This week on Kentucky Afield.

The time between deer season winding down and turkey season firing up just happens to be perfect for predator hunting.

Next, this also happens to be a great time of the year to get out on the state█s reservoirs and target trophy black bass.

Then, we'll take a look at one of the many projects within the fisheries division that's aimed at creating better bass spawning habitat.

It's all next on Kentucky Afield.

Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

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

Varmint hunting is something that's becoming very popular across the country.

And here in Kentucky, when you get a snowfall, well, that's a great time to hit the woods.

Well, Chase, as a coyote hunter, getting that first snow.

I love it.

Look at how well you can see out here.

Honestly, today, I just wanted to coyote hunt because of the snow.

Oh, it's perfect.

You know the great thing about coyote hunting too, even though we're sitting out here in the snow and it's freezing.

it's cold.

that we're going to be able to move.

We'll hunt for 20, 30 minutes and then we'll pick up and move a couple hundred yards and call again.

I actually wore less clothes today.

I mean, if I was deer hunting I'd be freezing, but I know we're going to be moving, so I'm trying- You know, I'm almost planning to be moving more than sitting still because it's about fifty-fifty.

You know, even though its so cold, we got out of our truck and first step or two I noticed that- oh, yeah, that's one beautiful thing about- It█s soft.

I prefer to walk across this than ice all day.

Today is one of those days is if you're a coyote, you might be going, “well, it's time to get out and find some food.” You want to go make them think they have an easy meal real quick?

Let█s do it.

Alright.

I mean, this is probably the best vantage point of the whole field, this right here where we█re at.

Put this FoxPro about 50 yards away from us.

That way, when the coyotes are coming to the sound they█re looking where we aren█t, which helps us out a lot.

Are you taking a nap on me?

No, no i█m just- it's kind of a weird twist of my hips, you know, I feel fine right now, but I was like, i█m gonna- I thought you was going to shoot these like waterfowl.

Yeah.

When they come in, just pop up.

They█ll never see it coming.

Let's see if we can█t make them come in and investigate something.

Like I said, I going to start off with something a little simpler.

So at this point, we're hunting and there could be a coyote on the way so.

And like I said I'm just going to watch this tree line to the left because if something pops up there, It's going to be quick.

Alright, we█re just going to go about 3 minutes of this next call.

Are you going to play a fighting call?

Yeah, well, I've been doing like challenge howls and barks.

And so this next one█s just going to kind of be a distress.

Onto the next one?

What do you think?

Yup, ready to move.

That's a really fresh set of coyote tracks coming through here.

You don't think that was this morning while we were calling, do you?

Possibly.

Because you can see how these tracks get soft when they've been here for a while, but the fresher ones are still sharp and crisp like that.

So, I mean, they could have come through when we were calling and we just didn█t see them, you know?

Oh yeah.

But I mean those are fresh set.

it looks like there's two coyotes to me.

One, two.

This This is the set that I was most excited about.

You guys ready?

Alright, we█re coyote hunting now.

There█s one.

it's in the other field, see it?

it's going across the top of that other field.

Oh, was that a coyote?

It was a coyote.

Was he crossing toward us or away?

I- it might have come down here and got close and winded us or seen us because it was going- it might still pop out, but it wasn't coming straight towards the call.

It was kind of going down the field but it was 100% a coyote.

Oh, coyotes.

Two, two, two.

Where?

Oh yeah.

That's about 300 yards, Chad.

400.

Yeah its way out there.

You tell me when.

Ah its- it's going to be- That's too far right now we're just gonna see if they come, Chad.

Well we█ve seen three and gotten zero shots.

Those last two were just too far.

like when I saw them they were moving pretty fast in the field.

I thought, Oh, here we go.

I think they saw something they didn█t like, I think they saw us.

I thought they were going to come right down the middle on us.

Not worried about the wind at all.

It's really weird.

You know, I'm not a big coyote hunter, but the more i█m spending time coyote hunting- coyote hunting is kind of a mixture of hunting and fishing.

You pick your spots and then you choose your lure.

That's only part of the game.

Yeah you got to let them see it and you got to- Then they gotta come to it and get in range and then starts the whole process of set it and then bring it in.

