Fishing America

STATE # 33 - KENTUCKY

AUG/SEP 2018 - TAYLORSVILLE LAKE, CAVE RUN LAKE

SPECIES CAUGHT - Saugeye, Kentucky

Bass, Palmetto Bass, White Bass, Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, Musky

A question I get asked a whole lot is, “What is your favorite fish to eat after fishing all over the U.S.A.?” The cover picture is my favorite from freshwater - the saugeye. Not just in general, this particular 19” saugeye is the best freshwater fish I have ever eaten. It is traditionally fried in canola oil with Louisiana seasoning.

I felt like I knew Chino Ross before I met him at his home in Shelbyville. We had visited several times on the phone before and after I booked a day of fishing with him. We fished Taylorsville Lake most of a day and caught six different species.

Chino is one of the very best guides I have fished with. He never held back on information, technique sharing, and remembered every detail of what we discussed about the charter. He’s an all-around great guy who mixed professional guiding and friendship as well as could be done.

While I caught six different species in Taylorsville Lake, Chino taught me how to fly fish. But the way, I caught the best tasting fish from what our nations lakes and rivers have to offer is downright hilarious.

After catching a saugeye that was too small to keep, Chino boated us to a new spot in the lake, and as soon as we stopped, we noticed another one swimming around in circles on top so we assumed he got too close to the motor and was stunned.

We chased him around trolling and I finally got him in the dip net. There’s a lot of methods to catch fish but I never thought that’s the way I would get on the board with my national treasure. The saugeye is the delicious hybrid offspring of a walleye and sauger.

Before leaving KY my friend and I made tentative plans to fish some of the western states together. We saw those plans through but the trip back to KY to fish a couple of rivers with him in 2020 got derailed by COVID-19. The plan is still there. I am glad to call Chino one of my good friends and look forward to fishing with him again.

In September 2018 after fishing four northeastern states, I stayed at Mountain Muskie Lodge owned by Tony Grant who also owns the KY record for largest Musky. When I drove into KY from WV, it was raining and it was raining when I got to the lodge.

It was raining the next morning when I met Tim Barker who guides for Tony. We hit Cave Run Lake in a steady rain in an open boat. We had high quality rain suits that kept us only somewhat dry and only for a little while.

After fishing one side of the lake, we made a move to the other side getting completely drenched by the time the boat stopped. After almost five hours of fishing in nonstop rain, I caught that big 41” Musky in a downpour. I have never ever worked so hard to catch a fish because it never quit raining. Our rain suits were pretty much useless.

The only way I could have been more wet was to jump in the lake. But instead I got a picture with big my fish, threw him back in, and threw a few more casts. Tony called Tim checking on us and informed me I could go back to the room I had already checked out of to dry off and change.

That was a blessing. I didn’t want to drive to Tennessee wet. That night when I crossed the TN line it was still raining in KY. The day and a half I spent there it never stopped. I sang Elvis’s Old KY Rain all the way to Tennessee.

Chino Ross is on Facebook in his name. He knows fish and fishing as good as anybody I have met while Fishing America and does multiple species. Tony Grant is online at www. kymuskie.com specializing in Muskies. I highly recommend both of these guides.