The Corps publishes a drawdown starting 15 November but never publishes a winter elevation. Six years of gauge readings say the lake only moves about two feet all year — which changes how you should plan an autumn here.
THE POOL YEARDates are USACE · winter elevation is not published
The number everybody gets wrong
What you hear
What the primary sources actually say
"There's a slot limit on largemouth."
There is not. KDFWR's waterbody page and the current Kentucky Fishing & Boating Guide both publish a straight 15-inch minimum with the statewide 6-fish creel. Taylorsville carried a slot in the past; it does not now.
"It drops two feet."
Closer than most claims, and now measurable. USACE publishes the drawdown dates but no winter elevation. Six years of USGS 03295597 give a median 547.5 ft in April against 545.3 ft in December, and an all-time low of 544.25 ft — a swing of roughly two feet. That is our figure from the gauge record, not the Corps'.
"Ramp X goes dry."
Not published. Neither USACE nor KDFWR lists ramp usability at winter pool. Call the Corps office at (502) 477-8882.
What coming down actually changes
Water leaves the flattest ground first, so the back ends of the creek arms and the shallow flats shorten before the main lake shows anything, and fish that were relating to those flats get pushed toward the old river channel and the first drop that still has water on it. Ramps built on gentle shoreline lose usable concrete faster than ramps cut into a bank. That is reasoning from the shape of a reservoir, not a Corps figure — but it is the right place to start looking when the lake drops out from under a pattern that was working in October.
Two things that end a Taylorsville trip before it starts. First, the WMA closes for modern gun deer season — that removes the walk-in bank access during exactly the cold-water weeks a lot of people drive out for. Second, the drawdown overlaps it, 15 Nov to 1 Dec. Check the KDFWR public lands page and the Corps office in the same phone call, not on the boat ramp.
LIMESTONEDRIFT
TAYLORSVILLE LAKEAccess and limits
The seven public accesses
Access
Type
County
Notes
Settlers Trace
Paved ramp
Spencer
Marina — slip and boat rental. Year-round, limited hours.
Possum Ridge (State Park)
Paved ramp
Spencer
Camping alongside — electric, primitive and group.
Possum Ridge Bank Access
Bank only
Spencer
No launch.
Chowning Lane
Paved ramp
Spencer
—
Van Buren
Paved ramp
Anderson
The only Anderson County access on the lake.
Tailwater Ramp
Paved, light boats
Spencer
Below the dam. Tailwater fishes well.
Tailwater Bank Access
Bank only
Spencer
No launch.
Limits — four of them differ from statewide
Species
Size
Daily creel
Largemouth & smallmouth
15 in minimum — no slot
6 — statewide creel
Crappie, black & white
10 in minimum
15 — statewide is 20
Blue & channel catfish
—
15 combined, only 1 over 25 in
Saugeye
14 in minimum
6
Hybrid striped bass, white bass
Statewide
statewide
The lake's upper boundary is Drydock Road on the Salt River. Above that line you are on the Upper Salt River and back under statewide limits — a 13-inch largemouth is legal there and illegal here, and the two waters are a few hundred yards apart. See Field Card No. 01.
What six years of gauge readings say. The whole year spans 2.2 feet — median pool 547.5 ft in April, 545.3 ft in December, and the deepest in six years was 544.25 ft. There is no real drawdown here: the bank you read in July is close to the bank you read in November. 63 KDFWR fish attractors sit in five tight clusters; coordinates on the guide page.
Pool gauge: USGS 03295597, Taylorsville Lake near Taylorsville — lake elevation, tailwater stage and precipitation on one station. Corps office (502) 477-8882, weekdays 7:30 a.m.–3:45 p.m.
Sources: USACE Louisville District Taylorsville Lake page (drawdown and refill dates, verbatim); KDFWR waterbody detail and Taylorsville Lake WMA pages; Kentucky Fishing & Boating Guide; USGS 03295597. Conditions change. Verify pool, access and regulations before you travel. Revised September 2026.
limestonedrift.com
Water alerts. We email when the pool actually moves — including the day the drawdown starts. limestonedrift.com/alerts