardens, especially in the South Fork Elkhorn Creek near Great Crossing ; wading and kayak access are popular throughout summer and early fall.
Barren River Lake
Barren River Lake delivers reliable largemouth and crappie fishing around channel swings and stake beds, plus a strong hybrid striped bass bite that fires on windblown points; anglers troll live shad and spoons near the Narrows and work spring transitions in the Beaver Creek arm.
Cave Run Lake
Known as Kentucky’s premier muskie destination, Cave Run also holds solid largemouth and seasonal crappie; anglers cast big bucktails and jerkbaits along weedlines and standing timber, and target points in the Scott Creek and Warix Run arms during spring and fall muskie peaks.
Cumberland River
Below Wolf Creek Dam , the cold tailwater of the Cumberland River is a premier trout fishery with quality rainbow and brown trout feeding in riffles and runs; farther downstream, warmer stretches produce smallmouth, catfish, and seasonal striped bass around current breaks.
Dale Hollow Lake
Renowned for world-class smallmouth bass, this ultra-clear impoundment rewards finesse tactics on rocky points and deep bluffs, with winter jerkbait and float‑n‑fly bites, summer nighttime spinnerbaiting, and bonus walleye and trout opportunities around the lower Obey River arm.
Grayson Lake
Steep sandstone bluffs and winding coves make Grayson Lake a scenic spot for largemouth, crappie, and channel catfish, with spring bites in timbered coves like Clifty Creek and summer jigging on ledges and submerged brush piles along the main channel.
Green River Lake
A versatile fishery with consistent largemouth bass, strong spring crappie, and quality muskie in riverine sections, Green River Lake fishes well on secondary points and brush in the Robinson Creek and Pitman Creek arms, with summer night bites along rocky banks and flooded timber.
Herrington Lake
Kentucky’s deepest lake is a classic for vertical smallmouth and spotted bass on bluffs, plus strong catfish and seasonal crappie; anglers probe ledges and bridge pilings near High Bridge and work night bites along rocky shorelines in summer.
Kentucky Lake
One of the largest man-made lakes in the U.S., Kentucky Lake is famed for trophy crappie, powerhouse largemouth bass, and abundant catfish, with spring crappie runs around brush and ledges and summer bass schooling over main-lake humps; anglers also work current edges near Kentucky Dam and scan vast flats shared with neighboring Lake Barkley for year-round action.
Kentucky River
Meandering through central Kentucky, the Kentucky River offers steady action for smallmouth, spotted bass, and catfish, with productive eddies below lock structures like Lock and Dam 7 and rocky outside bends near Palisades providing current seams and ambush points.
Lake Barkley
Lake Barkley’s flooded timber and creek arms produce standout crappie and largemouth bass, with prespawn crappie staging on channel bends and bass hitting spinnerbaits around shallow cover; anglers often hop between Barkley and nearby Kentucky Lake via the canal and work current near Barkley Dam for catfish and white bass.
Lake Cumberland
A deep, clear highland reservoir known for trophy striped bass, quality smallmouth, and strong walleye bites, Lake Cumberland shines with spring stripers on points and creek mouths, night smallmouth on rocky banks, and summer downrigging over main-lake channels near Wolf Creek Dam and the Lower Lake .
Laurel River Lake
This deep, clear mountain reservoir offers excellent smallmouth, quality largemouth, and surprising walleye, with summer topwater over timbered coves and winter jigging on steep walls; trout opportunities exist in the nearby Laurel River tailwater below the dam.
Nolin River Lake
Clear to lightly stained waters produce dependable largemouth and crappie, with bass roaming chunk rock and woody cover and crappie stacking on brush; anglers also find walleye near the river channel and target spring runs toward Tailwater Recreation Area below Nolin River Dam .
Paintsville Lake
A deep, clear mountain impoundment known for quality smallmouth, steady largemouth, and bonus trout near the dam, Paintsville Lake fishes well with finesse presentations on rocky points, while spring crappie stack on brush in the Greasy Creek and Little Paint Creek arms.
Rough River Lake
A family favorite for crappie and largemouth bass, Rough River Lake fishes well around laydowns and docks, with spring crappie in the Laurel Branch area and summer bass along main-lake points; anglers also pick up channel catfish on flats near the upper river reaches.
Ohio River
Kentucky’s northern border fishery offers diverse action for blue catfish, flathead, hybrid striped bass, and sauger, with productive current seams below locks and dams like McAlpine Dam near Louisville and Greenup Locks , plus spring sauger and white bass runs in tributary mouths.
Taylorsville Lake
Close to Louisville and hugely popular, Taylorsville features dense shad forage that fuels big schools of white bass and solid crappie, while largemouth prowl standing timber; spring action peaks in Settlers Trace and Little Beech Creek , with summer graphing over submerged channels.
Yatesville Lake
With long creek arms and extensive standing timber, Yatesville Lake offers solid largemouth bass and dependable crappie, especially in the Skin Camp Creek and Patrick Creek arms; summer anglers work deep brush and channel swings with jigs and crankbaits.