Fishing Report Archives

Temps have climbed into the 90’s lately and are likely to stay there for a spell. It’s fair to say the “Dog Days” of summer are here and that’s put a lot of anglers up on the porch where shady spots and fans await lure them to a comfort zone.

Fishermen are hitting the lake in the early morning hours lately and getting their fill by midday or midmorning before light breezes subside and ole’ man sun kick in and calls the shots.

For those rising early the bass, crappie and catfishing hasn’t been all bad. Some decent stringers are being taken. Summer fishermen who learn how to negotiate the southern heat and humidity by rising early can get in several hours of good fishing time.

Lake levels this week have had minor fluctuation taking place, which means current is still present in the main Tennessee River channel. That’s a plus for all anglers this time of year.

Presently the reservoir is residing in the 358.4 range, which is down only a few inches from last week at this time. Thunderstorms continue to pass through the region each week, dropping some heavy rainfall in portions of the TVA valley.

Water color remains clear across the reservoir despite some heavy runoff in various areas. Surface temperatures are staying in the warm range of 84 to 88 degrees.

Kentucky Lake’s fishing scene is still seeing some nice mayfly hatches occurring each week. That’s attracting bass and bluegill to shallow shorelines at times as well as rims of river islands. Seems the abundant food source always pulls some fish to shallow zones regardless of how high surface temps rise.

In times past anglers could be seen using flyrods and popping bugs while working the steep banks. Bluegill and bass would provide excellent opportunities to fill a cooler, not to mention the joy of this style of fishing. However, flyrod enthusiasts are rarely seen on the lake these days as times have changed.

School of pin minnows comprised of shad fry that hatched out back in mid-June are still abundant along the grassbeds and blowdowns that extend into deeper water. Finding a treelap full of pin minnows will more than likely produce bass that aggressively swarm the shad buffet.

Tossing Texas rigged worms or various surface plugs will likely yield a strike as will small bladed spinnerbaits crawled over weedbeds and treelimbs submerged just below the surface. While a lot of angers go deep this time of year not all the bass back off the banks when both mayflies and buffets of shad schools occupy shallow habitat.

Find the schools of pin minnows and you’ll find the bass. When current is present it pushes the schools of bait up behind structure such as logs, weebeds and treelaps that have succumbed to wave erosion. Rise early or perhaps work such areas just before dark and you’ll encounter some surface feeding action which begs an angler to toss a jerk bait or buzz bait.

Ledge fishing is always part of the summer bass pattern this time of year and boats have been tossing big deep diving crankbaits over midrange depth sandbars. Popular choices have ranged from Rapala’s DT series, Bomber’s Model A, Norman’s Deep Deep Diver 22 and Little N, Strike King’s XD and Bandit’s 300 Series are just a few to consider.

A wide variety of color schemes are offered by most all bait companies but keeping shad variations ranging from blue/chartreuse to a host of others such as root beer offer endless possibilities.

Using big Texas rigged worms in the 9 ½ to 10-inche range are popular during summer ledge fishing. As with crankbaits the color possibilities are endless. However, pumpkin-pepper, red-shad, black with blue-fleck and tequila sunrise are among the popular choices.

Catfishermen are still finding decent stringers as they use bottom bumping rigs in the 25 to 40 foot depth zones. Nightcrawlers are still the best thing going as to bait choices.

A few boats have been seen jug fishing across the midrange sandbars and doing okay. Some are using big minnows for bait in addition to nightcrawlers.

Crappie fishermen have resorted to trolling crankbaits across main lake ledges lately and finding a few scattered and suspended fish in 10 to 14 foot depths.

Others are still using vertical presentations of live minnows and jigs fished around manmade fish attractors in 10 to 14 feet. That technique is producing a few fish although not many limits have been taken.

Working the deep sides of main lake ledges or fishing deep treetops has been somewhat sluggish at to productivity lately.

Still, getting out there early or perhaps taking advantage of a morning when cloud cover and light winds are present will offer some pretty good opportunities to catch some sluggish summer crappie.

Meanwhile, night fishing has entered the picture these last few weeks for some boats and pontoons who use floating lights or lanterns to lure shad to their locale. On nights when mayfly hatches occur the bite seems improve with a few scattered white bass moving up and following the schools of baitfish.

Anglers who’ve adjusted their approach to hot summer fishing are doing okay. The weather may deal the cards but by altering your hours you can still log some good fishing trips this time of year!