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Lake Cumberland Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Kentucky's deep striper canyon: 100 miles of cliff-lined water and a nationally known houseboat culture.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
3 cfs
Air / High
95 / 95 F
Wind
SSW 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03413200, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Cumberland serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The river is running 3 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 3 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 95. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 96 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from BEAVER CREEK NEAR MONTICELLO, KY.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03413200.

612173 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp95 F
High / Low95 / 73 F
WindSSW 3-5 mph
Pressure1013.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 5%
Sunrise / Sunset07:12 / 20:02
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 95/73 F, wind 5 mph, rain 5%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Cumberland: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Lake Cumberland calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Cumberland today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 94 F, wind to 4 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 93 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 92 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Kentucky requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Striper: 24-inch minimum, 2 per day. Walleye: 18-inch minimum. Confirm with KDFWR.

Access

State Dock, Lee's Ford, Conley Bottom and Grider Hill marinas; ramps at Halcomb's Landing.

About this water

50,250 acres on the Cumberland River, Russell/Pulaski/Wayne counties, KY. Corps of Engineers, Wolf Creek Dam 1952.

Fishing Lake Cumberland: the full guide

The deep south of Kentucky

Cumberland is a 50,000-acre canyon lake, 90 miles long and up to 200 ft deep: Kentucky's striper flagship. The fish run big (30-40 lb class every winter), following alewife schools along bluff walls, and the lake's size keeps pressure scattered. Walleye, smallmouth and crappie fill the supporting cast.

Striper strategy

Winter-spring: freelines and planer boards over the bait schools in the big creeks (Beaver, Otter). Summer: the thermocline game, downlined alewives 40-80 ft over the channel at dawn. Night fishing under lights produces all summer. The tailwater below Wolf Creek Dam is its own famous trout fishery on the Cumberland River.

Striper depth game

Cumberland's stripers ride the thermocline like a rail: summer fish hold 30-45 ft over 100-plus feet of water, shadowing alewife schools up the Beaver and Otter creek arms. Live bait on downlines at first light, then power reeling and trolled umbrellas as the sun climbs. Winter flips the game shallow: February bank-walkers throwing bucktails at dawn touch 30-lb fish from shore.

Common questions

How deep do Cumberland stripers hold?

Summer fish follow the thermocline, typically 40-80 ft over the old river channel: electronics and downlined live bait are near-mandatory. Winter brings them shallow with the bait: the planer-board season.

How deep should I fish Cumberland stripers in July?

Start 35 ft over the channel: the alewife band sets the depth daily. Watch the graph for the bait shelf and hang baits just above it: stripers strike upward.

Is fishing good at Lake Cumberland right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Green River Lake36 miDale Hollow Lake47 miHerrington Lake52 miNorris Lake66 miClinch River71 miBarren River Lake77 mi
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