See every public fishing venue in Kentucky on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Kentucky Lake is a public lake in Marshall County, Calloway County, Trigg County, Lyon County and Livingston County, Kentucky, managed by Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. It is public water managed for fishing by the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
Kentucky Lake — 160,000 acres in all (55,000 in Kentucky), the largest man-made lake east of the Mississippi. A national-class crappie and largemouth fishery, plus smallmouth and Kentucky bass on the ledges, sauger and white bass in the current, bluegill and shellcracker on the flats, and trophy blue and flathead catfish. Connected to Lake Barkley by the Barkley Canal.
Kentucky Lake covers about 55,025 acres in the Western Kentucky region. Anglers here mostly fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, white crappie; black crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, sauger are also on record. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Jonathan Creek and Energy Lake.
State record: Blue Catfish — 104 lb. the KY state-record blue catfish came from a Tennessee-river reservoir
Species from PiscaMaps water-type profiles, KDFWR trout designations and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Kentucky. Some KDFWR lakes and FINS lakes have posted hours or gate at dark, and a few trout and special-regulation sections are daylight-only — check the water-specific rules. Trotlines, limb lines, jugs and set lines are legal on most waters (not on trout water or in most state-park lakes) with the gear tagged.
Boats: Kentucky Lake, Barkley, Cumberland, Dale Hollow, Green River, Barren River, Herrington and the other big Corps/TVA reservoirs have no horsepower limit; idle / no-wake zones are marked near ramps, dams and marinas. Most KDFWR lakes and state-park lakes are electric-motor-only or have a gas-horsepower cap, and FINS lakes are typically electric or car-top only. Kentucky requires a boater-safety certificate for operators 12-17.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Kentucky state parks (which sit on many of the best lakes — Lake Cumberland, Barren River, Green River, Dale Hollow, Kenlake and Kentucky Dam Village on Kentucky Lake, Grayson, Greenbo, Jenny Wiley on Dewey, Buckhorn), Corps campgrounds on the big reservoirs, and the Daniel Boone National Forest (dispersed camping allowed on much of it, including along the trout streams). Land Between the Lakes has both developed and backcountry camping with a permit.
Tackle: Statewide black-bass daily limit is 6 in combination (12-inch minimum on largemouth/smallmouth), but many waters carry their own slot or minimum — Dale Hollow, Cave Run, Green River Lake, the Cumberland tailwater and others. Crappie 30 on most reservoirs (with 9- or 10-inch minimums on some); muskellunge 30-inch minimum, 1 per day; the striped-bass and trout limits vary by water. Check the current KDFWR sport-fishing guide for this water.
Boat ramps: 20 mapped — Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat Ramp and others nearby.
Camping: 14 sites mapped nearby — Birmangham Ferry Backcountry Area & Boat Ramp at Land Between The Lakes, Fenton Campground & Boat Ramp at Land Between The Lakes, Campsite, Hillman Ferry Campground at Land Between The Lakes, Chestnut Loop, Dogwood Loop and others.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Anyone 16+ needs a Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources fishing licence — resident annual is about $23, non-resident annual about $60, and short-term (1-day / 7-day / 15-day) licences are sold. A trout permit (~$10, resident and non-resident alike) is required to fish for or keep trout anywhere in the state. Kentucky residents 65+ (and disabled residents) can buy a discounted Senior/Disabled combination licence; residents born before 1 Jan 1961 may fish without a licence. Buy from KDFWR at fw.ky.gov. A Kentucky fishing licence covers this water. Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley and Dale Hollow are fished lake-wide on a Kentucky or Tennessee licence.
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