September 9, 2010

BOONE RESERVOIR: 9/9/10

WATER CONDITIONS:
Elevation - 1,380.67.
Water Temp - 80.2 at the TVA ramp.
Water Clarity - 3-5 ft.

BASS
Largemouth/Smallmouth bite is still slow during the day but should start to pick up soon as the water temps have started to cool down. What fish have been caught have been just after sunrise on topwater (Torpedos, Spooks and spinnerbaits). Once the morning bite is over a tube (pumpkin/purple, green pumpkin) or Finesse Worm are catching a few around brush piles and laydowns. At night a tube had been working the best, working around lay downs and on deep points, jigs tipped with plastic craws and small plastic swim baits have proved to catch a few good largemouth.

STRIPED BASS/CHEROKEE BASS
On the Holston side from Davis Dock up to Bluff City Bridge area, early morning and late evening trolling Alewife, Gizzard shad or Trout, 10-15 ft. for Hybrids and 20-30 ft. for Stripers. When Holston is running water there have been some 20-30 lb. Stripers caught using fly rods with 3 to 4-inch streamers from the Bluff City Bridge to the swinging bridge.

SUNFISH
Are on Bluffs or around any brush piles in 3-4 ft. of water caught on brown crickets or worms.



MELTON HILL RESERVOIR: 9/9/10

WATER CONDITIONS:
The predicted water level above the Dam is holding at about 793.80, which very close to full pool. Surface temperatures have dropped and are down into the low-80’s. 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. The water is still cooler upstream toward the 61 Bridge.

SUMMARY:
The cooler surface temperatures are making a big difference in the fishing. All fishing is improving and should continue to improve. Early morning is still 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 overhead. 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. 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 should start to improve very soon due to the cooler water temperatures.

LARGEMOUTH AND SPOTTED BASS
Moderating.
3-15 feet.

Bass fishing has started to improve greatly, due to the cooler water temperatures. 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. This action should continue to improve. If you see those fish breaking the surface, it means that they are chasing baitfish and gorging on them. 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 are 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. One very important note about new regulations for this year: As of March 1st, the minimum size limit for harvesting a Musky has been changed from 44 inches to 50 inches.

CRAPPIE
Improving.
6-15 ft.

Crappie are starting to bite better and should continue to improve as the cooler water temperatures continue to drop. They have been a little slow to get started this year, but will probably be better as fall approaches. 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.

Bluegill have started to bite and are getting better. 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: 9/9/10

WATER CONDITIONS:
The fall drawdown continues. The water elevation is 1,010.5-feet, which is 1.4-feet lower than it was last week. The water level is expected to fall 6 inches over the next two days. The surface temperature, responding to cooler weather and shorter days, dropped three degrees since last week. Main channel temperatures have been as low as 79 degrees at dawn, rising to only 84 degrees by late afternoon, on sunny days. The water is clear, with as much as 8-feet of visibility in some locations on the lower end. High boat traffic will temporarily muddy the water where the shoreline is clay.

SUMMARY:
Despite the drawdown and a cooler water surface, catches were uncommonly slow during the past week, the only exception being early morning catches of largemouth bass. LARGEMOUTH BASS hit well at dawn, taking topwater plugs and buzzbaits in the coves. Deeper water was the source of catches later in the day. Late day catches slowed. SMALLMOUTH BASS hit on the main channel points and humps as deep as 35 feet, bottom depth, on small hair jigs or Carolina-rigged plastic lizards or worms. As the water cools and the drawdown continues, these fish can be expected to move into shallower water. CRAPPIE catches slowed, most coming under lights at night. BLUEGILL continue to hit on the steep, rocky banks, on crickets, tightlined or cast with no float, as deep as 30 feet on the bluffs for larger fish. Popping bug fishing is good for bluegill, before 9 a.m. Afterwards, the bluegill drop into deeper, shaded water. SHELLCRACKERS were scattered, but those caught were of good size. STRIPED BASS continued to hit well in mid channel on the lower half of the reservoir. Loyston to Point 9 catches were slower. WALLEYE were slow. Those caught hit jigged spoons, 35 feet deep, near the bottom. Trolling with Thundersticks, RedFins, or similar lures has produced fish at dusk as deep as 35-feet deep in Cove Creek, but it, too, slowed some as the fish dropped deeper.

LARGEMOUTH & SPOTTED BASS
Fair, better at dawn.
Surface to 35-feet. Best at dusk, night, and dawn.

At dawn, cast topwater plugs or buzz baits to the rock and wood structure in the coves. Night fishing along the main channel shelves, docks and gravel bars near wood structure. Midday catches were slow, but deep. Small plastic worms (Senko or Slider-type) are taking fish late in the afternoon and mornings. Some have hit the larger Zoom worms (to 10-inches) at dusk and after dark from very shallow (at night and dawn) to the 35 foot depth (late afternoon to dusk). At night, Lunker Lures or similar topwater buzz baits, 1/2 ounce rubber-skirted leadhead jigs, or at dawn: Surface to 25-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.

