The two sites on this road, in KDFWR’s words
| Site | County | KDFWR record, in the agency's words |
|---|
| Vicksburg Ramp | Livingston | “KY 70 East of Smithland, Left on Livingston Church - Vicksburg Road to river”. Any light trailerable boat, paved, single lane, no fee, unpaved parking ≤25, no dock. Ramp year-round 24 h; shoreline flag Unknown. Restrooms, handicap facilities, camping and marina None. |
| Barkley Tailwater VPA | Livingston | “From Smithland, take KY-70 east for 11.4 miles. Turn left on Jack Walker Road and go 1.2 miles through the campground to site on left. Fishing access is past the end of the campground road.” Bank access only — Voluntary Public Access: private land, conditional access. No lanes or ramp surface, no fee, no dock, unpaved parking ≤25, no restrooms. “Shoreline: Year Round - Limited Hours”. Rules, verbatim: “Daylight Hours Only No Firearm discharge No Littering No Fires No Alcohol No Swimming No Camping No ATV’s”. |
Limits — one figure is local, the rest is statewide
| Species | Size | Daily limit |
|---|
| Sauger, walleye, hybrids | 14 in minimum | 6, singly or in combination |
| Rough fish, by snagging | — | no daily limit here (§5(12)) |
The snagging rule in full (301 KAR 1:410, eff. 7 Nov 2024). Season 1 Feb – 10 May (§5(1)). Prohibited dam to U.S. 62 bridge (§5(6)(c)) and within 200 yards of any dam (§5(6)(g)). Not from a boat or platform (§5(3)(b),(e)); not a sport fish (§5(3)(a)) — the §5(8) and §5(10) exceptions are Tennessee River only. One single or treble hook (§5(4)). No daily limit for rough fish (§5(12)): the surviving eight-fish aggregate is the Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake Dam; KDFWR’s summary still shows the superseded 2019 figure. Every snagged rough fish here must be retained, not released or culled, except invasive carp, shad or herring (§5(16)); stop at a paddlefish or shovelnose sturgeon limit or a trophy catfish (§5(17)). No fishing at the lock-chamber mouth, as signed (301 KAR 1:201 §3(20)). Trotlines, jug lines, set lines barred dam to Highway 62 bridge (§3(9)(b)). Striped, white bass and catfish: statewide, 301 KAR 1:201 §2 — status pending.
On this corridor. Camping at the VPA: None, though its directions run “through the campground”. In the Ohio, KDFWR says a Kentucky-licensed angler “may fish the entire main stem of the Ohio River… without buying the other state’s license”. The new US 60 bridge at Smithland was targeted for 1 December 2023; open, status pending. The rest of this water: one card each for Iuka, Dycusburg, Pinckneyville, Vicksburg, the Barkley Tailwater VPA (bank only) and the ramp at the dam.
No live stage source we can read. No active USGS continuous gauge on the Cumberland between Barkley Dam and the Ohio — 03438220 to 30 Sep 1997, 03438475 at Dycusburg 1988–1999, 03438500 at Smithland to 2014 — and NWS BARK2 returned no data. Nearest active: USGS 03399800, Ohio River at Smithland Dam; as a proxy here, status pending. Corps figure that does hold: a minimum tailwater elevation of 302 feet AMSL is required to facilitate navigation (Master Plan). USACE Lake Barkley, 200 Barkley Dam Overlook, Grand Rivers, KY 42045 · (270) 362-4236