Brought to you by: Fishtale Lodge
Report for December 7th, 2001
NORMAL LAKE LEVELS SHOULD IMPROVE ANGLER'S SUCCESS
Fishing should get back to near normal this
weekend and into next week as lake levels have been falling drastically.
TVA really pulled the plug earlier this week as Kentucky was going down
about as fast as it came up.
TVA's lake information office reported a decline in lake levels of
almost two feet daily for several days. The reservoir crested in the
363.3 range at New Johnsonville and was almost that high in the Paris
Landing area earlier this week.
By Monday you could see the water dropping as swift current was
visible around river islands and shoreline habitat. The main river was
clogged with debris in the form of huge logs and trees. Boating was
extremely dangerous.
Muddy water was the norm on the main lake as the runoff from
upstream really churned up the mud. Severe erosion was noticed along
roads and shorelines in many areas.
However, TVA's projections for this weekend indicate near normal
readings so anglers should find the crappie settling down around those
main lake ledges and drop-offs.
Crappie should return to the 18 to 25 foot zones favoring the deep
sides of sandbars where stumps and brush can be found.
When lake levels fall dramatically, it normally sends the fish to
deeper venues in the main lake areas. Expect crappie to remain deep
until lake levels stabilize this weekend.
With all the warm weather surface temperatures are somewhat above
normal for this time of the year. Surface temperatures were in the 51 to
55 degree range.
A lot of shad have been seen roaming the shallow areas this week
during the high water episodes. That will bring some crappie up to
shallow areas if it stays warm this upcoming week.
Productive jig colors have been loud, florescent leadheads such as
chartreuse, hot pink, and green. Popular skirt colors have been
chartreuse, pink and chartreuse, lime green, and pink and pearl, just to
name a few.
The tightline, bottom bumping rigs have worked best as anglers
vertical fish the deeper areas of Kentucky Lake with both live minnows
and jigs.
Bass fishing was slow overall and also a victim of the high water.
Some smallmouth were found on the rock points as current was a factor in
where baitfish were residing.
Sauger were beginning to show up before the flood but action last
week was pretty much shut down. Look for that to improve this week as
well.
While this past week has been anything but normal, it appears things
are headed in the right direction.
For The Lake Barkley Report
Click Here
For Other Kentucky Lake Fishing Reports
Click Here
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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