Fishing Report Archives

Spring doesn’t officially arrive until next Thursday yet legions of Kentucky Lake anglers have been treating the spring fever symptoms for weeks now!

Bradford pears have been blooming for quite some time and several other trees are now budding out and screaming spring. Warmer days lately have buttercups in bloom. That itch from fishing pox has fishermen yearning to scratch and head out on the lake in search of a cure.

March Madness is underway both on the basketball court and at most any lake, pond or river near you. Just pause and listen as the birds chirp a song of seasonal change.

Winter is about to lose its grip and gray treetops and dull hillsides will soon be filled with every color in the rainbow, not to mention the air being filled with a potpourri of fragrances that further verify spring’s arrival.

Crappie anglers have been out in force when nasty March winds would allow. Known to be a mean month with unstable weather patterns, March showed several of its faces last week keeping anglers off balance.

Last weekend was a prime example of what’s instore when March occupies the calendar; warm and calm one day; warm with gale winds the next! Such was the case last weekend.

Last Saturday started out a bit cold but by midmorning sunny conditions took over, warming a chilly sky quickly and before noon anglers were shedding jackets and shirts. No wind and a beaming sun felt like a heavenly day on the lake. Boats were everywhere, emerging from their garage hibernations.

Fishing reports indicate scattered crappie were taken in the West Sandy and Big Sandy area around the Paris Landing sector but the scene, although perfect in terms of weather and lake levels, was that of scattered and stubborn fish for most.

Some nice slabs were taken, mostly from deeper depths such as the 18 to 20 foot range. A few boats stalking midrange manmade fish attractors such as brushpiles and stakebeds managed to find a few very scattered fish as they canvassed the 8 to 12 foot depth range.

Other boats that opted to stray from a vertical presentation of jigs and minnows were observed both slow trolling long line presentations of Road Runner style jigs or pushing multipole spider rigs out over deeper ledges in the main lake areas.

Popular color combinations have ranged from orange leadheads armed with chartreuse bodies to curly tail grubs on unpainted leadheads sporting purple/chartreuse, black/chartreuse and some florescent outlandish color combinations that sometimes work and trick finicky crappie into biting.

Fish were scattered for them too as not many limits were taken. Thus far it has been a few here; few there report and pattern.

Lake levels have stabilized recently, hanging around the 354.4 range in the Kentucky Dam sector. Upstream toward New Johnsonville the reservoir is a bit higher with readings staying around the 359 range! That means a lot of water is still passing through the system and that current is present in the main Tennessee River channel.

TVA continues to push a lot of water through Kentucky Dam, creating storage capacity in anticipation of more rain across the valley.

Surface temperatures this week have climbed slightly in response to the warmer days. Readings are staying in the 53 degree range and climbing a degree or two at midday when the sun pops out. Although several rainy days are dotting the weather forecast no severe cold fronts are in the picture, which should continue to work in favor of pre-spawn crappie anglers anxious to see more fish move up to shallow venues.

The days and week ahead should see a lot of movement from sluggish crappie. Warmer surface temperatures will trigger the transition toward prespawn phases. Fish will begin to stair-step their way toward staging spawning territory, moving up to bays and flats into midrange depths.

Crappie should begin staging in the mouth of big bays or perhaps parking out on secondary flats where creek channels, humps and sloughs provide underwater highways for them travel toward spring spawning spots.

Spring always presents a lot of variables to fishermen. Weather and wind, combined with lake levels, deal the cards. Things can change overnight this time of year when a nasty cold front blows in from the north with bone chilling winds that upsets the apple cart.

Wise anglers know to keep their coveralls and raingear with them at all times. Don’t go out on the lake underdressed this time of year.

Meanwhile, water color is in pretty good shape across most of the reservoir with more stain present in the main channel area.

Bass anglers are banging the banks lately with a wide variety of crankbaits. From crawfish variations to loud red and black combinations, bassers are pretty much tossing everything in the tackle box at times while targeting gravel banks and rocky points.

Some fish have been taken around rip-rap shorelines too. Rattle Traps and Red-eye shad style lures have allowed anglers to cover a lot of water in search of patterns. Suspending jerk baits have worked well as have some jig and craw combos.

From chatter baits to slow rolling spinnerbaits around visible crappie beds hoping to find a shallow fish moving up on sunny days, bass fishermen are hoping warmer days will trigger a more aggressive bite in the near future.

Some good bass are still hanging out in somewhat deeper depths it appears but will continue to move up as warmer surface temperatures advance. Bait fish are beginning to transition toward shallow areas and that will pull the bass to their locale.

Right now the deep diving and sometimes shallow running crankbaits fished on big chunk rock are working well. That’s always a popular pattern for early spring here on Kentucky Lake but finding that right color combination sometimes varies from day to day or week to week.

As March advances and spring approaches Kentucky Lake anglers will face a variety of changes in the weeks ahead. Some nice days with calm winds and some cold, nasty ones with rain or snow could be in the picture.

It’s just that time of year so best prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Take the sunscreen and the overcoat with you; odds are you’ll need one or the other!