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NORRIS FISHING REPORT

20 Nov 2013

WATER CONDITIONS
The water elevation on November 20^th was 998.1-feet, which is 1.3-feet lower than last Wednesday’s elevation. The water level is predicted to drop 2.2-inches by Friday, November 22^nd. The inflow is 960 cfs. Afternoon channel surface temperature readings average 60 to 62 degrees. The reservoir is clear in most locations, including the heads of the creeks.
Moon phase: waning gibbous. The new moon will be December 3^rd.The next full moon is December 17^th .
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
Cooler water and a lower lake level are helping crappie anglers in the head of the larger creeks. Largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass have moved into water less than 15-feet deep, whether on rocky shorelines or in brush. A few shellcrackers are being caught on sunny afternoons, 8 to 10-feet deep, scattered along clay and gravel shorelines.
A regulation change is now in effect for smallmouth bass: From October 16^th through May 31^st, the daily limit is 5 (in combination with largemouth) and the minimum length limit is 18-inches.

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SPECIES DETAILS

BLUEGILL/REDEAR
Bluegill: Moderate. Shellcracker: fair.
Bluegill catches improved at about 10-feet in coves near brush. There have been some nice-sized bluegill caught. If you’re using live bait, fish with crickets and no float, and keep moving. Mid-day catches have come as deep as 15-feet on tightlined crickets on steep, broken rock banks or with crickets dragged along the bottom. 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. Afternoon shellcracker catches improved for those slowly trolling nightcrawlers, 10-feet deep along sunny shorelines in the Loyston area and in the back of Lost Creek. These fish are hitting redworms or nightcrawlers but are scattered.


CRAPPIE
Moderate. In the rear of larger creeks where there is brush on the channels and in the coves.
10 to 15-feet deep on the lower end, tight to brush and wood structure. Cooler water is bringing them into shallower brush. Lost Creek, Mill Creek, Davis, and Doaks creek catches improved. The Clinch channel above Sycamore Creek and from Greenwelch ramp to Point 30 is still one of the better areas for crappie.
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
Good
Topwater to 10-feet.
Spinners, 3-inch plastic grubs (Twister type) or swimbaits (Yum, Yamamoto), and small Bandit or Norman crankbaits are catching some largemouth and spotted bass close to shoreline cover in the early morning hours. Some larger fish have been taken at 15 feet, on swim baits, smoke colored plastic grubs, and small jigs.
Good producers have been small, medium running crankbaits, white spinners, 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 Powell side, Davis Creek, and Cove Creek have produced the most spotted bass.

SMALLMOUTH BASS
(Reminder: the regulation change was Oct 15^th.)
Good.
More smallmouth have hit shallower as the water has cooled. Some surface action is showing up.
Larger smallmouth dropped to 25 to 30-feet on old timber and rock structure on the shorelines when the discharge through the dam was off, or at a minimum. Higher discharge periods saw smallmouth move to the tops of the humps and along points, and in shallower water down to 20-feet. Smaller smallmouth are hitting shallow in the early mornings, along broken rock shorelines.
Cooler water is bringing smallmouth up to shallow water at dawn and dusk on steep, broken rock shorelines. Surface catches along rocky shorelines increased even in midday when conditions were windy or cloudy. Late evening has some scattered feeding on shallow baitfish on the surface.
Tube jigs, plastic grubs, or swim baits are taking deep smallmouth off wood and/or rock structure.
Trolled plugs, small jigging spoons, or small swimbaits fished deep on 25-foot deep shelf drop-offs, humps, and long points are taking larger smallmouth on some days.
The water remains clear, with up to 10-feet of visibility. Good colors have been any shade of watermelon, pumpkin, or red (or red flake).

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


STRIPED BASS
Moderate on the lower end but with a slight improvement in numbers caught; moderate farther upstream on the main channels, and on the upper half of larger creek embayments. Dawn is best.
Lower end catches slowed this week from the Dam to Point 9, but some were still caught.
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, mainly in the channels on the upper half of the lake where baitfish schools are most numerous.
Loyston catches and surface feeding continue to be scarce. Big Ridge Hollow held some fish, deep. Some catches were reported near Straight Creek to 33 Bridge, 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
Slow
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.
Best 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.

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