Tennessee Fishing Report 7-30-10

[Saltwater Fishing]

Region I Fishing Report
July 29, 2010
GIBSON CO. LAKE (located at Trenton)
Creel Limits – Bass – 10 (14”-20” PLR) only one per day greater than 20”, Bluegill/Redear (in combination) – 20, Blue and Channel Catfish - 5, Crappie- 30 (10" minimum). Catfishing is good. Fish are being caught on liver, night crawlers and stink baits. Bass fishing is excellent. Fish are being caught on crankbaits and large plastic worms. Crappie fishing is fair. Fish are being caught on small minnows. Bluegill/Redear fishing is good. Fish are being caught on worms and crickets. The water is clear. Water temps in the upper- 80’s.
GLENN SPRINGS LAKE (located on Glenn Springs Rd, 12 miles northeast of Millington):
Creel Limits - Bass - 10 (14"-18" PLR) only one per day greater than 18", Bluegill/Redear (in combination) – 20, Blue and Channel Catfish - 5, Crappie- 30 (8" minimum). Catfishing is excellent. Fish are being caught on chicken/turkey livers and large minnows. Bass fishing is excellent. Fish are being caught on spinnerbaits and large plastic worms and lizards. Crappie fishing is good. Fish are being caught on small minnows. Bluegill/ Redear are good. Fish are being caught using crickets, red worms and wax worms. Water is clear and a few inches below pool with temps in lower-90’s.
HERB PARSONS LAKE (located 8 miles north of Collierville off Collierville-Arlington Road): Creel Limits - Bass - 10 (14"-18" PLR) only one per day greater than 18”, Blue and Channel Catfish -5, Crappie - 30 (10" minimum). Bluegill – no length or creel limit. Redear – 20 per day. Bass fishing is good. Fish are being caught on plastic worms and lizards. Catfishing is fair, being caught on chicken/turkey liver and night crawlers. Crappie fishing is fair; some fish being caught on medium minnows. Bluegill/Redear fishing is fair. Fish are being caught on crickets and wax worms. Lake level is down about 2 ft. The water is clear with temps in the mid-80’s.
LAKE GRAHAM (located 5 miles east of Jackson on Cotton Grove Road):
Creel Limits - Bass - 10 (14"-18" PLR) only one bass per day greater than 18", Blue and Channel Catfish -5, Crappie- 30 (10" minimum), Bluegill – no length or creel limit, Redear – 20 per day. Bass fishing is good. Fish have gone deep; best bet are crankbaits in 6-8 ft. water or large plastic worms fished in 15-20 ft. water. Crappie fishing is poor. Summer heat has slowed catch. Catfishing is good, fish being caught on turkey livers. Some anglers picking up some fish on jugs using cut bait. Bluegill/Redear fishing is good. Fish being caught on wax worms, red worms and crickets. The water is clear and at normal pool with temps in upper-80’s.
REELFOOT LAKE:
Reelfoot Lake level is 281.87; water temps are in the upper–80’s. The water is clear to lightly stained.

Bluegill: Fair. Bluegill are being caught on jigs and wax worms, fishing around pads and trees in 3-5 ft. water.

Crappie: Fair. Fish are deep and are being caught drifting minnows in 12–15 ft. water, early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Remember, the limit is 30 Crappie per day, per person. There are no size limits on Reelfoot Lake.

Bass: Good. Fish are being caught along shorelines early on top water baits and around pads, root wads, shallow trees on soft plastics, spinnerbaits and spoons.

Catfish: Good. Fish are being caught on night crawlers and cut shad. The best bet is to fish early mornings or late in the afternoon.
KENTUCKY LAKE:
Kentucky Lake is on a slow fall as the annual draw down has started; lake level is around 358.5, with water temps in the upper-80’s. The water is clear.

Bass: Excellent. Bass being caught on large plastic worms around the deeper drop-offs close to the main channel. Buzz baits and topwater baits are still producing fish early and late along shoreline cover and around schools of bait fish.

