Fishing continues to improve with cooler overnight temps.

Todd Logsdon tells us this week in the weekly fishing report that largemouth bass are being taken at Barren on both topwater and Rattletraps.

Crappie action is still picking up both in the main lake and tributaries, 10 to 12 feet deep in cover, both on minnows and jigs.

Catfish have been excellent on nightcrawlers along the bluffs for the past few days and bluegill are still hitting crickets.

Talked to my old boss Bill Tinsley this week and he and a partner had gotten into a nice string of bass on buzz baits. Several crappie fishing friends have been doing well also. One told me he caught a dozen keepers out of one hide which indicates they are schooling up for their fall run. I managed to bring home six nice keepers myself Monday in about an hour of fishing minnows. Two buddies from the “oldtimers” ventured to Cumberland River at Celina Tuesday and caught some nice walleye including two 22 inchers. You’ll see Wilbur Carroll holding one of them in the accompanying photo. Carroll, Lewis Carter and Roy Ross also caught sauger and smallmouth during a two hour period when the bite was on.

This weekend’s Kentucky Afield TV show will be of special interest to several in this area who have attended the world’s largest muzzleloader shoot in years past.

Sponsored by the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, the Indiana town of Friendship welcomes pioneer weapons enthusiasts by the thousands. I know that this was a regular trip for our late mayor, Charlie Honeycutt, along with some other black powder enthusiasts hereabouts including Joe Donald Taylor, John Simmons and Karl Weis.

This weekend, Kentucky Afield’s Tim Farmer will be among the attendees.

There will also be a segment on bow hunting for deer.

The show airs on KET Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and repeats at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Speaking of bow hunting for deer, this week’s offering from outdoor writer Hayley Lynch of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, gives some tips to bowhunters.

Lynch notes that bachelor groups of bucks are beginning to break up, as shorter days trigger hormone changes in deer. This means that even hunters who scouted during pre-season must do some additional homework now.

“In summer they’re keyed in on crops and green fields. As summer progresses into fall, acorns are starting to drop and deer are changing their feeding and bedding patterns,” said Chris Garland, assistant director of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources‚ Wildlife Division. “A lot of patterns you observed in summer have changed. Now is the time to update your stand sites.”

Garland recommends hunters search for natural funnels where deer travel, such as a saddle between two ridges, an overgrown fencerow between two forested areas, a power line right-of-way or a river corridor. “Even small changes in topography can create an area where a deer feels comfortable traveling,” he said.

Look for rubs where bucks are signposting, or marking their territory. “Lots of early season rubs are found in open areas or along field edges and serve to remove the velvet from antlers,” Garland said. “The rubs found this time of year and into October are related to bucks marking their territories and letting does know they are there.”