Louisville Metro

by John Kirkland

March 20, 2011

Over the years, I’ve researched many places where I could possibly  find some decent water to fish.  Louisville has always returned numerous  results, boasting 22 lakes/ponds open to public fishing.  I’ve always  been a bit envious of anglers in Jefferson County, having so many places  to go nearby, in addition to the Falls of the Ohio and other Ohio River  access points. I decided that I needed to research further public  fishing in the Louisville Metro area. With an interested friend who  lives near Downtown, we set out to sample Louisville fishing last Sunday  afternoon.

Cherokee is central and easy to access.  The lake is situated in the  northwest corner of the park, near I-64.  Parking is available off of  Grinstead and also off of Lexington Rd.  A paved trail runs along the  western edge of the lake past the parking areas, allowing decent access  for those with limited mobility.

We arrived before two, and it was sunny and warm.  A fair number of  people were distributed around the shoreline, fishing a variety of  methods.  The shoreline is fairly clear, but weeds are a significant  issue; the weedline extended out 10-40 feet from the edge, and are  pretty dense in the middle.

Cherokee is part of the FINS program, and had recently received a stocking of 9-10 inch rainbow  trout. I started throwing a chartreuse roostertail with a fast retrieve,  keeping it above the weed beds (under 6-12 inches of water in the  middle).  Five minutes later, I hooked and landed a rainbow.

After I unhooked him, he decided to make a run for it and jumped back  in before I could get my stringer out.  Oh well. We fished another hour  or so, with some hits, but no fish.  I did see others catching trout,  particularly one guy with a fly rod next to us.  Top water and floating  rigs (like dry flies) make sense here, considering the weeds.  Not bad  for an hour.

Take Taylorsville Road to Old Heady, turn south, and go just past the  Gene Snyder, and you find Fisherman’s Park.  56 acres, five  ponds/lakes, in a quiet country setting.  There are a few parking areas,  and some are closer to the water than others. There are some paved  trails, but for the most part this is hilly and steep.  There is a  gentle grade and flat area next to Lake #1—get there by going left when  you enter the park, follow the road to the end.

With a name like Fisherman’s Park, one could only assume that this  area really is set up for fishing (it is true).  Lakes 3 & 4 are  stocked with trout, but we started in Lake 1, where I kept hearing bass  jump.  The water there is fairly clear, and I saw no significant weeds.   Lots of trees and brush leave only a few spots for access, but it is  possible to squeeze in and quietly drop a baited line beneath a branch  (I’ve caught some fantastic bass and catfish with that method in the  past). We couldn’t hook up with any thing after throwing a variety of  lures and live baits in Lake 1.  It is fairly early in the season; I  imagine this spot would offer some promise in May and June.

We moved to Lake 3, alive with jumping (and smart) trout.  This lake  was ringed with a 6 foot weed bank, then filled with rows and bunches of  weeds in the middle.  The water was quite clear (hard to sneak up on  bank-resting fish), but really not bad for casting lures. The weed beds  appear to be under 12-18 inches of water in most spots, and there are  wide, deep channels leading to the murky bottom in many places.

We threw numerous colors and combinations of lures, but these are  smart fish, under heavy pressure (the lake was surrounded by people). I  moved to a slip bobber and nightcrawler on a circle hook, and gently,  slowly retrieved across the weeds.  A couple of hits and misses later, I  fine-tuned, opening the bail when a fish grabbed it.  They started  slowly, attempting to pull the worm free, then snapped it up.  That’s  when I set the hook, and reeled in a small trout.  Not really what I  hoped for, but better than skunked. I noticed others catching small ones  also; it appears that the smaller (5 inch) trout are what was stocked.   Maybe they’ll grow a bit over the next month or two.

Not a bad day fishing, but nothing astounding.  We only got to the  two parks, but there are more that a dozen others in the Metro area.   I’d love to hear from others who have experiences on other Jefferson  County lakes—leave a comment!

Louisville Metro Fishing Page: this is the city’s official list of lakes and access points–including maps/directions/rules.