Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the Commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

Spring is almost here.

You know what that means.

That is the best time of year to go fishing on the river systems for the spawning run.

But first, we're going to hit the woods for a turkey hunt.

Because that season is right around the corner.

Well, dad, it█s our favorite time of the year.

Turkey season opens tomorrow.

That's right.

We've been on a lot of successful hunts together over the years, but we're trying something a little different this year.

And that's I'ma be carrying a camera with me this time.

And hopefully, if all goes well.

Video you take down a nice long beard.

We actually tried this last year and you ended up taking a nice bird, but it was the one hunt that we decided to leave the camera at home.

Yeah, I hope it works out this time.

We had some good encounters last year though.

There's three of them.

Looks like they're all long beards.

We saw some gobblers on a couple occasions.

We just can't get them to come in to range today.

Just couldn't get them in the gun range.

But this year, I'm sure we can make it happen.

We've been scouting.

We know we have a few gobblers on the farm.

We pattern the shotgun.

We're ready to hunt.

We'll get out there this evening and see if we can hear some gobbles on the roost.

There's a couple.

That's good to know.

We'll come back here tomorrow.

Let's see if we can get him.

This is our first set up in the morning.

I've heard a few gobbles in the distance.

We█re brushed in with their decoys out there.

Stay here a while and see what happens.

This spot hasn█t produced anything.

Haven█t heard anything quite a while.

So we're going to move up the woods a ways.

One thing about turkey hunting.

If we don't do any good in one spot, you can always get up and move to another place.

Sometimes different setups in different locations can be effective.

Turkey.

Turkey.

It's a hen.

Real close.

Just walking right past.

We've got some deer coming this way.

Well, no luck at this set up.

Let's hit the back side of the farm and give it a try there.

Jake's.

There they go.

They're leaving.

We'll save them for next year.

There's a gobble.

Maybe a 150 yards out.

There he is.

He's looking at our decoys.

Here he comes.

Come on up here.

He█s moving to the left.

I don't know if he doesn't like our decoys.

He█s circling around.

We gotta get him up here.

Well, he skirted right on by us.

I think I know where he's going to roost tonight, though.

We may have to come back tomorrow and get on him in the morning.

We just slipped into the woods here.

We hear a turkey gobbling down the creek there.

We'll kind of move on down the edge of the woods and get set up.

Hope he'll come our way.

We just got the decoys set up.

We hear a bird goblin.

He's not too far away.

We're gonna do some calling and see if we can't get him to come our way.

He's gobbling pretty good.

Sounds like he's coming this way.

We should see him pretty soon.

There he is.

Coming right to the decoys.

You got a shot?

Yeah.

Go ahead and take him if you got a shot.

Oh, yeah.

That was great, man, I wasn't expecting him to come in that soon.

Looked up there and there he was already close to us.

Looks like a good bird.

Let's go check him out.

Awesome.

That's a pretty bird.

He has a good beard.

Good long beard.

Down here.

We got a good set of spurs.

Soon as we came in the woods this morning.

We heard him gobbling.

We made a few calls, and it didn't take long before he showed up.

Went straight to the decoys.

Jumped on that.

Jake, I didn't shoot right away because I didn't want to shoot our decoy, but soon I got a shot, we took him.

Very happy with this hunt.

Well dad, I'm sure I've enjoyed hunting with you this morning.

It's been a great experience.

And you got your really nice bird here.

Well, thank you, Jamison.

I've enjoyed every bit of it too.

Glad we could spend this time together.

You know, we still got enough daylight left.

We can get back out here and get you a bird.

So let's get this one on back to the truck and get back out here in the woods.

That sounds good to me.

All right.

March is the time of year to start checking in for the white bass run.

And the salt River is a great place to do it.

Well, today I'm doing one of my favorite springtime activities here in the state of Kentucky.

That's chasing white bass.

The white bass that are in the lakes will run up the rivers, and they will do their spawning in the flowing water.

Well I'm here at salt River today, here at the Palmer Road access area, right now it's turkey season.

So gives us a couple other things to kind of consider.

First off, this road is normally open where you can drive all the way up and down and really fish wherever you want.

Today, because of turkey season being open, this wildlife management area is open for someone who wants turkey hunt.

It's closed.

So what that means is I've got a backpack, some waterproof boots.

I'm going to grab some gear and we're going to hoof it to the water until I see the right kind of water conditions I want.

We're going to fish our way toward the lake and hopefully locate some white bass.

Well, I will say the water looks pretty good.

This is late in the white bass run.

Typically, I've caught them before now.

Now that I see the water.

I'm going to go with about an eight ounce head, something I can cast almost all the way across.

So i█m going to pull a little minnow imitating bait.

We use this, and if it doesn't work, we'll be ready to move on to something else.

