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February 27, 2013
UNINVITED COLD FRONT PAYS VISIT
Is it a cold front in-between warm spells or the other way
around? Whatever the description it appears falling temperatures that
arrived at midweek will put a real chill to the fishing scene this
weekend on Kentucky Lake.
Anglers had a nice weekend with moderate temperatures and light winds
that proved to be productive for both bass and crappie anglers but a
nasty cold snap will influence the fishing scene for the next few days.
Below normal temperatures are forecast for the weekend with some
moderation expected by early next week.
Surface temperatures started the week off in the 46 to 47 degree range
but will likely fall back a few degrees by this weekend, a scenario that
will curtail a pretty good bass bite that was underway as February lost
its grip and gave way to March.
Last weekend’s mild weather with two days of back to back sunshine sure
heated up the bass bite as some hefty fish were taken. A local
tournament out of Paris Landing State Park had a winning weight of 24.98
pounds to start the year off on a good note! Big bass was a 7.22 pound
largemouth.
Anglers are tossing a variety of lures these days ranging from some
suspending jerk baits to deep diving crawfish and shad colored
crankbaits, jig and pig combos, Alabama rigs, and some Carolina rigged
crawfish. Rattle-trap style lures are always popular this time of year
on Kentucky Lake too as the abundance of gravel banks and points are
havens for this style of lure that allows anglers to cover a lot of
water.
Finding some big chunk rock points or shorelines with a little wind or
current passing near can be productive as the big prespawn females are
putting on the feedbag this time of year before moving up. Other venues
around sloping sandbars are popular too as some fish will suspend and
hang out despite no real structure in the locale.
March has traditionally produced some of the biggest bass of the year
here on Kentucky Lake. The hefty egg-laden females are likely at their
heaviest weight this time of year so now is the time to tie into some
chunks.
Lake levels this week rose a few inches from last week due to localized
rains. Some dingy water entered the upper ends of bays and creeks while
the main lake area was sporting a good color for fishing and clearer
that shallow bays.
TVA projects lake levels to be 355.3 for the weekend at Kentucky Dam.
Upstream at New Johnsonville Steam Plant area elevation will be in the
356 range. TVA is still pulling enough water through Kentucky Dam to
create some current in the main river channel areas.
Crappie fishermen had a pretty good weekend and started the week off on
a decent note before the cold front descended and changed things with
annoying northwest winds and falling temperatures. Since then action has
fallen off as anglers have yielded to the winter conditions now present.
Decent numbers were caught last weekend by boats working the main lake
ledges in depths of 17 to 20 feet. A few fish moved up into the 15 foot
range at times too.
Most boats with good numbers reported catching a lot of fish in the 10
to 11-inch range as the bigger slabs were a bit hard to come by last
weekend.
Popular jig colors have been ranging from black/chartreuse to
pink/chartreuse, chartreuse with red sparkle, and some red/yellow
combinations just to name a few.
Look for the deep water pattern to hold up for another week or two until
surface temperatures warm and send fish toward midrange depths.
Also check out our past:
Kentucky Lake Fishing Reports
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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