Yeah we missed the hook set on this one.

Yeah.

Oh, oh, there he is!

Where is it, where is it at?

In the woods, in the woods.

Oh i see it.

It's going to wind us.

Is he down?

I got it.

I picked out a gap in front of him where he was going to walk through at and he walked straight into my crosshairs.

Well, I had this tree to deal with, and- I just figured at that point, Chad, I wanted- I just figured it was whoever gets a shot shoots.

Oh, yeah, no, I was 100% cool with that.

And we'd already stood up and went to walk out and I looked up- That was a good eye by you, by the way, to pick that thing out coming through there.

Would have never seen it had it not been for the snow.

Let's go see what you got.

Oh, I see it.

See the coyote?

It's a- somehow it got up in those briars.

It looks like it's already been taxidermied.

Got its canines showing.

He didn't want us to be able to get it out of there, did it?

Chase, i█m gonna let you retrieve that coyote on your own.

Well, thank you, Chad.

See if I can get it up on that log there.

Good winter coat, big fluffy tail, no mange or anything.

Well Chase, A lot of coyote sets are different, but this was about as untypical of a coyote hunt I think I've ever been on.

That was probably the longest into a stand I've ever taken a coyote and probably the longest I've sat on a stand.

We literally stand up to start gathering our gear and I see this thing run through and i█m like, “Oh!” And when I go down and get on the shooting sticks here, I've got a big tree right there beside me.

You were able to move and you saw it, were able to get a shot.

At that point in time, we're like 40 minutes after we'd started calling.

Well, last time I looked at the remote before I put it down.

It has- the FoxPro remotes have a timer on them.

It was at 38:30.

Yeah.

So over 38 minutes in so the shot was probably taken around the 40 minute mark.

With a little bit of patience, a little bit of luck.

You were able to put it down.

Heck, yeah.

Good eyes by the way.

Oh, well, nice shot.

Located 20 miles north of Campbellsville is Rolling Fork WMA.

This wildlife management area is over 2800 acres and offers excellent hunting opportunities for deer, turkey and small game.

This property mostly consists of high rolling hills, woods and fields that support a variety of wildlife species.

In addition, running through the property is Rolling Fork River, which provides great opportunities for fishing and even kayaking.

Immerse yourself in the wilderness in Rolling Fork WMA█s Primitive Camping Site.

Take note that primitive camping is only allowed in a designated area and only open during Turkey and deer season and has a 14 day limit.

Remember that wildlife management area users must abide by the Kentucky hunting, trapping and fishing regulations.

Also, keep in mind that regulations on WMA█s often differ from statewide regulations.

So be sure to review the hunting guide or website for the specific WMA that you're hunting.

For more information about this WMA or the latest regulations and restrictions that pertain to it, visit our website at fw.ky.gov or call 1-800-858-1549.

If you would give me two months to target large black bass here in the state of Kentucky.

I'd take February and March, and those months are right around the corner.

Today I'm out here on beautiful Dale Hollow Lake with the gentleman who wrote the book about fishing Dale Hollow Lake, literally.

It's been quite a good experience.

I've had people say, When are you going to do a book?

You know, I said, Well, I probably could write one, but I've got to have somebody help me.

So I█ve done stuff with Ed Harp, with bass masters.

We took all the questions that's been asked over the years put down into print.

We kind of put a bunch of years of experience together with him.

You know, I absolutely love this lake.

And I try to spend a lot of time down here, mainly in the winter months, but we're at the end of March.

This is the time of year to potentially catch a true Dale Hollow giant.

Yeah, this is a real day.

Some days it's chicken, some days it's feathers.

But, you know, it's you've got to enjoy what you're doing and enjoy the hunt.

Well, let's go find us the first spot and make a couple of casts and we'll converse and hopefully catch a couple of fish.

We'll get ‘er done.

All right, hold on.

Let's get rolling.

So Bob, what are you going to start off with?

I'm going to throw a spinner bait.

Just a little bit.

Make a little bit of noise.

All right.

I think I'm going to start off with the swim bait.

You know, Bob, we've got about 52, 53 degrees.

