• 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 April 16th was 1008.28-feet, which is 1.43-feet higher than last Wednesday’s elevation. The water level is predicted to rise 3-inches through Friday, April 18th The inflow is 3,103 cfs.
    Except for protected areas which may have a stain caused by the annual algae bloom, the main channels of the reservoir has clear, or nearly clear water. Sycamore Creek has a little color with 3-feet of visibility.
    Afternoon water surface temperatures were 54 degrees at Loyston Point, 56 degrees where Hwy 25E crosses Sycamore Creek, and 57 degrees where Hwy 25E crosses the main channel of the Clinch. The Powell at Earl’s Hollow was 56 degrees. The creeks and shallower hollows were 60 to 62 degrees.
    Moon phase: Waning gibbous. The next new moon will be April 29th. The next full moon will be May 14th.
    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
    Striped bass fishing picked up on the lower end of the lake, hitting in mid- to upper Cove Creek, Lost Creek, and a few between Point 10 and Point 11. Striped bass catches have also been reported from the upper river sections where the water is no more than 10-feet deep. Smallmouth bass were caught both in mid-channel on shad or shiners and near the rocky points and nearby gently sloping gravel points. Shellcrackers are not yet in the shallows, most hitting deep on rocky shorelines. Largemouth catches were good in early mornings and cloudy days. Catches were hard to get on the sunny afternoons where the water was clear. Walleye catches slowed considerably in the headwaters of both the Powell and Clinch.

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    SPECIES DETAILS

    BLUEGILL/REDEAR
    Bluegill: Slow. Shellcracker: Fair.
    Shellcracker catches are starting to show up, but catches are hard to get and the fish are deep, holding at 15 to 25-feet deep on rocky, main channel shorelines. The few catches which have come in have hit small minnows or worms. The water needs to warm another ten degrees before these fish will be hitting in the shallow brush.
    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 on cloudy days and early morning hours.
    5- to 10-feet deep. No change in the pattern since last week.
    In the back of larger creek hollows and in brushy pockets on the upper half of the reservoir. They are moving into the shallows, near brush at 10-feet deep.
    More are being caught in the flooded brush as the spawn approaches. The Bobby Garland 2-inch baby shad, or plastic grubs in blue ice or green is still taking crappie when trolled very slowly under a float (drift lined), or on the bottom. Popeye 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. The old standard smoke or pearl colors continue to work, as well. Sycamore Creek, Davis Creek, Lost Creek, Straight Creek are some of the locations producing crappie.
    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
    Moderate.
    Surface to 15-feet. In the hollows, backs of the creeks, and main channel pockets with wood structure.
    Medium to shallow-running orange, chartreuse, or blood red Bandits or Norman-type crankbaits at less than 15-feet deep, fished parallel and very close to the rocky shorelines. Chrome lipless crankbaits and chrome jerk baits have worked on rocky, main channel shorelines on the sunny days. 3-inch soft plastic swimbaits (bluegill, glimmer blue, or smoke colors have worked well), close to shoreline rocks on the main channels. Soft jerkbait action picked up in the warmer shallows near wood.

    SMALLMOUTH BASS
    Good. Same pattern with smallmouth moving shallower and closer to flats.
    3 to 15-feet deep, staging near main channel clay and gravel points and gravel flats adjacent to deeper water. Many smallmouth will spawn approximately 10-feet deep on the gently sloping points which have white gravel.
    Windy, cloudy days have seen good catches at 5-feet deep on rocky shorelines where the wave action has stained the water. Protected shorelines have produced as deep as 15-feet, near the bottom and on shelves.
    Medium to deep running crankbaits in blood red and crawfish patterns, close to the rocky, windy shorelines. Tennessee rigs (3-hook restriction for each rod) catches slowed on some days during the past week, but are still working on gravel/clay areas and off the steeper, rocky shorelines on the lower end. The shorter armed T-Rigs were taking fish farther from the shoreline, off the ends of downed timber, than last week. Float ‘n fly rigs have been slow to produce on most days. ½ ounce, white or shad colored, chrome willow leaf spinners are working on the windy shorelines, close to wood/rock structure and transition zones.
    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 (* See regulation reminder for the April 1st change.)
    Good in early morning.
    Surface on driftlines, or 15 to 20-feet in mid-channel.
    Trolled umbrella rigs or shad are taking most of these fish. Shad and large shiners are working when driftline fished or on planer boards, 5 to 20-feet deep. 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. Point 10 to Point 11 on the Powell; Point 3 and above on Cove Creek; Lost Creek; Mill Creek.
    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 (middle section near Point 3 and above), and on the Powell above Point 15, and with some activity in Lost Creek.
    There is a new, statewide hook regulation in effect. Read it here: http://www.eregulations.com/tennesse...s-regulations/

    *REGULATION REMINDER FOR STRIPED BASS: From April 1st to October 31st, the regulation allows 2 per day, 15-inch minimum length limit. On November 1st it will return to the 1 per day, 36-inch minimum length limit.

    WALLEYE
    Fair.
    5 to 10 feet, on the bottom, and in the rocky shoals in the headwaters.
    Catches are slowing in the headwaters of the Powell and Clinch. But some are still being caught above Lonesome Valley on the Powell, and above Hwy 25E on the Clinch.
    Troll or cast doll flies tipped with plastic grubs or night crawlers, or Long Billed Rebels, Rapalas, Thundersticks, Model-A’s, or similar lures along the bottom in pre-spawn areas..
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