posted November 12, 2009
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BOONE RESERVOIRBoone and Watauga fishing reports will be discontinued while the creel clerk completes military assignments.
CENTER HILL, as of Nov. 7
Fishing is fair. Water temperature is 60 degrees; lake is falling. Several spots are being caught on small worms, around laydown trees on bluffs. Some good largemouths and smallmouths are being caught on topwater baits on points. Crappie fishing is fair on jigs and minnows around fallen trees.
CHEROKEE LAKE
The creel clerk that alternates between Cherokee and Douglas has retired. It has not been determined when that position will be filled. At this time there are no reports available.
Send your fishing report via E-MAIL to Richard Simms.
CHICKAMAUGA, as of Nov. 7
Crappie are being caught in numbers in all areas of the lake. Bluff walls, blowdowns, and piers located in the sloughs and in the river are a scatter plot of locations that crappie were being caught. Minnows, tubes, and jigs were being used. One angler's favorite color may be yellow and white and another angler may think that the only color they will bite is blue. Confidence in you bait and the way it is presented is the key to successful angling. Bass were being caught most often in the sloughs and creeks near grass. Many bass were schooling. Spinnerbaits and topwater lures were being used. Catfish were being caught while using the typical catfish baits. The tailwaters was an area that many anglers were catching catfish. Bluegill were being caught along the river bottom by those that were drifting. The upper area of the lake from Cottonport to the dam seemed to be the better location to catch bluegill. Small jigs and worms were being used for bait. Some rockfish were being caught in the tailwaters while using shad for bait.
DALE HOLLOW, as of Nov. 7
Fishing is fair. Water temperature is 58 degrees; lake is falling slowly. Several smallmouth are being caught on live bait while fishing points in 20 feet of water. A few largemouth and spots are being caught in the rivers on jigs on bluff banks in 5-to-20 feet of water. Crappie fishing is fair in the rivers while fishing brush in 15 feet of water on minnows.
DOUGLAS LAKE
The creel clerk that alternates between Cherokee and Douglas has retired. It has not been determined when that position will be filled. At this time there are no reports available.
FORT LOUDON, as of Nov. 12
We received some heavy rains from the hurricane system that came up from the gulf, but it has moved on out now and we have a beautiful weekend coming up, so get out and enjoy the water this weekend because it probably will not stay this way for too many more weekends. Everything seems to have slowed down a little over the past week or two. It could be that we’re transitioning over to fall fishing patterns, which could take the fish a couple of weeks to adjust to. As soon as the fish have adjusted, the fishing should pick back up. The crappies are still biting fairly well, but even they have moved back out to the channels for the time being. Boathouses are very good structure for crappies and you’ll sometimes find some nice bass under them also. Small minnow imitating lures are doing really well. Live minnows are very hard to beat when it comes to some very nice keeper crappies. The cooler water is contributing to some nice stringers of bass, with some nice ones being caught in the 3-5 pound range. Spinnerbaits and topwater baits are doing very well, in white and also chartreuse colors. The primary points are starting to hold more bass, and the jig and pig is a good bait choice, along with brushhogs and even big tubes. The best color choices are dark colors like black and brown or black and blue and also watermelon seed. Crankbaits are catching a few nice bass and also the shaky head worm in watermelon seed color. The catfish are still biting very well and jug fishing for big cats is a good method. Striped bass are still chasing shad in a lot of places in the reservoir, and they are breaking water while chasing those shad, so anytime you see those breaking fish, throw some kind of minnow imitator anywhere close to them and you will almost certainly hook something. Bluegills are still biting well over most of the reservoir and should continue for a couple more months. Rock bluffs and submerged structure are good places to start looking for these scrappy panfish.
Click Above, You Deserve It!
Send your fishing report via E-MAIL to Richard Simms.
MELTON HILL, as of Nov. 12
We have a beautiful weekend coming up with temps. close to the 70 degree mark. That’s pretty good for the middle of November, so we need to get out and enjoy the nice weather. The water temperatures are right where they are supposed to be, the water level is maintaining very steady depth and the fish are cooperating for the most part. The falling water temperatures are triggering fall feeding instincts, and all species of fish are starting to bite a lot better, especially the ones that like cooler water, such as the crappies and the striped bass along with the muskies and the smallmouth bass. The fall bite is always good, and it is also a beautiful time to be on the lake, especially when the fall colors are at their fullest. There is already some color beginning to show, but over the next couple of weeks we should be getting close to the peak of the fall foliage. This time of year also makes for some beautiful pictures, so bring your camera. There have been lots of musky sightings from Bull Run Creek all the way down to the Melton Hill Dam. A good number of the ones being spotted are juvenile fish, but there have also been some huge fish spotted by some of the musky anglers. The little shad minnows are working the surface over the entire reservoir, and that means the predator fish like the black bass and the striped bass plus the white bass and all other minnow eating fish will be following the giant schools of baitfish. The striped bass are starting to break more and more over the entire reservoir. The musky bite is starting to pick up and should continue to improve as the water temperature begins to cool. Some nice muskies have been spotted as far down as the ski area around Reactor Bend. Jigs and brush hogs and crankbaits are still doing fairly well for bass. The jig and brushhawg combination is still catching some good keeper bass. The bass seem to be concentrated on the banks with rocks and submerged timber and also around islands with deep water ledges close by. A good place to start is on any rocky banks or submerged timber especially with current flowing past close to deeper water. The crappies have slowed down a little over most of the lake.
NORRIS, as of Nov. 12
Unsettled weather has temporarily slowed fishing, but prior to the heavy rain fishing had been improving, and was pretty good for spotted bass, bluegill and striped bass. SMALLMOUTH BASS have been hitting small crankbaits, ½ oz pig’n jigs and topwater plugs in the early morning hours. The drawdown currents have them on the points, just inside the current break, and in the center of the channel where they’re hitting small baitfish. CRAPPIE and BLUEGILL are still hitting well at the 15 to 20 foot depth. LARGEMOUTH and SPOTTED BASS are hitting small plastic worms, small spinners and crankbaits on the broken rock banks, with spotted bass doing better than the largemouth. STRIPED BASS are moving up the lake with the progression of the season. Catches have come from Point 24 to the channel near Lakeview dock. WALLEYE catches were slow. CATFISH were slow.
SOUTH HOLSTON
No Recent Report
TELLICO
The creel clerk is currently off work due to a back injury. Reports will resume as soon as he recuperates.
WATAUGA
Boone and Watauga fishing reports will be discontinued while the creel clerk completes military assignments.
WATTS BAR, as of Nov. 7
Lake conditions as of 11/02/09 were as follows: The surface temperature was 57 degrees on average and the surface elevation was 741' which is at the upper summer range. November 1 was the day that the winter drawdown was scheduled to begin. Crappie were being caught near piers, blowdowns and along selected bluff walls. Rocky points with large chunky rocks beneath the surface located along the main channel is one type of area where black crappie typically can be located. Minnows and/or jigs were being used for bait. Bass were being caught most often in the sloughs near shad minnows. Some larger bass were being caught around shallow points located on the main channel. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits were being used for bait. Some large catfish were being caught in the main channel while using shad for bait. The middle area of the lake seems to be the hottest location. 40 pound fish being caught was common. Some bluegill were being caught in the sloughs near Paint Rock. A lot of blugill were being caught from docks in all areas of the lake. Rockfish were being caught near the tailwaters and areas downstream from the same. The mid to lower end of the lake has had a few more rockfish being caught in the sloughs near the shad than is normally typical.
Go HERE for Georgia Fishing Reports & links to GA Lake Levels or check Water Release Schedules from TVA Dams
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