That's good we didn't catch one on cast one.

I don't need that jinx.

So my goal was to walk toward the lake.

But due to the fact that the further I go, I'm still not catching fish.

And I'm not seeing people.

And there's cars up there.

We're going to go the other direction.

You make six, seven, eight cast in an area you feel like you fan cast it pretty good.

Doesn't happen.

It's time to move 60, 70 yards and try it again.

Sometimes you got to have some patience and you got to find out where the fish are at, what they want to eat that day, and how fast do they want it.

I mean, sometimes they want to super slow, sometimes they want it sped up a little bit.

So once you get those pieces of the puzzle put together, you can go from can't catch a fish to catch and ten, 15, 20 in a matter of 20 minutes.

Here we go.

Not a real big one, but it's a nice, nice male white bass, most likely.

You know this typical size for a male fish the females can get up to, you know, here at 13, 14in are pretty common.

And sometimes you'll even see them 17 18in.

But this is a pretty common white bass right here for salt River.

And man, these are hard fighting little fish.

There you go.

I█m going to flick this one back.

See if we can't catch a couple more out there.

Here we go.

Another one of these males.

Look, he hit that one there.

I mean, he hit it dead on.

Choked it.

Now, I've tried a couple different techniques today, throwing a couple other things.

But as you've seen so far, they're wanting to hit this little bait in the shallows, moving relatively quickly.

So hey, I'm going to give them what they want.

Look at that.

See that white milky substance that's coming down from this fish?

This is obviously a male.

So this fish is actively spawning.

Here we go.

These are all males and they're all about exactly the same size.

That one might be a little bit bigger, but they're definitely wanting this thing fast which tells me they're in the riffles.

They're right up in there dropping their milt in these really, really fast moving pockets.

All right.

We're going to turn this fellow loose.

You know, if we catch a really, really big one, a couple of those, I might keep them for now.

We're going to turn these loose.

Oh, here we go.

Look at him running.

And this might be a little better fish.

See what we got here.

This here's a little better white bass.

Right where that goes from the riffles.

Hit this deeper pool.

It was sitting in there.

There he is.

Look there.

One cast came back down to this little spot where I'd seen a fish earlier.

I was talking about casting the same spot over and over and over.

Sometimes, you know, if you leave, come back and make a couple casts down there because, like I said, there's certain areas they want to be and they'll come in waves, you'll catch a couple and then bam, they may be gone, but come back and try that spot again.

You might very well get on them.

Here we go.

All right.

This is either really in the current or this is a really good fish.

I don't know what's going on here.

Look at there.

A little better fish this time.

I'm going to grab him for a pick him up.

A little bit longer.

Just strong.

Just a really super, super, super strong fish.

I'll tell you what.

Catching these on light tackle.

And like I said, I'm throwing a seven foot medium weight rod on a little jig head here is a one eighth of an ounce jig head.

But cast these things out and just pull them up.

Pick them up.

Change your retrieve.

Sometimes they want it fast.

Sometimes they want it right on the bottom.

Sometimes they want it up and down.

They█re right in these little scenes where there's a lot of current and hey, catching them on the current makes for a much better fight.

The Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake offers most of the sport fish that can be found here in the state of Kentucky, including one of my favorites, the smallmouth bass.

Today is one of those days I really look forward to, and that's hitting the river down here in western Kentucky with Jim Doom.

How you doing today?

I'm good.

How are you doing?

I'm good.

You know, this is the time of year that you just told me a date and we said, let's make it happen.

But you know what?

Any time you come to the river, you've got to be ready to catch whatever whatever the river will give you.

Right.

Yeah.

We'll throw some swim bait.

And if I don't work, we'll catch some live bait and try that.

Let's go give it a try and see what we can't luck into.

I noticed you brought your fishing buddy with you today, too.

Yeah.

She wouldn't let me leave the house without her this morning.

I mean, look at that face.

Who could leave that at home?

All right, well, let's roll.

Go ahead.

Which way we going here?

That way?

Yeah.

Just start fishing.

Here we go.

I don█t know what it is.

I believe that may be a small mouth.

You think so?

If not, It could be a striper.

No its a smallmouth.

Well, what do you know?

Oh that█s a good one.

Look at that, smallmouth bass.

I'll tell you what, people travel all over the place to try to catch them a three and a half pound smallie like that, huh?

Look at that beautiful fish.

Now, these are some of my absolute favorite fish to catch.

But I'll tell you what.

I couldn't bring myself to eat one of these for $1,000,000.

This one█s going back.

Here we go.

Another smallmouth.

It█s what it looks like.

Smallmouth.

Man, and he wanted it.

Look at that, spittin█ up shad.

Another good fish.

Look at there.

What a beautiful fish.

What do you want?

Want a treat?

Here we go.

Think i█m going to have to steal one of those little green baits.