You still need to fish slow because that's cold water.

But it's that time of year that you can start speeding it up a little bit.

Yeah, we're in a good transition and that's really what it is this time of year.

They're changing weekly, sometimes daily, but they're starting to speed up some.

Got him?

Got one.

All right.

Oh, it█s a largemouth.

Caught a green fish today.

There we go.

First fish of the morning.

There you go.

I usually catch about 8 to 10 small mouth for every one large mouth.

And that's just mainly because of the areas that I like to target down here.

So you know what that means?

Yeah?

That means we're going to catch 8 to 10 smallmouth.

8 to 10 smallmouth because you got a large mouth.

Because I caught a largemouth.

It only makes the numbers right.

You know, it's all about math.

Hey, look at that belly.

I know that that's a pretty healthy fish.

Almost as good as me and you.

No, he's got a way to go to catch me.

Yeah, we'll take it.

That's a nice fish.

Good job, Chad.

There you go.

So, Bobby, how many years you've been guiding now?

I've been guiding for around 25 years, but 22, 23 years.

I've been full time.

You know, I had a lot of people that I knew fish professionally and something I've done since I was a kid.

So it just seemed like the right thing for me to do.

I'm sure you've probably got lifelong friends that you've met out here and on the boat.

Oh, absolutely.

Oh, there he is.

I don't think I have very good hooks set here Bob.

I█m going to try to keep this fish low.

Pretty decent little small mouth.

Here we go.

Good job.

I casted up there and got hung in behind a rock and was shaking that thing loose.

It must have been just...

Fish took it off the rock for you.

It sure did.

Sure did.

Well, here we go.

It's pretty smallmouth.

Hey, you know what?

Considering these conditions, if we can get a couple bites when this water is flat.

Think what it█s going to do when the wind blows.

It'll only get better when we get some wind.

Nice, beautiful little brown fish.

Hey, bit me.

He bit me.

That fish bit me.

You know, Bob, one of the interesting things about your book is you talk about different structure.

In your opinion, when is the best time to fish some of the different structures.

When you█re fishing the highland reservoir like what we're fishing herein Dale Hollow.

A lot of times your points are going to reach about any depth there is because they taper out.

You know, it just helps pinpoint areas to fish by using the thermocline during the summer.

It's just a good ambush spot, too.

If you've got a little current coming through there.

Tell me about when you like to fish bluffs.

Bluffs is really good for May during the shad spawn.

The shad don't make beds, they disperse them eggs.

Then bluffs will warm up on them rocks generally them shad will get on them bluffs and that's the dinner bell ringing.

Uh-oh, we got a fish on.

Oh, my goodness.

I finally got one on a spinner bait Chad.

You've been telling me you catch one during daytime.

I night fish spinner baits all the time.

I really don't do them in the daytime down here very much.

But look, you got one.

You got to try them to know.

It's a daytime color for a spinner bait right right now in the spring and I use it prespawn/postpone, so.

Let's get down back and see if we can catch another one.

All right.

What do you know?

It aint coming up, this might be a large mouth.

Nope, brown fish.

There you go.

Thank you.

Good job Chad.

He wasn█t going nowhere.

Punched it right through the top lip.

That's where you want them, right there.

That█s where you want them, Right there.

We'll take it.

Here we go.

Good one?

This is a better fish.

Come here, joker.

It's a good fish.

There you go.

That's what I'm talking about.

I tell you what, Bob, we found some aggressive fish.

There we go.

They're going to eat.

You just got to be at the right place at the right time.

Yeah.

That belly don't stay like that by not eating, does it?

No.

There's one.

Oh, got him?

Yeah.

That's a pretty good fish there.

Now what's that on, a swimbait?

On a swimbait.

There you go.

Take them all day.

Swimbait█s turned things around, hasn█t it?

Hey, it's all about learning something new, because we came out today we drug swimbaits on the bottom, caught a couple in the morning.

Sped up our retrieve as the water warmed and got shallow.

The tip of the day.

You've got to keep trying different things until you figure out a pattern.

Here we go.

Coming to us.

Oh, that's a good one.

That's a chunk.

That fish hit and felt like a ton of bricks, and then swam right to the boat.