Crappie: Fair to poor. Fish are deep. Small jigs tipped with small minnows and double hook bottom rigs are working best around drop-offs in the 17-22 ft. range.

Bluegill/Redear: Fair. Most fish being caught around boat docks. Fish being caught on crickets and wax worms. Some late willow fly hatches are showing up.

Catfish: Fair to poor. Lack of current has slowed fishing. Most fish being taken on night crawlers, cut shad, and turkey livers in main channel late in the day.

Rockfish: Good below Pickwick Dam. Late afternoon seems to be best time to fish.


http://www.state.tn.us/twra/region1/region1fish.html

[Saltwater Fishing]

Region IV Fishing Report
July 29, 2010
BOONE RESERVOIR: No report this week.
MELTON HILL RESERVOIR: 7/29/10
WATER CONDITIONS:
The predicted water level above the dam is holding at about 793.80, which very close to full pool. Surface temperatures are in the upper-80’s to 90 degrees. The lake is clear except for a slight green tint which is nearly perfect for fishing. The water level is fluctuating just a little, but staying close to full pool. If you want to find some cooler water, just head upstream toward the 61 Bridge and you can find 50-60 degree water if the dam at Norris is spilling.
SUMMARY:
Fishing seems like it might be picking up just a little bit, but that is only very early in the morning or in the evening and on into the night. All fishing seems to be a little slow during the day. So, night fishing is a good alternative to beat the heat during the day. Early morning is the best time for topwater bass. Jerkbaits and buzzbaits are doing fair until the sun gets up over the trees. After that, chatterbaits in white or chartreuse along with spinnerbaits are doing O.K. Crankbaits are also catching a few until the sun gets straight over head. Then, you have to go a little deeper with some deep divers or jig and pig. Shakyhead or Texas-rigged Brushhogs are doing fair also. The daytime fishing has slowed down a lot except for the early morning and evening bite. You can still catch some good bass during the day, but when the midday sun is high in the sky the bass seem to be a little harder to find. Crickets are a good choice for some good-size bluegill, but you may have to fish a little deeper to find the bigger ones. There have been some nice channel cats caught on beef liver and also on fresh shrimp. There have also been some huge stripers caught at the mouth of the steam plant on live skipjack. The muskies are slowing down, but have been spotted downstream around reactor bend and even farther down.
LARGEMOUTH AND SPOTTED BASS
Moderating.
3-15 feet.
Bass are still biting, but have slowed down except for the early morning bite and the evening bite. Nighttime bass fishing is picking up, but you can still catch some decent bass during the day. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits seem to be doing better than soft plastics at this time. White spinnerbaits with gold blades seem to be doing better than most other colors. Chartreuse spinnerbaits are doing fair also, but not as good as white with gold blades. Bandit crankbaits in everything from crawfish colors to minnow imitating colors are improving every day. Green pumpkin is a good color choice on just about any reservoir in this area for soft plastics like lizards and brushhogs. Flukes and Sinkos are catching their share of good bass and should continue to improve. Any stretch of shoreline with rocks as the major source of cover is a good place to start looking for some good keeper bass. If the bass are not on the rocks, then try the overhanging bushes and trees and also the submerged timber.
SMALLMOUTH BASS
Moderating.
3-12 feet.
Smallmouth are starting to bite a little better in a few places, mostly around the Solway Bridge area and upstream towards Bull Run Creek and downstream around Reactor Bend and the ski zone. Crankbaits seem to be the bait they like the best right now. Just about any minnow imitator is doing fairly well for now. The float and fly is beginning to catch a few here and there. Minnow imitating flies in white with silver are the ticket right now.
STRIPED BASS
Moderating.
Some nice-size striped bass have been spotted breaking around the area of the reactor. If you see those fish breaking the surface, it means that they are chasing baitfish. All you have to do is get close enough to where you see them breaking and throw something in around those fish and sometimes they will mistake your lure for an injured baitfish and take it. You will have better luck if the lure you use at least looks something like the baitfish they are chasing.
MUSKY
Moderating.
The muskies have spread out over the reservoir and they seem to be moving downstream for the most part. There have been several sightings down toward Carbide Park and even down as far as Reactor Bend and the ski zone. Big chartreuse spinnerbaits and also shallow invaders are still producing, as well as just about any kind of rainbow trout imitator. The big 8 and 10-inch rainbow trout swimbaits are good bait choices.
CRAPPIE
Slow.
6-15 ft.
Crappie are slowing down just like everything else, because of the very warm water. They have been a little slow to get started this year, but will probably be better in the fall of the year. Hope Creek is a good place to start looking. Some good-size crappie have been caught from there all the way upstream to the Edgemore Bridge. Bull Run Creek should still be holding a few deep crappie. All the coves between the Solway Bridge and Beaver Creek are good spots to try.
BLUEGILL
Improving.
3-20 ft.
Bluegill have started to bite and are getting better every day. You can find them on just about any kind of structure, whether it be submerged or not. Fallen trees are a good place to start looking for them, and small live bait offerings such as red worms or crickets are excellent bait choices. Under boathouses is another good place to fish for these scrappy little fish. Any kind of shady spot is usually a good bluegill hangout. A fly-rod with a small popping bug works extremely well for these good eating fish.