Hey, I got a pocket full of them here.

What do we got this time?

Looks like another small mouth again.

Oh, a buffalo.

Maybe I don't want one of them green baits.

That's not exactly what we were going for, wasn't it?

He ate it.

Ellie, that's more your style right there, girl.

All right.

See you later.

Here we go.

I tell you what.

Man, this is small mouth here.

This is a better fish here, giving this reel a workout in this current.

Oh, looky here.

Now what?

That's a striper.

What do you know?

Sitting here, four casts in a row, three different species of fish, and now we've got a striper.

What do you think, Ellie?

Jim, What's the length limit on these?

15 inches?

I believe this is going to make it.

I think he'll make it.

Uh oh.

What do you got?

Don't look, found another rock.

So, you know, the length limit for striper changes on different bodies of water.

But here you say it's 15 inches.

And what are you allowed?

What are you allowed?

Five.

Five of them?

Five striper.

We'll see what we got here.

Because if that thing is a keeper, I'll tell you what.

It doesn't get much better eatin█ than this right here, does it?

Some good stuff.

22 inches, I believe that's a good one.

You think we'll keep it?

If you don't, I will.

Small mouth and stripers?

What you got going on down here?

Living the dream.

You are living the dream.

Catching some prize fish today as far as species go, that's for sure.

Oh, here we go.

Look at that.

Oh, that's a good smalley.

Here we go.

Oh, that there is a good fish.

That's a beautiful, beautiful smallmouth bass right there.

I think we've caught more small amounts than anything else.

And, hey, this is a really, really good one.

Oh, you got one?

I got a fish, yeah.

Okay.

Think it█s a striper?

I think so.

There you go.

Need a net?

There you go.

Thank you, sir.

Hey, this is getting.

This is getting good.

No, we're not on Lake Cumberland, we are out here on the Tennessee River catching stripers and small mouth off a rock pile on swim baits.

Oh, no.

I don't want any sugar.

You might█ve eaten something bad.

Oh, bite.

What do we got here?

Here's what they are.

Hey, I'll tell you what, If there's a bunch of them in there, we'll have a good time, too.

You ain't kidding.

Look at that.

That's a big old bait that is completely gone.

This is a white bass, kind of a small one.

But you think we'll catch a bigger one or you think we ought to keep that?

What do you think?

You clean them that size normally?

I do.

Well, let's go.

That's good, I'm good with that.

Uh Oh, got him.

I think they're just all over this point.

If these were probably a pound and a half apiece, we'd to have a mess of fish, you know?

Oh, you ain█t kidding.

The bigger fish could be out just a touch further.

Here we go.

A little better fish.

Hey, now we're white bass fishing.

This is what█s its supposed to be like right here.

A little better fish, we█ll take that.

Rods bending a little more on that one.

That's a good one.

Big enough.

Ellie, you want to get a bite of that?

Little better fish, isn█t it?

Yep.

There we go.

That's what we're after right there.

Look at that.

That's a pretty white bass right there.

Tell you what, it doesn█t get any better than that.

They fight way bigger than their size, and they taste way better than you think.

And when you catch a couple, usually you get on bunches.

We've had a great day of fishing so far, and we were about ready to call it quits, and we're like, “you know?

we've got live bait in here.

Let█s make a couple of drifts to see if we can't pick up another big fish.” That felt like a bite.

Got it?

Yeah.

Sweet.

Hold on.

Look at this, we have doubled up.

Think we█re tangled together.

Uh oh, I have a feeling that you hooked that fish and I ended up getting wrapped up in here.

That's a good assist.

You were like, How come my fish just got lighter?

I'll tell you what, though.

That's a beautiful fish, isn't it?

It is.

Wow.

There you go.

Hey, what a nice fish.

We're right here under the highway, below the bridge.

Very first drift.

Wham!

Nice striper.

We'll take that every time.

Well, Jim, I know you told me that fishing had gotten kind of slow, but there was nothing slow about this.

It was a pretty good day.

It was a good- Hey, we caught lot of different species of fish.

We had a lot of fun.

Caught some of my favorite fish, some small mouth, and got a cooler full to go clean.

I appreciate you having us down.

It's always a great time to get down here.

Let's go clean some fish.

All righty.

Hey, nothing beats a good fish sandwich after a day on the lake like this.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun in this week's ones that didn't get away.

14 year old Haley Carson took this beautiful buck and Boone County during the late crossbow season.

Nice job.

Kathy Williams started off New Year's right on New Year's Day.

She caught this beautiful smallmouth bass on Dale Hollow Lake.

March is now here.

Which means it's time to renew your hunting and fishing license for 2025.

To do that, you can go to fw.ky.gov or visit one of your local retailers.

And remember, hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week, I'm your host, Chad Miles, and I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.