Guide To Great Fishing In Kentucky
All about fishing in the Bluegrass State
The state of Kentucky offers plenty of fishing for bass, crappie, stripers, catfish and more. Trout fishing is somewhat limited, see Kentucky trout fishing details here. There is fishing water everywhere in Kentucky with too many lakes, ponds and streams to cover them all. We concentrate on the major Kentucky lakes in this site. Many of these lakes offer fishing boats for rent.
Here, you can fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, blue catfish, white catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, lake trout, bluegill, green sunfish, longear sunfish,redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish, rock bass, warmouth, white bass, yellow bass, yellow perch, stripers, bowfin, chain pickerel, longnose gar, muskie, northern pike, paddlefish, sauger, saugeye and tiger muskie in local lakes, rivers, ponds and/or streams.
Major Kentucky Lakes & Species

Lake & Fish Chart
This chart shows the major angling destinations, cross referencing these waters with the major species to be found in each of the lakes or impoundments.
For a detailed list of primary fish species in KY, plus state fish records, see the list below.
Fishing lake sizes and locations in the state.
Barren River Lake is a 10,000-acre lake in the south-central part of the state, 4 miles southwest of Glasgow.
Buckhorn Lake is a 1,230-acre lake in the east-central part of Kentucky, at the town of Buckhorn.
Carr Creek Lake is a 710-acre lake in the southeast part of the state, 10 miles east of Hazard.
Cave Run Lake is an 8,300-acre lake in the northeast part of the state, immediately southeast of Farmers.
Cedar Creek Lake is a 784-acre lake in central Kentucky, 20 miles southeast of Danville.
Dale Hollow Lake is a 28,000-acre lake in the south-central part of the state, on the TN-KY border, 5 miles southwest of Albany.
Dewey Lake is an 1,100-acre lake in eastern Kentucky, 10 miles southeast of Staffordsville.
Fishtrap Lake is a 1,130-acre lake in the eastern corner of Kentucky, 10 miles southeast of Pikeville.
Grayson Lake is a 1,500-acre reservoir in the northeast corner of Kentucky, 8 miles south of Grayson.
Green River Lake is an 8,200-acre lake in the central part of the state, 2 miles south of Campbellsville.
Guist Creek Lake is a 317-acre lake in the north-central part of the state, 8 miles east of Shelbyville.
Herrington Lake is a 2,300-acre lake in the central part of the state, between Burgin and Bryantsville.
Kentucky Lake is a 160,000-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, at Grand Rivers.
Lake Barkley is a 58,000-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, at Grand Rivers.
Lake Beshear is a 760-acre lake in the western part of the state, 2 miles south of Dawson Springs.
Lake Cumberland is a 63,000-acre lake in the south-central part of the state, between Jamestown and Monticello.
Lake Linville is a 350-acre lake in the central part of the state, 2 miles north of Mt Vernon.
Lake Malone is a 788-acre lake in west-central Kentucky, 2 miles west of Dunmor.
Laurel River Lake is a 6,000-acre lake in the southeast part of the state, 2 miles west of Corbin.
Martins Fork Lake is a 340-acre lake in the southeast corner of the state, 3 miles southwest of Cawood.
Nolin River Lake is a 5,800-acre lake in the west-central part of the state, between Bee Spring Cub Run.
Paintsville Lake is a 1,140-acre lake in northeast Kentucky, 3 miles northwest of Staffordsville
Rough River Lake is a 5,000-acre lake in the west-central part of the state, at Falls Of Rough.
Taylorsville Lake is a 3,000-acre lake in the north-central part of the state, at Taylorsville.
Wood Creek Lake is a 672-acre lake in southeast Kentucky, 8 miles northwest of Pittsburg.
Yatesville Lake is a 2,300-acre lake in the northeast part of the state, at Adams.
Fish Species & State Records in Kentucky
Bass
Largemouth bass
World record: 22 lbs 4 oz
State Record: 14 lbs 9.5 oz
Smallmouth bass
World record: 11 lbs 15 oz*
State Record: 11 lbs 15 oz*
Coosa/Redeye bass
World record: 8 lbs 12 oz
State Record: 1.21 lbs
Spotted bass
World record: 9 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 7 lbs 10 oz
Catfish
Channel catfish
World record: 58 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 32.0 lbs
Flathead catfish
World record: 123 lbs 9 oz
State Record: 97.0 lbs
Blue catfish
World record: 143 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 106.9 lbs
White catfish
World record: 22 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 5.27 lbs
Crappie
Black crappie
World record: 6 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 4 lbs 14 oz*
White crappie
World record: 5 lbs 3 oz
State Record: 4 lbs 14 oz*
Walleye
Walleye
World record: 25 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 21 lbs 8 oz
Sauger
World record: 17 lbs 7 oz
State Record: 7 lbs 7 oz
Saugeye
World record: 15 lbs 6 oz
State Record: 8 lbs 8.8 oz
Trout
Rainbow trout
World record: 42 lbs 2 oz
State Record: 14 lbs 6 oz
Brook trout
World record: 14 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 3.65 lbs
Brown trout
World record: 40 lbs 4 oz
State Record: 21.0 lbs
Lake trout
World record: 72 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 5 lbs 5 oz
Panfish
Bluegill
World record: 4 lbs 12 oz
State Record: 4 lbs 3 oz
Green sunfish
World record: 2.2 lbs
State Record: 1 lbs 9.44 oz
Longear sunfish
World record: 1.75 lbs
State Record: 0 lbs 13.28 oz
Redbreast sunfish
World record: 2 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 0.88 lbs
Redear sunfish
World record: 5.4 lbs
State Record: 3 lbs 1 oz
Rock bass
World record: 3.0 lbs
State Record: 1 lbs 10 oz
Warmouth
World record: 2.4 lbs
State Record: 1 lbs 6.2 oz
White Bass
World record: 6.8 lbs
State Record: 5 lbs 0 oz
Yellow bass
World record: 2 lbs 15 oz
State Record: 1 lbs 6.4 oz
Yellow perch
World record: 4 lbs 3 oz
State Record: 1 lbs 7 oz
Striped bass
Stripers
Inland world record: 64 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 58 lbs 4 oz
Hybrid Striper (Wiper)
World record: 27 lbs 5 oz
State Record: 20 lbs 8 oz
Other species
Bowfin
World record: 21 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 15.08 lbs
Chain pickerel
World record: 9 lbs 6 oz
State Record: 5 lbs 6 oz
Longnose gar
World record: 50 lbs 5 oz
State Record: 40 lbs 0 oz
Muskie (Muskellunge)
World record: 69 lbs 9 oz
State Record: 47 lbs 0 oz
Northern pike
World record: 55 lbs 1 oz
State Record: 10.53 lbs
Paddlefish
World record: 144 lbs
State Record: 106 lbs 0 oz
Tiger muskie
World record: 51 lbs 2 oz
State Record: 19 lbs 9 oz
Click the images and links above for species details.
State of KY Fishing Information
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources website is packed with information about fishing in Kentucky. Visit AA-Boats-Boating.com to find information about fishing boats in Kentucky and other boating information.
Visit here to obtain a Kentucky Fishing License.

Fish for big bass
Excellent largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fishing is available to anglers of all skill levels.
Fishing in all states
KENTUCKY