NORRIS RESERVOIR: 7/29/10
WATER CONDITIONS:
The water elevation is 1,017.9-feet, which is 3.6-inches lower than it was last week. The water level is expected to fall 1.2-inches over the next two days. The main channel surface water temperature, taken in late afternoon, has warmed to 87-89 degrees. Shallow cove surface temperatures may reach as high as 90 degrees late on sunny afternoons. Most of the reservoir has clear water, the only exceptions being temporarily stained water at the head of creeks and along the clay shorelines following heavy thunderstorms. The TWRA Reservoir Data Collection web site has the latest water profile, including dissolved oxygen (D.O.), temperature, conductivity, and pH, with readings taken every meter of depth from the surface to 30 meters deep. The profile includes the actual readings and graphs of temperature and D.O. readings. The information is printable here.
The D.O. profile looks good in all areas sampled with the exception of water below 30 feet deep in the vicinity of Highway 33 Bridge. At that location, the D. O. drops to low concentrations below 30 feet deep.
SUMMARY:
Many of the fish which have been caught have come from the 30-foot depth for those fishing the lower half of the lake. Upper reaches have produced fish at a shallower depth. This is typical of summertime fishing in the reservoir. The typical, summertime pattern continues – nights and early mornings being the best times to fish. Three days with some cloud cover and rain perked up the catch, slightly. There is no detectable change in the pattern since last week. WALLEYE are hit ‘n miss, but catches are coming in for trollers who fish the steep banks on the lower end of the lake. Anglers should concentrate their trolling/jigging depth at the 23 to 30 foot depth range on the lower half of the reservoir. That is the depth of the comfort range of walleye: 68 to 75 degrees. STRIPED BASS are hitting in late afternoon, night and in the very early morning hours for those tightlining live shad or jigging into suspended fish. Downriggers equipped with large swim baits or RedFins are taking some fish at 30 feet. LARGEMOUTH BASS action slowed for afternoon and early evening anglers. They are hitting in the shallows at dawn on plastic worms, lizards and Flukes. Buzzbaits and topwater plugs are producing some topwater action early in the morning. SMALLMOUTH BASS are deep during the day. Night and early morning fishing with small spoons and doll flies jigged to the humps and off the longer points are taking some, but it’s slow. Slow-rolled spinners are catching some at night. SPOTTED BASS have hit lipless crankbaits, doll flies and plastic grubs. SHELLCRACKER catches slowed. CRAPPIE catches are slow; best at night under lantern or submerged lights.
STRIPED BASS
Moderate.
25 to 35-feet, depending upon the day, sunlight and barometric pressure.
Best at night and before 9 a.m. Some have been taken in late afternoon by trolling at the 30-foot depth. Tightline live shad or alewife, or jig spoons (Hopkins, CastMaster, or Mann O’Lures) to 25 to 30-feet deep where suspended forage fish and striped bass are located. Zara Spooks, or soft jerkbaits on surface feeding fish, but the surface activity is limited to just before dark and at dawn, and is intermittent at best. Some productive locations: Cove Creek, the mouth of Big Creek, Loyston Sea, Bear Hole Bend vicinity, the channel from Point 19 to Boy Scout Hollow, Point 9 vicinity. See the link at “Water Quality” (above) to get the temperature/oxygen/depth graph to help locate these fish. Most catches have come from about the 30 foot depth before 9 a.m.
CRAPPIE
Slow.

