Brought to you by: Fishtale Lodge
Report for September 28th, 2001
Anglers were hoping for it. So were bow hunters. In
fact, just about everyone was anxiously awaiting the arrival of cooler
weather.
Arrive it did as last Monday saw fall come in with a roar. Although
the first official day of fall was last Saturday, it seemed like a hot
summer day. Then, late Sunday the winds switched to the north and
throughout the day on Monday it was falling temperatures and time to zip
up your jacket.
I battled the wind for most of the day on Monday in an effort to
corner some crappie. It would have been a good day for duck hunting as
gale winds demanded we add more clothing throughout the day.
Most of last week was somewhat hot and even a bit humid. Surface
temperatures were still in the mid 70's all of last week and crappie
were scattered. Some of the fish were lingering in the deep areas of the
main lake while a lot of small fish had moved into shallow areas.
By Monday afternoon, surface temperatures had fallen three degrees.
Cool conditions remained for a few days and by Tuesday night, the area
set an all time record low temperature of 38 degrees.
Cooler weather has stimulated fish activity as surface temperatures
are now in the 68 to 70 degree range. Observed elevation in the Paris
Landing area at midweek was 356.1 and still falling slowly. TVA
indicated in its three-day forecast that lake stages would be 355.8 by
this weekend.
Crappie have begun to move into the secondary areas in such depth
ranges as 6 to 12 feet in the Paris Landing area. In the upper Big Sandy
around Country Junction and Springville pumphouse some anglers were
reporting action in the 5 to 8 foot range.
Look for increased action this week in the 5 to 10 foot zones as
shad begin to move up and bring the bigger fish with them. That's not to
say a few fish aren't still hanging around the deep ledges out in the
Tennessee River and main lake area of the Big Sandy. Seems there's
always a few on the ledges relating to the deep sides of the sandbars
where structure can be found.
Yet the recent cool spell is what the fall transition period of
crappie really needed. Therefore, the shallow stump fields, manmade
stakebeds and brush piles should begin producing larger fish in the days
ahead.
I've been finding a ton of small crappie these last few days in the
8 to 14 foot zone. My clients have had to measure a lot of fish that
were right on the threshold of the 10-inch minimum length limit.
Hopefully, some larger fish will move in and take out the guessing game
of whether or not he's a keeper when you catch him!
Bass action was slow for a day or two after the cold front as high
skies and a high pressure tended to curtail activity. Now that things
have settled down, action should improve around the gravel banks,
shallow stumps, exposed crappie beds in the backs of creeks, and the
visible grass beds.
Keep the top water lures handy in the days ahead as bass will become
more aggressive. Expect a few foggy mornings on the days when light
winds are present. This makes for a fine time to toss those surface
lures.
Shad have been popping along the gravel banks during the early
morning and late afternoon hours. They will continue to show up there
and feed on the midge hatches until extremely cold weather arrives.
Catfish have begun moving into the shallow areas too. They're
following the shad as several times the last few days someone in the
boat has hooked a dandy catfish from beneath the confines of a shallow
crappie bed.
With the water falling each week, remember to be careful out there
if you're boating in unfamiliar waters. Now is the time when those
shallow stumps and sandbars play havoc on your boat or pontoon motor's
lower unit.
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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