• 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 March 19th was 1002.32-feet, which is within an inch of last Wednesday’s elevation. The water level is predicted to rise 5-inches through Friday, March 22nd..The inflow is 4,595 cfs.
    Headwaters of some of the larger creeks are showing some color, and the channel of the Powell is showing light color. The Clinch down to the islands near Hickory Star has light color. The river arms and most of the creeks are flowing in with clear, or lightly stained water.
    Water temperature readings from the main channels have been 46 to 49 degrees. The back of the creeks have been as high as 54 degrees on cloudy, breezy days, and warmer on calm, sunny afternoons. The annual algal bloom is being seen in sections where the water temperature is near 50 degrees. Wind rows of the algae are appearing as brown oily slicks and streaks on the water surface, leading some to believe it is a turnover. The condition is harmless, and can be beneficial to fishermen. Fish may be shallower in areas where the algae restricts sunlight penetration into the water.
    Moon phase: Waning gibbous. The new moon is March 30th. The next full moon will be April 15th.
    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
    Cold weather persists, keeping the reservoir 10 to 15 degrees cooler than it usually is in late March. Walleye are running in the headwater shoals of the Clinch and the Powell river arms. Largemouth catches have improved in the stained, warmer creek hollows. Smallmouth catches have been hit’n miss, but overall pretty good. They are beginning to stage off of dropoffs and points which are not far from gravel points. Shellcracker catches have not shown up, yet. Crappie have improved in the stained creeks and near brush in the coves.
    Striped bass catches are still fair with the fish being hard to locate. The spring run has some showing up on the upper river arms.

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    SPECIES DETAILS

    BLUEGILL/REDEAR
    Bluegill: Slow. Shellcracker: Slow.
    Bluegill catches are very slow. These fish are 15 to 20-feet deep, on the bottom or on the sides of shoreline dropoffs. Catch them with crickets tightlined to depth on steep, broken rock. 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.

    CRAPPIE
    Good in the larger, stained creek hollows. Shallower than before.
    3 to 5-feet deep, tight to brush, or to 15-feet on the bottom in mid-channel in the rear of the larger creek embayments. Troll small hair jigs, 1-inch tube jigs, or grubs tipped with minnows along the bottom, or fish trout magnets, popeye flies, and small tube jigs tight to brush early in the morning, or later if the water is heavily stained.
    Good standard 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 in stained sections on main channels and in the warmer, stained creek hollows.
    2 to 15-feet. Very close to the shoreline next to wood structure on rocky shorelines in stained sections.
    Medium to shallow-running orange, chartreuse, or blood red Bandits or Norman crankbaits at less than 15-feet deep, fished parallel and very close to the rocky shorelines. 3-inch plastic grubs (Twister type) or swimbaits (Yum, Yamamoto), close to shoreline rocks on the main channels. Tennessee rigs have picked up some largemouths.

    SMALLMOUTH BASS
    Moderate, improving. Same pattern.
    5 to 20-feet deep, close to the bottom on main channel clay and gravel points, and surface to suspended at 20-feet in the channels where bird activity is present.
    Clay/mud points and shelves have produced at about 20-feet, bottom depth. Small hair or rubber jigs, ¼ to 3/8 oz, in brown, orange, or chartreuse colors, and swim baits deep on the humps. Bluegill or smoke grubs on leadheads fished with a slow, steady retrieve a couple of feet off the bottom, are catching smallmouths on clay banks. Tennessee rigs (3-hook restriction for each rod), are working on gravel/clay areas and off the steeper, rocky shorelines on the lower end. Float ‘n fly rigs at 10-feet are taking some, but have been slow to produce on most days.
    ¼-ounce doll flies (dark green or gray) tipped with minnows are working well along the bottom, at less than 15-feet deep on gently sloping gravel and large rock shorelines, often far from shore where the slope is more gradual.

    *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
    Fair.
    Surface, or 15 to 25-feet in mid-channel.
    These fish are scattered and are hard to locate.
    Trolled umbrella rigs are taking most of these fish. (There is a 3-hook restriction for each rod). 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.
    Surface feeding fish activity has been hard to locate. Regardless of the location on the reservoir, if there are flocks of feeding gulls, striped bass are likely in the area, feeding on the same forage. Recent catches came from Cove Creek (lower half), and on the Powell above Point 15.
    There is a new, statewide hook regulation in effect. Read it here: http://www.eregulations.com/tennesse...s-regulations/

    *REGULATION REMINDER FOR STRIPED BASS: November 1st through March 31st, 1 per day, 36-inch minimum length limit.

    WALLEYE
    Moderate
    5 to 15 feet, on the bottom, and in the rocky shoals in the headwaters.
    Troll or cast doll flies tipped with plastic grubs or night crawlers, or Long Billed Rebels, Thundersticks, Model-A’s, or similar lures along the bottom in pre-spawn areas. The shoals at Indian Creek (Point 34 and above) have seen good catches in early morning and after dark.
    The Powell side is producing walleye and sauger above Slate Creek and to the shoals above Earl’s Hollow
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