• Norris Lake Fishing Report

    Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
    (423) 587-7037 http://www.tnfish.org/index.html phshaw@comcast.net
  • Paul grew up in Auburn, Alabama and graduated from Auburn High School in 1969. Before leaving high school, he began working in Auburn University's fisheries department on an experimental channel catfish cage culture project. After a year at the University of Mississippi (1969-70), he transferred to Auburn University, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fisheries Management.

  • Norris Lake Fishing Report

    WATER CONDITIONS
    The water elevation on October 16th was 1,008.5-feet, which is 2.4-feet lower than last Wednesday’s elevation. The water level is predicted to drop one foot by Friday, October 18th. The inflow is 613 cfs. Afternoon channel surface temperature readings are 75 degrees on the lower end; 70 degrees upriver. Morning temperatures have been as low as 73 degrees on the lower end and 68 on the river arms. The reservoir is clear in most locations, including the heads of the creeks.
    Moon phase: waxing gibbous. The next full moon is Oct. 19th.
    The latest stocking information for Tennessee lakes can be found at http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/Res.../stockings.pdf
    To view photos and Google maps of all access areas on the reservoir, go to http://www.tnfish.org/ReservoirLakeM...eMaps_TWRA.htm or http://tinyurl.com/chm2ts9.
    For the Norris lake elevation, inflow rates, and generation times, go to http://www.tva.gov/lakes/noh_r.htm.

    SUMMARY
    The fall drawdown continues. Smallmouth catches are improving, lake-wide. Spotted bass catches picked up on the Powell side and in Cove Creek and Big Creek. Largemouth are still slow on most days. Topwater and shallow crankbait catches are improving where baitfish are schooling and along the shorelines in the early morning hours. Mid-day catches are still slow except for smallmouth on deep humps and points. Crappie are slow except for a some catches on the upper river arm channels. Striped bass are moving upstream, hitting well when one can locate them.
    A regulation change is now in effect for smallmouth bass: From October 16th through May 31st, the daily limit is 5 (in combination with largemouth) and the minimum length limit is 18-inches.

    *******

    BLUEGILL/REDEAR
    Bluegill: Good. Shellcracker: fair.
    Early morning bluegill are hitting popping bugs well on rocky banks and in the coves near wood. What may be the last spawn of the year has some of the larger bluegill on the sandy flats, adjacent to creek channel cuts and structure of some kind – stumps or brush, usually. Fish the bottom with crickets in water less than 10-feet deep and keep moving to locate these fish. Mid-day catches have come as deep as 20-feet on tightlined crickets on steep, broken rock banks. Crickets or mealworms are the best for bluegill, the bait tightlined or cast to steeper, broken rock banks where there is shade. For the larger ones, avoid using a float, but cast or tightline with sinkers to get the bait quickly to depth.
    Shellcracker catches are hit’n miss, in brush less than 10-feet deep in the Loyston area. These fish are hitting redworms or nightcrawlers but are scattered.

    CRAPPIE
    Slow on the lower end; moderate on the upper arms of the Powell and Clinch embayments. In the rear of larger creeks where there is brush on the channels and coves.
    Best at night under lights on the above Pt. 31 and Pt.15.
    20-feet deep on the lower end, tight to brush and wood structure. The Mill Creek to Loyston area has been slow. Lost Creek is fair above its confluence with Whites Creek. The Clinch channel above Sycamore Creek has had good catches on main channel brush and old, downed trees.
    Good lures: Tuffy minnows, small doll flies, mini tube jigs (red/white, blue/white) and 1/32 ounce hair or feather jigs tipped with minnows, Trout Magnets, or Slider grubs in a variety of colors. Historically good locations to try: Powell River arm channel from Point 15 vicinity to Earl’s Hollow. Davis Creek from its headwaters to a half-mile below Powell Valley Marina. Doaks Creek. Big Creek from Indian River Marina to Campbell County Park. Cove Creek above Twin Cove Marina. Mill Creek, Big Ridge Hollow, Lost Creek above its junction with White Creek. Poor Land Creek. Bear Creek. Flint Creek. Sycamore Creek. The Clinch channel above Point 31.