Typical summer pattern:
3 to 5-feet deep in brush, or to 20-feet, on the bottom, at dawn and under lights at night. Early morning fishing in shoreline brush, to 10-feet. Fish early in the morning; after the sun hits the brush, these fish are dropping deeper and are reluctant to bite. Night fishermen are catching some under lights, on tuffy minnows tightlined to various depths until the school is found. Tightline vertically into the brush with small doll flies, 1-inch tube jigs (red/white, blue/white) and 1/32 ounce hair or feather jigs tipped with minnows. Tightlining or float fishing in the brush is producing all those caught in the daylight. The better locations: Lost Creek, Whites Creek, Big Ridge Hollow, Davis Creek, Sycamore Creek, Big Ridge Hollow, the Clinch channel above Point 30 and up to Point 34, the Powell from Union County Dock vicinity to the headwaters.
SMALLMOUTH BASS
Slow.
20 to 30-feet on points and humps.
Same summer pattern:
Most smallmouth are being caught deep, having spawned and returned to the humps and moderately sloped main channel banks. Striped bass anglers, trolling or tightlining live shad or alewife, are having good luck on smallmouth which are suspended in concentrations of baitfish. Use small plastic worms or lizards on long sloping points, at 25 feet, and on mid-lake humps at the same depth: Slider, 5-inch Senko, or 6 inch Finesse worms, Berkley Gulp minnows, retrieved slowly on the bottom.¼ ounce black or dark brown hair jigs, worked slowly 20 to 25-feet deep on the humps are taking a few. Slow-rolling spinners down main channel banks were credited with some catches on Cove Creek, at night. Large shiners and a single split shot, cast to steeper, broken rock banks and allowed to sink to as deep as 20 feet have taken some smallmouth from Point 19 to Point 9. Use low-visibility line.
LARGEMOUTH & SPOTTED BASS
Fair.
Surface to 20-feet. Best at night.
Same pattern: Night fishing along the main channel shelves, docks and gravel bars near wood structure. At night, Lunker Lures or similar topwater buzz baits, 1/2 ounce rubber-skirted leadhead jigs, or small plastic worms (Senko-type) cast to main channel shoreline structure is working fairly well on most nights. At dawn: Surface to 15-feet deep in the back of the creeks and small coves off the main channels where the water is warmer than on the main channel. Try buzzbaits and topwater jerkbaits in the shallow water near flooded brush, especially early and late in the day if the section has clear water. On sunny afternoons, cast jerk baits, Flukes, plastic worms/lizards, buzz baits, spinners, or Spooks into the shallows where there is cover and where baitfish are present.
WALLEYE
Fair.
20-25 feet at night, to 30 feet during daylight.
Shallow shoreline catches have slowed. Troll along the bottom with Jet Lures tipped with nightcrawlers, Model 911 RedFins, Thundersticks, Long Billed Rebels, or similar lures. Also, #6 spinners tipped with night crawlers and decorated with a string of orange beads, fished with a 3-way swivel and drop sinker. At night, under lights on shad or alewife cast beyond the lights. Mann O’Lures or Hopkins spoons vertically jigged on the bottom at night, 20 to 25 feet deep. During the daytime, fish as deep as 30 feet. Reference the temperature/dissolved oxygen/depth graph found at the link provided at Water Quality (above) to help locate these fish.
SOUTH HOLSTON RESERVOIR: No report this week.
TELLICO RESERVOIR: 7/29/10
WATER CONDITIONS:
The predicted water level at the Dam is holding at approx. 812 ft. above sea level. The surface temperatures are still in the high-80’s to 90 degrees, with slightly cooler temperatures in the early morning hours. The water is clear over the entire reservoir with just a slight green tint.
SUMMARY:
