I’ve spent a sizable chunk of my writing life in the newspaper business, a laborious portion of which sometimes was invested in compiling weekly fishing reports. These typically appeared from April through September and proved to be surprisingly popular with readers, although from a usable information standpoint, there often wasn’t much to them. Up-to-date information was hard to come by, and what information I could piece together was highly subjective. But fishing reports were popular, and if a week was missed, reader complaints filtered in.
A few years ago, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources launched an annual Fishing Forecast (now expanded to “Fishing Forecast and Tips”). I remember being skeptical. Forecasting a season of fishing? It would be little more than a guess, at best.
Well, not exactly—not after I read a few and started to understand what those who put it out were doing. The information in the forecast was a year old, yes. Part of it was decades old. All of it, oddly enough, was relevant to your next fishing trip. Wildlife management, and particularly fisheries management, is an inexact science. Information is gathered over time, much of which is sliced and diced into the annual prediction on how the fishing would be tomorrow, next week or next month. The 2026 version of the Fishing Forecast, like earlier versions, offers nothing on what fish are biting, where they are biting, how they are being caught (trolling, jigging, bait under a bobber, which bait color to choose, etc.)—all staples of weekly reports. What it augers with surprising accuracy is what fishermen can reasonably expect in regard to size and numbers of specific species of fish in more than 115 lakes that swallow more than 250,000 acres across the Commonwealth, plus more than 900 miles of rivers, including the Kentucky and Ohio.
The information is compiled by the state’s fisheries biologist and staff (27 people are listed as contributors). These folks are some of the finest in the business, and they have a great deal of data at their disposal. What they sift and sort to turn into the annual forecast is based on the previous year’s fish-population surveys, creel surveys, fish stockings and “historical knowledge of the fisheries.”
The report won’t make you a better fisherman, but it can help you target and catch more fish.
It usually is available by early March, is free of charge, and is surprisingly detailed.
The 2026 version is 47 pages long and fairly straightforward. Waters are listed in alphabetical order. Species available in each waterway are rated on a 5-star system accompanied by a brief note. For example, at AJ Jolly Lake (175 acres in Campbell County), for 2026, bluegill earn one star, a poor rating. But that doesn’t mean you won’t find many, according to the accompanying comment: “Abundant, most fish are less than 6 inches.” It’s news you can use.
The fisheries folks have added a “cheat sheet” to their annual forecast, which lets you know where the best fishing might be expected for specific species.
This was done by matching waters with species that earned a 4-star or higher rating. I don’t know how the star ratings are compiled or awarded. They were based on ample information that was analyzed by people who know much more about fish than you and I do. Some of the results are surprising. Largemouth bass and bluegill swim in nearly every lake, pond, river or stream in the state. If you want to try waters where largemouth got the highest marks, there are 30 to choose from; for bluegill, only 12. Muskellunge are found in only a handful of waters; one (Cave Run Lake) made the muskie 4-star cheat sheet.
The cheat sheet also includes Kentucky’s 45 Fishing in Neighbors—or FINs—lakes. These are stocked regularly and managed for urban-area angling, which generally means they are heavily pressured. Six were top-rated for catfish, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish. Trout angling and catfishing in FINs waters largely depend on seasonal stocking schedules.
All fisheries cycle over time. Fishery forecasters have targeted a few of these as “new up-and-comers” (translation: expect better populations and sizes from last year), where cycles are on the upswing, and include:
| Bluegill at Kentucky Lake
| Crappie at Fishtrap Lake and Nolin River Lake
| Largemouth bass at Boltz Lake and Lake Walgree
| Muskellunge at Dewey Lake
| Saugeye at Carpenter Lake
There are no guarantees in fishing, of course, but the report is stuffed with news you can use. Put it to work.
That’s it for the fishing report.
Download at fw.ky.gov/Fish/Documents/CurrentFishingForecast.pdf.
Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com.