Brought to you by: Fishtale Lodge
Report for August 31st, 2001
Anglers thought fall slipped through the door a little
early last week as cool mornings and low humidity made it feel great on
the lake. The reprieve was short-lived, however, as the summer doldrums
returned by midweek.
Observed lake elevation in the Paris Landing area was 357.7 and falling
slowly this week. Surface temperatures were in the 83 to 86 degree
range.
White bass (stripes) have been hitting good on the calm days as schools of
shad roam the edges of main river sandbars. It's so much easier to spot
the surface action when a light ripple is on the lake. Earlier this week
I found some dandy "jumps" of white bass that were putting on a feeding
frenzy along the Tennessee River. Both surface lures and small spinners
such as Roster Tails and Little George spinners were paying big
dividends.
Expect continued action from the white bass for
another few weeks along main lake flats. Watch for the meandering
schools of baitfish and sooner or later the white bass will bust them
wide open. It's a ton of fun!
Crappie were coming from 12 to 14 foot manmade brush piles and stake beds
this week. Some decent crappie were taking minnows and jigs as anglers
vertical fished around the submerged structures. There's still some
crappie relating to the deep sides of the drop-offs out in Big Sandy and
along the Tennessee River too. The bottom bumping, double-hook, minnow
rigs will pay off if you work them slowly around the stumps.
Largemouth and smallmouth are still on the main lake ledges and there's
been some hefty bronzebacks taken lately as anglers work the jigs,
Carolina rigs, and finesse baits. A lot of smaller bass are in the
submerged vegetation too. Most of the coves have grass beds just barely
beneath the surface right now so working a surface lure or spinnerbait
over the aquatic areas will produce for you.
Catfish are holding on the edge of the main river channel and there's
plenty of current lately to stimulate action. TVA continues to pull
water everyday and that's aiding the appetite of catfish. Catalpa worms,
nightcrawlers, cut shad, and chicken livers are giving up some good
fish.
There were some mayfly hatches this week too along the main lake areas. A
dandy watch was seen on Tuesday throughout the Paris Landing area.
That's sure to attract some hungry bluegill and bass to shallow
shoreline areas.
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Steve McCadams
is a professional hunting and fishing guide
here in the
Paris Landing area and host of The Outdoor Channel's television series IN-PURSUIT.
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