Dewey

Dewey

March 19, 2011

For months now I’ve had a bad case of cabin fever.  I’ve stared longingly out my windows watching the freezing rain, snow & ice pile up while the temperature plummeted. I’ve filled the void studying up with magazines, online articles, watching TV shows, keeping up with the most recent reports, restocking supplies and purchasing new weapons for my arsenal.  Finally, it seems spring has sprung and its time to fish…

Fishing is good in Kentucky year round, no doubt about it.  During the spring months though, it kicks into high gear.  As dogwoods bloom and bull frogs croak, all of the underwater creatures in Kentucky shake off the cob webs and come to life.  A few weeks ago I found myself home in Pikeville and was excited about seeing what kind of state the fish were in.  After some debate and a little bit of study, my two friends and I settled on Dewey Lake as the location and bass as the target.  Our vessels that day were boats in the technical sense, but were by no means what

The Armada

 you’d see in a big time money tournament.  One was a plastic outfit called a Pelican boat, available at numerous outfitters and sporting goods stores, and the other a flat bottom 16 footer.  We were powering both with 40 lb thrust trolling motors and prayer. 

The weather was supposed to reach the 60s and there was a chance for some wind.  With this in mind we figured that the main lake would be crowded, and that it might be hard to get around in and position our boats with the traffic and wind.  I suggested fishing the headwaters of the lake at a place called German Bridge.  German Bridge campground sits adjacent to the Dewey Lake WMA and the 22 miles of horse trails that were just opened up in the fall of 2010.  It is much more secluded and better suited for our fleet.  We arrived at the ramp around 7:45 in the morning and realized we had a big problem.  The water was down, and down significantly.  There had been weeks of rain and snow leading up to this and I couldn’t imagine that the water would be this low, but there I stood in the muddy bank looking at a trickle of lake water.             

With Plan A scrapped, we regrouped and decided to try our luck on the main lake.  We were already there, and frankly we’ve had worse ideas.  We decided to drive around the lake shore and eventually found a bank where we carried our small craft down to launch.  There are quite a few spots along the shoreline at Dewey that allow for this if you have a smaller boat.  Of course, there are two boat ramps available for fishermen and boaters with larger boats.  Once out on the water, my main concern was simply staying dry.  The fish had nothing to worry about for the better part of the morning as I tried desperately to get my balance and not end up in the water.

High Class Boat Launch

I wish that I could offer you some insight into how the fishing was, and what was catching them.  As busy as the lake was, I’m sure somebody had figured them out, unfortunately it wasn’t us.  At the end of the day we had only boated two bass, both of which were small.  It looked as though there were a lot of people crappie fishing on this particular Saturday, and the banks were lined with anglers as well.

None the less, it was a great day to be on the water.  We saw a gentleman enjoying a float in a kayak, and it was a great day for it.  Kayaks are available for rent at the state park if you don’t own your own, and Dewey Lake makes a great location for some flat water paddling.  We took out at the same bank where we launched, and fortunately the trip up the bank was almost as smooth as our trip down that morning had been. 

As the weather continues to warm and water temperatures rise look for fishing for all species to pick up.  This is an exciting time of year, and a great time to get outside no matter what your outdoor pursuits are.