The Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers (or AGLOW) recently held their annual conference at the Kentucky Dam Village State Park near Calvert City, Kentucky. This area is home to a number of outdoor recreational opportunities including fishing the south’s “Great Lake”, hunting and exploring the “Land Between the Lakes” (or LBL). I took in what I could during my time there, but missed out on a few opportunities such as the search for the mysterious Dogman, a mythical creature who is said to be living among the vast forest of the LBL.

Bassmaster held an Open tourney there this past March. We went and filmed a couple Minnesota anglers, see the video here:

The LBL, is roughly 40 miles long and 6-8 miles wide and sits between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. It was created when the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers were dammed and the two lakes were formed. I’ve read that it’s the largest inland peninsula in the US at 170,000 acres and it’s managed by the US Forest Service as a National Recreation Area. There are hunting, camping and wildlife viewing opportunities there. It’s free to enter the LBL but some attractions have a fee, including the Elk and Bison prairie ($5 per enclosed car), the Golden Pond Planetarium ($7 per person), Woodlands Nature Center ($7 per person) Homeplace 1850’s working farm ($7 per person) and there are permits for camping, hunting, etc. More info can be found here.

Our time at the conference was limited but we had plenty of options. Dan Amundson and I split up and tried to see what we could. While he opted for the squirrel hunt at LBL, I jumped in a boat with Brandon Hunter to learn more about the legendary bass fishing at Kentucky Lake.

I’ve heard about Kentucky Lake for a long time, but more so in recent years due to the collapse and rebound of the fishery. Asian carp meandered through the various river systems from the Mississippi and flooded Kentucky Lake. At the same time, the bass fishing nosedived. While the carp were blamed, that wasn’t the only issue.

“Our lake went through a bad cycle,” Hunter explained. “I’ve seen some of the best lakes in the country go through these cycles and unfortunately we went through a cycle with the Asian carp. It was easy to point the finger at (them) and say they ruined the lake.”

The carp were mostly guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“There was a combination of a lot of different things that affected this fishery. Number one being bad spawns, lack of vegetation, carp eating up your plankton and algae, so the shad weren’t surviving,” Hunter said. “Luckily, as fast as it went away, it’s come back just as fast.”

Hunter and Jason Sealock joined us on a podcast from the shores of Kentucky Lake to talk about the lake, the future of LiveScope and more:

I moderated a session with biologists from the Kentucky Game and Fish department, a commercial fisherman and other local officials. The consensus was that the lake has rebounded quickly. The bass spawns have been great in recent years and it shows. The commercial fisherman have been successful in removing literal boatloads of carp, so much so that we hardly saw any during our time on the water.

I managed to fish twice while there and our first trip out started slowly as Brandon worked the boat along the shoreline of Kentucky Lake. We started late in the morning, the wind was calm and the sun was bright and hot. These were not optimal conditions.

Topwater was the presentation of choice and I caught the first bass. While not a giant, at least the ice was broken. Since I was anxious to get footage so for the next hour or so, I mostly filmed Brandon with the hopes of getting a topwater strike on camera. It was the right choice as we hit a short stretch of shallow water that was holding cooperative fish. In the span of a half hour, Brandon caught several chunky, spunky green bass, including one that we estimated to be about 4 pounds.

The bite slowed again and we spent time touring the lake a bit and seeing where a tornado cut a wide swath on the east side of the lake and again on the west side. The storm cleared trees on both sides, including in the LBL. New construction in those areas and others along the lake featured impressive houses and cabins signaling a healthy fishery and popular destination for families, anglers and those looking for outdoor recreation.

Dan joined us on our second trip to the water and this time we fished along the rocky shoreline of the LBL. All but one of the bass we caught were smallmouth, and by all accounts, this was just a coincidence. The structure and clearer water may have helped, but in a diverse river system, you never know where you will find different species of fish.

For bass anglers, (or anyone angler for that matter), looking for a destination fishery that you can bring the whole family to, add Kentucky Lake to your list. Here’s how to get there:

Driving to Kentucky Dam Village State Park
From Minneapolis: 11 hours, 15 minutes
From Chicago: 5 Hours, 42 minutes
From Fargo: 14 hours, 43 minutes
From Sioux Falls: 11 hours, 51 minutes

Flying to Kentucky Lake
If you fly, it’s recommended to fly to Nashville and then rent a vehicle from there.
From Minneapolis: $166 – $259 (Prices as of Oct 14, 2024)

Things to do:

Fishing: Fish for Largemouth, Smallmouth, Striped Bass, Crappies, Catfish, Bluegill, Redear, Yellow Bass, White Bass and more. You can bring your own boat and launch at a number of access along the lake. It’s a reservoir formed by flooding the area so there are shallow stretches and stumps to watch out for. Guides are available as well, we fished with Brandon Hunter, see his website here.

Non-Resident Fishing License: 1-day $15, 7-day $35, Season $55

Hunting: Small game, deer, waterfowl, turkey, and other opportunities are available. Learn more about them here.

Non-Resident Hunting License: 1-day $25, 7-day $65, Season $150
There are some areas, such as Land Between the Lakes, that require special permits. Make sure you check the regulations before you go. Learn more here.

Lodging: We stayed at Kentucky Dam Village State Park. This facility has a hotel, restaurant and numerous cabins spread out across the hills and trees that surround the main lodge. Our cabin had a full kitchen so if you wanted to buy groceries and cook for yourself, that’s easy to do. Some have also been renovated recently, so the cabins feature a modern feel, while being tucked into the woods. There’s also a conference center for holding special events. There’s a boat launch nearby and Calvert City is just a couple miles away and has other stores and restaurants. There are also campsites available here.
If you want something more primitive, there are campsites available in the Land Between the Lakes.

More lodging options can be found here.

Recommended Eating: Most of our meals came from the State Park and they were delicious. We had Bison steaks, chicken and even frog legs, which are a must try. The Harbor Lights Restaurant in the main lodge features big windows overlooking the lake. They use Kentucky-made products, such as local meat and produce when available, as well as local spirits and wine. It’s open 7 days a week serving breakfast from 7am – 10am, Lunch from 11a – 3p and Dinner from 4p – 8p.

Patti’s 1800’s Settlement From their website:
“Patti’s has always been a family kind of place. We welcome the little ones and planned for their entertainment by adding a small animal walk through park, 18 hole miniature golf, a playground, mining and remote control boats.
Today, our two restaurants serve over 350,000 people each year, in our little town of 350 people. People come from many states for our great food, beautiful gardens and Patti’s great southern hospitality.  Our log cabin settlement offers a wide variety of shopping with names such as Brighton, Fontanini, Spartina, Anju, Lizzy James and Music of the Spheres Chimes.”

Other Outdoor Recreation: Cave Exploring, Water Parks, Discovery Parks and more. Learn more about them here.

Here are some pictures from our trip to Kentucky Lake: