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Brought to you by: Fishtale Lodge
Steve McCadams'
Kentucky Lake Fishing Report for:
October 12th, 2007
OVERDUE
COOL SNAP CHASES HOT WEATHER AWAY
A long overdue cool snap has arrived and anglers have been trading
in the sunscreen for long sleeve shirts the last few days on Kentucky
Lake.
A brisk northwest wind on Tuesday and Wednesday brought a change as
temps fell dramatically at midweek. Monday saw near record highs of 91
degrees but by Wednesday the high barely managed to reach 71 degrees.
Cool days and nights are in the forecast going into the weekend, which
should put an end to the summer like conditions which have lingered the
last two weeks.
Surface temps were in the 77 to 80 degree range earlier this week
but were falling fast at midweek and should be in the upper 60’s by this
weekend.
Water color remains clear across most of the reservoir.
Observed lake elevation at Kentucky Dam is 355.6. Upstream at New
Johnsonville reading were in the 355.4 range.
Lake levels are about on track for TVA’s normal fall drawdown curve.
And, lake levels have not changed much since last week at this time and
should remain stable going into the weekend as no rain is in the
forecast.
Crappie action has held up well as the fish continue to move toward
midrange depths of 11 to 13 feet where manmade fish attractors are
giving up good numbers. Both stakebeds and brushpiles are producing as
fish are relating pretty tight to structure during the last few days
where high skies and a high pressure chased away cloud cover.
I found good numbers of fish taking both jigs and minnows the last
few days with some larger fish moving up compared to last week at this
time. A few fish in the 1 ¼ to 1 ½ pound were showing up in deeper
structure.
Some fish have been taking black and chartreuse jigs, along with
blue and white, green and clear, and some clear and white with sparkle.
Tipping jigs with Berkley Power Bait has helped entice some strikes too
but live minnows added to jigs have seen the best results.
I’ve taken a lot of fish this week by just tipping unpainted
leadheads with live shiner minnows. Bites have been somewhat finicky on
the days when the high pressure and high skies dominated but early
morning and late afternoon saw increased action as the fish seemed to
bite better.
The fish appear to want the bait right in their face and presented
slowly. Most of the crappie have been holding tight to cover.
Some larger fish are holding on main lake ledges too as those deep
stumps and brush along the edges of drop-offs are worthy of pursuit.
Depths of 15 to 17 feet have given up some scattered fish as anglers
work double hook bottom bumping rigs with live minnows and jigs.
Several anglers scouting for the Crappie USA Classic have been on
the lake this week using a wide variety of techniques and presentations.
It appears many of the drift fishermen, along with those spider rigging
or long lining were having tough luck as not many crappie were in a
suspended mode.
Others were trolling crankbaits and covering a lot of water with
only a scattered fish to show now and then.
The cooler nights should see more fish moved toward shallow venues
in the days ahead.
Two weeks ago I was finding some fish beginning to enter shallow
beds in 7 to 9 feet but the last week or so the hot weather appeared to
back the fish off to deeper structure. The return of some cloud cover
combined with cooler surface temps will see crappie move up more and
more in the days ahead.
Bass action has been fair this week with a slow down at midweek due
to the high skies that seemed to turn off the shallow bass bite.
Watch for increased activity in the days ahead, however, as shad
will likely return to surface action along gravel banks in the lowlight
conditions.
A few bass were chasing shad and hitting the surface along shallow
flats as white bass were also part of the feeding frenzies at times.
Gull activity will help you find the topwater schools of shad and fish
activity.
Grassbeds continue to break up and drift as fragments of vegetation
are visible across the main river area. However, plenty of grass is
still visible in the backs of large bays in the Paris Landing area such
as Standing Rock, Lost Creek, Ginger, Piney, and up toward Hurricane and
Leatherwood.
Working worms and spinnerbaits on the outside of grass patches
continue to produce some fish. Some topwater has worked too in the early
morning and late afternoon periods.
Crankbaits in the shad colored variations are still producing when
worked slowly around gravel and big chunk rock points.
Carolina rigs and jig and pig combos have worked on sloping banks
and points entering deep water.
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Also check out our past:
Kentucky Lake Fishing Reports
Steve McCadams
Steve McCadams is one of the nation's best known Crappie Fishermen
and a full time resident of Paris, Tennessee. Steve is also a
professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area.
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