Taylorsville Lake Fishing Guides
A Salt River impoundment an easy drive from Louisville, with a gauge reporting both pool elevation and water temperature, and a long-standing reputation for largemouth and crappie.
Guides on the Taylorsville Lake
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About the Taylorsville Lake
Taylorsville Lake is a Corps of Engineers impoundment of the Salt River in Spencer County, roughly half an hour southeast of Louisville. At around three thousand acres it is not a large reservoir by Kentucky standards, but it is a well-regarded one, and its proximity to a major city makes it one of the more heavily fished waters in the state.
The gauge reports pool elevation and water temperature, and both are worth reading before a trip. Taylorsville is a flood-control lake, so the pool moves. After heavy rain across the Salt River catchment the Corps holds water and the lake rises, flooding the standing timber and buckbrush along the banks and pushing bass tight into cover that is only there at high pool. As the lake is drawn back down, those fish relocate to the creek channels and points. The temperature trace is the other half of the picture, telling you whether the spring shallow pattern has begun or whether fish are still staged deep.
Largemouth bass are the primary fishery and the lake has a solid reputation for numbers, with fish relating to timber, laydowns and the old creek channels. Crappie are the other main draw and are genuinely strong here, concentrating on brush and standing wood. Hybrid striped bass have been stocked and provide a hard-fighting open-water option, chasing shad on the main lake. Catfish are abundant, with blues and flatheads reaching serious size in the lower end near the dam.
Access is good, with several public ramps and a state park on the lake. A ten-horsepower limit applies on part of the upper lake, which keeps the back end quiet. Kentucky statewide regulations apply, with some lake-specific size limits on bass, so check the current book.
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The photo at the top of this page is not Taylorsville Lake.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Pool right now
- 24 hours-0.03 ft → steady
- Water temperature72 F
Reading taken 1h ago at USGS 03295597, TAYLORSVILLE LAKE NEAR TAYLORSVILLE, KY. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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Access
Taylorsville Lake State Park - the main public facility, with ramps, marina, camping and the best general access.
Taylorsville - the nearest town, immediately below the dam, with tackle, fuel and services.
Salt River - the river above and below the lake, fishable in its own right and the source of the lake's inflow.
Possum Ridge - a public ramp on the middle lake giving quick access to the main-lake points.
Van Buren - an upper-lake access point into the shallower, timber-filled back end.
Beech Creek - a major tributary arm holding crappie brush and springtime bass.
Louisville - about thirty miles northwest, the nearest city for full services and lodging.
Seasons
Spring: the peak, with bass moving shallow onto timber and crappie gathering on brush in the creek arms.
Summer: fish settle onto channel edges and points, fished deep by day with a good early and late topwater bite.
Fall: shad move into the creeks and bass and hybrids follow, producing the most active feeding of the year.
Winter: slow and deep, with crappie and catfish the dependable targets and bass taken on patient presentations.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Taylorsville Lake?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Hybrid Striped Bass, Largemouth Bass, Longnose Gar, Redear Sunfish, Sauger, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Bass, White Bass, White Crappie on the Taylorsville Lake in Kentucky.
Where can you access the Taylorsville Lake?
Taylorsville Lake State Park - the main public facility, with ramps, marina, camping and the best general access. Taylorsville - the nearest town, immediately below the dam, with tackle, fuel and services. Salt River - the river above and below the lake, fishable in its own right and the source of the lake's inflow. Possum Ridge - a public ramp on the middle lake giving quick access to the main-lake points. Van Buren - an upper-lake access point into the shallower, timber-filled back end. Beech Creek - a major tributary arm holding crappie brush and springtime bass. Louisville - about thirty m...
When is the best time to fish the Taylorsville Lake?
Spring: the peak, with bass moving shallow onto timber and crappie gathering on brush in the creek arms. Summer: fish settle onto channel edges and points, fished deep by day with a good early and late topwater bite. Fall: shad move into the creeks and bass and hybrids follow, producing the most active feeding of the year. Winter: slow and deep, with crappie and catfish the dependable targets and bass taken on patient presentations.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Taylorsville Lake?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Kentucky agency site: https://fw.ky.gov/Fish/Pages/Fishing-Regulations.aspx