There are no real big changes from last week. And until we get past the extreme heat, daytime fishing is very slow. Bass are still hitting big black spinnerbaits at night and the bigger the blade the better. The daytime fishing is still very slow, whether it is bass fishing or any other type of fishing. Unless you fish very early in the morning or in the evening, the heat is very hard to deal with during the day. However, the big cats are hitting, especially at night. If you want to catch some bass, the best time is from daylight until about 10a.m. or from about 7 p.m. until around 1 a.m. You can catch some during the heat of the day, but the bigger fish seem to be hitting very early in the morning or in the evening. Early morning is a good time for the topwater bite. Evening until midnight is a good jig bite and also a good spinnerbait or crankbait bite. Nighttime fishing is in full swing. Just about all the walleye and a big part of the bigger bass are hitting better at night. Crankbaits retrieved parallel with the shoreline are catching some very nice largemouth and smallmouth. Jointed Rapalas pitched up under the overhanging trees and bushes are catching some nice largemouth as well as smallmouth. The crappie are slowing down, but can still be caught in the submerged timber and brush. Trolling or float and minnow are the two best ways to catch some crappies. You may have to go as deep as 20 feet to get the bigger ones. Bluegill are doing well also, and seem to be congregated around the submerged timber and brush.
CRAPPIE
10-15 ft.
Slow.
The crappie seem to have moved back out to deeper, cooler water and congregated in the brush piles and submerged timber. Black and clear flake along with chartreuse with red jig head are good color choices. A medium action rod with 6-8 lb. test line is a good choice. Island Creek and Clear Creek are also producing some good stringers and should continue to improve. For the most part the crappie have slowed way down just about everywhere, but you can still catch some nice ones if you slow down and fish the brushpiles and downed timber with the old float and minnow. You may have to fish as deep as 30 feet but most of the better-size crappie should be close to the thermocline, which is the usually located between the warm surface water and the cool bottom of the lake water. 12-15 feet is good depth to start searching for crappie this time of year.
WALLEYE
12-18 ft.
Better at night.
There are still some walleye being caught, but you have to go out at night to catch them. Trolling crankbaits or nightcrawler harnesses are both doing o.k. Average size is about 2.5-3.5 lbs. The submerged islands around the Toqua area are a good place to start looking for some nice sized walleyes. Another good place to start looking for some nighttime walleyes is around the islands at the Clear Creek and Fork Creek area. Redfins reeled very slowly at night is a good choice in lures.
BASS
1-10 ft.
Good at night.
Nighttime bass fishing is here. Big black thumper blade spinnerbaits and 6-inch Berkley Powerbait lizards are doing well at night, along with 10-inch red shad worm. But, during the day white spinnerbaits with silver or gold willow leaf blades are doing fair for bass right now. Chartreuse is doing pretty good also. Crankbaits that imitate baitfish are producing pretty well also. Shad Raps and Rattle Traps are two very good choices. Blue and chrome is hard to beat in the Rattle Trap and silver and black with orange belly is a good choice in the Shad Rap. Jerkbaits are catching a few along with swimbaits. Also, there are a few spotted bass being caught along with the others. Shakyhead worms are starting to catch a few and also the float and fly for smallmouths. Green pumpkin brushhogs on shakyhead hooks are still doing fair. And even the spotted bass love the shakyhead no matter whether it’s a worm or a lizard or a brushhog or even a critter craw.
CATFISH
5-50 ft.
Very good especially at night.
The big cats are hitting all over the reservoir and nighttime is the best time to catch them. Chicken livers, nightcrawlers, fresh or frozen shrimp, cutbait, live bluegills or whatever your favorite catfish bait is, it’s time for some big cats. You can catch them just about anywhere in the lake you want to fish. If you use frozen shrimp it’s best to soak it in a little water with some garlic salt mixed in overnight.


http://www.state.tn.us/twra/region4/region4fish.html