    LARGEMOUTH & SPOTTED BASS
    Moderate at dawn. Slow mid-day
    Buzzbaits, grubs or swimbaits, hard jerkbaits, and small crankbaits are catching some largemouth and spotted bass close to shoreline cover in the early morning hours.
    Plastic worms, or lizards fished with a slow drop have caught some largemouth. Top producers have been small, medium running crankbaits, surface jerkbaits, grubs or swimbaits. Small, shallow or medium running crankbaits are taking some fish in the larger creek channels, and in the rear of the creek embayments on rocky banks.
    The Zoom worms, Brush Hogs, or Baby Brush Hogs in varieties of watermelon and pumpkin colors are still working well. Topwater plugs or buzzbaits have taken some nice largemouth at dawn in the coves near wood structure. The Powell side, Davis Creek, and Cove Creek have produced the most spotted bass.

    SMALLMOUTH BASS
    (Reminder: the regulation change was Oct 15th.)
    Moderate, improving. Same pattern, but shallower on cloudy or windy days.
    Drawdown periods have seen increased hits along the points which extend into the main channel. Catches continue along humps and ledges with deep plugs, jigs, pig’n jigs, or Gitzits or Brush Hogs down to 25-feet deep, although shallower catches have been made, but on smaller fish.
    Trolled plugs, small jigging spoons, or small swimbaits fished deep on 25-foot deep shelf drop-offs and long points are taking a good number of smallmouth on some days.
    The water remains clear, with up to 10-feet of visibility. Light, low-vis line, and keeping the boat as far from the intended fishing area as possible, is required if you’re going to fish shallow. Good colors have been any shade of watermelon, pumpkin, or red (or red flake).

    *REGULATION FOR SMALLMOUTH BASS: June 1st – October 15th, one per day, 20-inch minimum length limit. October 16th – May 31st, five per day (in combination with largemouth), 18-inch minimum length limit.


    STRIPED BASS
    Slow on the lower end, moderate farther upstream. Dawn is best.
    Some of the lower end fish are moving upstream on the main channels or the larger creek embayments. Considerable searching may be required to keep them located from day to day.
    20 to 30-feet in mid-channel on the river arms and large creek embayments. Surface feeding fish have been seen widely scattered across the reservoir in early mornings and late afternoons.
    Early surface breaks have been seen in the Loyston area, but they’re scattered. Loyston and Cove Creek catches improved this week. Breaking fish were seen in Big Ridge Hollow. Some catches were reported near Crooked Creek and near the mouth of Williams Creek.
    Troll ½ to 1 oz bucktail jigs, umbrella rigs with trailers in pearl or chartreuse, or live bait (gizzard shad, shiners, or alewife) tightlined, or trolled with downriggers, to the depth of the forage fish schools in mid-channel especially across the points and humps.

    There is a new, statewide hook regulation in effect. Read it here: http://www.eregulations.com/tennesse...s-regulations/

    *REGULATION REMINDER FOR STRIPED BASS: April 1 – October 31, 2 per day, 15-inch minimum length limit.

    WALLEYE
    Fair.
    30 to 35-feet for most locations on the lower third of the reservoir, whether bottom fishing on the humps, or if trolling plugs for walleye suspended in schools of baitfish. Trolling long, thin plugs which imitate the alewife shape has produced best. Troll at the 30 to 35-foot depth whether using downriggers or fast trolling to get to depth.
    Daytime trolling catches improved for those using spinner/worm rigs, but better results have come from Redfins, Model-A’s, Thundersticks, long billed Rebels, or equivalent plugs trolled through schools of alewife and along humps and ledges on the bottom as deep as 30-feet at mid-day. The quality of the fish caught has been very good, but numbers are low. Night jigging with spoons or Mann O’Lures is slow.

    phs
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