• Norris Lake Fishing Report - TN

    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 - TN

    WATER CONDITIONS
    The water elevation on April 30th was 1009.65-feet, which is 9-inches higher than last Wednesday’s elevation. The water level is predicted to rise 4-inches through Friday, May 2nd. The inflow is 3,470 cfs.
    Recent rainfall has stained some of the creeks and has given a bit of color to the headwaters of the Clinch, but at this writing there were no muddy sections.
    Surface temperature readings show 63 degrees, lake wide, on a rainy afternoon. Some shallower, protected coves and creeks were as high as 65 degrees.
    Moon phase: Waxing crescent. The 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 catches have come from Crooked Creek at Island F, to Black Fox Creek at Point 29. The Powell arm has seen striped bass similarly scattered across a long stretch of the channel from Point 10 to Point 12, and limited catches above Point 15. Smallmouth catches slowed a bit as some of them are spawning. Others have been caught between about 2-feet deep and 15-feet deep. Largemouth bass have moved tight to the shoreline and wood structure on cloudy days. Crappie catches slowed. They have moved into the shallows near flooded brush, at about 5 to 8-feet deep. Walleye catches are slow; the headwater catches are almost completely over on both river arms. Shellcracker catches remain slow. ************************************************** ************************************************** ************************************************** ******************************************
    SPECIES DETAILS

    BLUEGILL/REDEAR
    Bluegill: Slow. Shellcracker: Fair.
    Shellcracker catches are starting to show up, but catches remain hard to get. A few have been caught shallower than before, at about 10-feet in brush. 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
    Moderate during early morning hours. No pattern change except they have been shallower, in brushy coves in the creeks.
    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. Locations between the Dam and Point 9 typically produce no 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
    Moderate.
    3 to 15-feet deep, staging near main channel clay and gravel points and gravel flats adjacent to deeper water. Some smallmouth have begun to spawn; they’re approximately 10-feet deep on the gently sloping points which have white gravel. Better areas are Loyston Sea, Mill Creek, Lost Creek, and the Powell from Point 9 to Point 11. Target the white pea gravel points.
    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 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.)
    Moderate in early morning.
    Surface on driftlines, or 15 to 20-feet in mid-channel. These fish have dispersed and have been located from Island F/Crooked Creek to Black Fox at Point 29. Palmer Hollow and Straight Creek have seen some catches. The Powell side has had catches from Point 10 to Point 12, and from Point 15 to Point 16.
    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 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
    Slow. The headwater catches are almost completely over for the season. Catches on the lower end have not developed, yet.
    5 to 10 feet, near the shoreline where there is broken rock or red clay.
    Catches are slowing in the headwaters of the Powell and Clinch.
    Cast Long Billed Rebels, Rapalas, Thundersticks, Model-A’s, or similar lures, or shad/alewife to the rock and red clay shorelines, and where brush may be flooded. A higher water elevation would help the catches on the lower end.
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