WATER CONDITIONS
The water elevation on April 23rd was 1008.9-feet, which is 7.4-inches higher than last Wednesday’s elevation. The water level is predicted to remain almost steady through Friday, April 25^th The inflow is 2,095 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 have not warmed much since last week. Surface temperatures range from 59 degrees in the mornings to 62 degrees in the afternoons, lake wide. Some shallower, protected coves and creeks were as high as 65 degrees.
Moon phase: Waning crescent. The new moon will be April 29^th. The next full moon will be May 14^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
Striped bass have scattered widely between the headwaters and the lower end of the reservoir. Surface action on these fish is fair in the early morning hours. Smallmouth continue to stage on the points near flats and shallow sloping points, with good catches being made on most days at less than 10-feet deep. Largemouth are in the coves, hitting well, but tight to wood structure. Crappie have moved into the shallows near flooded brush, at about 5 to 10-feet deep. Walleye catches are fair in the headwaters and slower on the lower end.

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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 during early morning hours. No change except more catches are coming from shallower water.
5- to 10-feet deep. Near flooded brush 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, on the bottom 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 10-feet. In the hollows, backs of the creeks, and main channel pockets with wood structure.
A wide variety of lures are taking these fish.
Smaller hard slender jerkbaits (Storm BX Minnow type, Lucky Craft, and others), medium to shallow-running orange, chartreuse, or blood red Bandits, Square A Bombers, or Norman-type crankbaits at less than 15-feet deep, fished parallel and very close to the rocky shorelines. Zoom 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. Watermelon Zoom worms and 4-inch slider or Whacky worms took a few on long points and in coves near cover.

SMALLMOUTH BASS
Good.
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. ¼ oz or smaller hair jigs in crawfish colors, mustard, brown/black are catching a lot of smallmouth. A slow, steady retrieve worked well on the sunny days, with the jig worked along the bottom. Very light, low-vis line (2 to 4 pound) has helped produce the majority of smallmouth.
Medium to deep running crankbaits in blood red and crawfish patterns, close to the rocky, windy shorelines, but crankbaits are not producing as well as small jigs. Spinnerbait catches were slower.

*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 (* See regulation reminder for the April 1^st change.)
Good in early morning.
Surface on driftlines, or 15 to 20-feet in mid-channel. Some surface action is being seen in early mornings, but it’s scattered.
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.
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 to Twin Cove dock), and on the Powell above Point 17. Lost Creek is still producing, but more are also coming from the mouth of large coves near 33 Bridge and the channel at Straight Creek. The section between Point 5 and Point 9 saw some good catches.
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 1^st to October 31^st, the regulation allows 2 per day, 15-inch minimum length limit. On November 1^st it will return to the 1 per day, 36-inch minimum length limit.

WALLEYE
Slowing in the headwaters as the spawn draws to a close.
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. The shoals between Highway 25 E bridge and the mouth of Indian Creek saw almost no walleye caught.
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..