SMALLMOUTH BASS
Slow during daylight; Moderate at dawn, dusk, and night, same pattern.

To 35-feet on the points and sides of deep water humps. Some caught on live shiners/alewife suspended in schools of baitfish in mid-channel. Cooler water and the drawdown current will bring some smallmouth into shallower water, but near the same structure. Most smallmouth are being caught deep on the humps and long points into deeper water. The points have improved during the drawdown periods. Some dawn catches have come shallow, on a variety of lures from crankbaits to Flukes, along rocky, moderately sloped banks. 3/8 to 1/2 ounce black or dark brown hair jigs, or small spoons, worked slowly along the bottom at 25 to 30-feet deep on the humps are taking some fish. Use small plastic worms or lizards on long sloping points, at 30-35 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. Slow-rolling spinners down main channel banks picked up a few.

STRIPED BASS
Moderate.

In the channels, 30 to 35-feet, occasionally to 40-foot. At dusk, dawn, and at night. Best at night and before 9 a.m. Some have been taken a couple of hours before dark 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: Point 1 vicinity (at night, mainly), Cove Creek in the general area of Point 3, Big Creek, Loyston Sea (scattered), Bear Hole Bend vicinity, the channel from Point 19 to Boy Scout Hollow, Point 9 vicinity. Most catches have come from about the 30 foot depth before 9 a.m.

CRAPPIE
Slow.
5 to 10-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 15-feet. Fish early in the morning before the sunlight hits the brush. 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.

WALLEYE
Slow.
To 35-feet feet at night and at dusk, close to the bottom.

Troll along the bottom on steep, rocky banks with Jet Lures tipped with nightcrawlers, Model 911 RedFins, Thundersticks, Long Billed Rebels, or similar lures. On the humps in mid-lake: #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, 30 to 35 feet deep. During the daytime, fish as deep as 35 feet. Cove Creek from Point 1 to Point 3: very close to the steeper, rocky main channel banks. Mill Creek to Lost Creek: along the drop-offs and humps to 35 feet.



SOUTH HOLSTON RESERVOIR: 9/9/10

WATER CONDITIONS:
Elevation - 1,719.67.
Water Temp - 79.4 degrees at the Dam.
Water Clarity - 4-7 ft.

BASS
Fishing is very slow during the day but should start to pick up soon as the water temps have started to cool down, Smallmouth and Largemouth are biting very early in the morning around brush piles and along blow downs on small spooks, spinnerbaits. Other productive baits are worms (watermelon, green pumpkin) Finesse or a stick bait or 1/2 or 3/4 oz. Pig and Jig.

TROUT
Rainbows are biting around Cliff Island, Browns Bottom area at about 25-35 ft., trolling spoons (Sutton Spoons). Lake Trout are at 50-65 ft. on spoons around Cliff Island over to Browns Bottom and 9 colors if you are using lead core line.

BLUEGILL
Around any brush pile and along bluffs anywhere from 5-15 ft. and have been biting meal worms, worms, and crickets. The bigger Bluegill have been caught in 10-15 ft. water.



TELLICO RESERVOIR: 9/9/10

WATER CONDITIONS:
The predicted water level at the Dam is holding at approx. 812 ft. above sea level. The surface temperatures are falling and are down into the low-80’s, with slightly cooler temperatures in the early morning hours. The water is clear over the entire reservoir, with a little more of a stained appearance around the Notchy Creek area and up the Tellico River and in the Ballplay area.

SUMMARY:
Finally a break from the heat over the past week. And it has made a big change in the fishing, especially in the bass and crappie. The bass have really turned on over the past week due to the cooler water temperatures. The largemouth and the smallmouth have moved up onto the primary points and crankbaits are a good bait choice. The crappie are hitting good around the Notchy Creek area, especially around the mouth where Notchy Creek meets the Tellico River. 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 crappie. 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.
Improving.

The crappie seem to have moved back up to shallower water and are hitting good around the Notchy Creek area. 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 started to improve just about everywhere, and you can still catch some nice ones if you slow down and fish the brush piles and downed timber with the float and minnow. You may have to fish as deep as 18 feet but most of the better-size crappie should be close to the thermocline, which is 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-size 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.
Improving.

Bass fishing is improving more and more every day. The bass, both smallmouth and largemouth, are congregating on the primary points and hitting just about anything you throw at them. Crankbaits that imitate baitfish are producing very well. 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 smallmouth. 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, cut bait, live bluegill 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.

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