We met at the ramp at first light for a quick doughnut and cup of coffee off the tail gate of Darrel’s truck. Once in the boat, the cold air settled in the low areas below the dam actually made my hands hurt from the chill.

Full daylight was breaking as we motored from the ramp toward the dark shadow of the huge mass of concrete holding back the Cumberland River. Checking the boat’s location in regard to the bank and the face of the dam, our striper guide, Darrel Van Vactor, hesitated for a moment and then threw a circle net spinning off the side of the boat.

In three casts, Darrell caught enough bait fish to last for two hours. Dumping the bait into the aerated tank, he quickly baited three rods and headed toward the face of the dam.

As the boat swung into the discharge current from the base of the massive Barkley Dam on the Cumberland River, Darrell said, “When I tell you, free spool your reels for a count of five. When the rig hits bottom, reel up the slack and keep the bait close to the bottom.

“Once we get going, hang on, ‘cause someone’s probably going to get a fish! If your bait feels a little funny or different, set the hook!”

Darrell tapped the throttle and nosed the boat into the faster current. As soon as the boat picked up drifting speed with the rapid current, he said, “Drop ‘em!”

Hitting the reel’s free spool and slow counting to five, I could feel the three-ounce sinker hit bottom and the line go slack. Quickly, I reeled up two or three feet and began to jig the four-inch yellowtail baitfish just off of the bottom.

Watching the bank go by, our boat was drifting at what appeared to be 8 or 10 miles an hour. Twice I felt the rig tap rocks on the bottom. Lifting the rod slightly, I felt another slightly different bump – and then, the rod was almost yanked from my hand.
“Fish on!” Keeping the rod high, the drag began to sing as the six-pound striper headed back upstream against the current. My fishing partners, Tom Bennett and Dave Stephens, reeled in their lines while I fought the fish back to the boat.

With a sweep of the landing net, Darrell dropped the fish in the bottom of the boat and gave Tim and Dave the “okay” to get their baits back in the water. I may have been the first to connect with a striper, but I was about to get a fishing lesson from my fishing buddies, Dave and Tom.

Dave began stacking them up for numbers and Tom started raking them in for size. Other than several beautiful two-pound white bass we caught during the day, my six-pounder was the littlest in the box.

Later I hit an eight-pounder, but Tom connected with a 12-pounder while Dave put two fish well over 10 pounds in the box. By Kentucky law, we were limited to five stripers per individual, and occasionally, we would pick up a bonus fish: another two-pound-plus white bass or a channel catfish.

Even though I held my own in the number of fish, I didn’t come close to besting either Dave’s or Tom’s catch.

It was almost 20 years ago during a writer’s conference when I first fished with Darrell Van Vactor. I can truthfully say he was good back then; but now, he has spent 20 more years honing his skills and perfecting his presentation for tail water and open lake fishing.
Darrell and the guides who work with him are, hands down, the best to be found plying the Cumberland, Tennessee and Ohio rivers’ striper fishery.

The rigs we used were bait casting reels on medium stiff rods spooled with 30-pound test braided “no stretch” “super line” tied to a three-way swivel. Live bait fish hooked through the mouth on a Mustad #1 Kahle hook were fished on a four-foot 20-pound monofilament leader tied to the three-way swivel.

Finishing out the three-way swivel rig was a three-ounce pencil sinker on an 18-inch, 12-pound monofilament drop line. Baitfish were then hooked through both lips or just under the nose to complete the presentation.

When the rig would snag on the bottom, heavy pressure on the spool with your thumb would break off the pencil weight and free the rest of the rig. A quick replacement of the weight, and you were back in business again.

Darrell was one of four guide boats working the Barclay Dam tail waters in the early morning light. Each boat carried two or three fishermen, and the guides took turns drifting the run below the dam. The morning’s fishing was orderly and precise, with each boat waiting turns to make a run through the top-producing waters.
By a little after noon, we reached our 15-striper limit and headed back to the ramp. Among the catch were several two-pound-plus whites and a small channel catfish.

In mere minutes, showing the skill of a surgeon, Darrell and his electric fillet knife reduced our catch to three 1-gallon bags crammed to the top with skinless fillets. Not a bad take for just over four hours fishing the tail waters!

Darrell Van Vactor can be reached through the Web at www.fishingguideky.com and is taking tail water and open lake reservations for 2011.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.