I mean, just absolutely took the wind right out of that, that swimbait.

That is a toad.

Look at the thickness on that fish.

That's a prime pre spawn Dale Hollow smallmouth right there.

That's what you're looking for.

I'll tell you what I'm going to get a weight on this one.

I'm going to say 4 pounds, 5 ounces.

I'm going to guess over 4.5.

4-14.

That's right at a 5lb fish.

I like when they're bigger than I think.

Whoa, this is a good one.

That's better than good Chad.

That was back to back cast.

A 4-14, and what do we got here?

5.

That one there is going to go 21 inches.

That's what I'm saying.

21 and a half.

5-1.

9lb, 15oz, in two cast.

I'm glad you read my book.

Fisheries biologist at the Department of Fish and Wildlife use many tools to promote good, healthy fish habitats.

One of those tools is a chainsaw.

So we're here on the shores of Lake Barkley today, and we're engaged in a fish habitat project.

Specifically, we're trying to improve the shoreline fish spawning habitat.

This project is actually a big partnership between multiple agencies.

So our agency, TWRA down in Tennessee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forest Service, as well as a lot of local angler groups.

It's all part of a big grant which was awarded from a federal fund called the National Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership.

So they provide funding for basically improving fisheries habitat in reservoirs across the country.

And in this case, Lake Barkley was chosen as a top project.

So they were able to fund all of the material purchases for this project.

So what we're doing today is we're adding what we're calling lay downs.

So we're taking trees, cutting them from the land between the Lakes National Forest Service area.

And then we're placing those along the shoreline at a lower water elevation so they'll be available to fish earlier in the springtime, as TVA and the Corps of Engineers bring the lake up to summer pool.

The main goal for this project is to improve the bass spawns at Lake Barkley.

That's where we've been struggling the most in recent years.

So that's where the habitat is really kind of designed for, but it'll also be used by any species within that same family, the centrarchidae family.

That includes a lot of our sport fish, bluegill, redear, crappie.

All of them are going to be using this habitat for spawning.

So far this morning we've done about 15 lay downs on the opposite bank over here.

Now we switched banks.

Beginning to work our way down every 30 to 40 feet, placing one of these lay downs.

Now, this tree is a hickory.

So I chose it because the hardwood is going to last a lot longer.

It doesn't have very many branches on it.

Bass like simple cover.

They don█t like too many branches.

We get a lot of questions about whether an individual angler is allowed to place habitat or fish structure into Kentucky.

Lake or Lake Barkley.

And in our case, we're allowed to do this work because we have special permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, which allow us to cut these trees and to place them in the water at specific locations.

One of the things that we're doing to evaluate the success of this kind of habitat is we're doing weekly snorkel surveys on a subsection of these sites during spring time.

We've done that over the past two years to see whether fish are actually using this habitat to spawn.

And encouragingly, about 50% of these sites at our testing zone have been used by Bass to spawn in a particular year.

Nearly 100% of these sites will be used by Sunfish to spawn, so it's tough to say whether we'll see an actual improvement in the catch rates of anglers over time.

But it is a new project that we are trying to improve those catch rates with.

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

Here we have Devon Douglas with his turkey that he harvested in Madison County.

This turkey was taken in December during the fall season.

Congratulations.

Here we have six year old River Pollard who took his very first deer in Boyle County.

It was during the opening weekend of gun season.

And he used one of my favorite calibers a 243 Winchester.

Congratulations.

Check out Carson O'Brien of Daviss County.

He took this nice doe hunting with his dad, Jason.

He watches Kentucky Afield every weekend.

Here we have Mike Smith, who is a five year cancer survivor and he thoroughly loves the outdoors.

He recently retired and he loves hunting with his son Carly and Carly's dog, Rambo.

Congratulations on your retirement.

Brian Jones is filling the freezer, by hunting does on his family farm.

Nice job.

Here we have eight year old Claire Coons of Greenup County who took this nice deer using a crossbow.

This was her first deer and it was taken on her Uncle Don's property.

Nice job.

As our deer season winds down, I want to remind you that you have a few weeks left of great small game hunting here in the state of Kentucky.

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.