• Douglas Lake Fishing Report - TN

    Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
    http://www.tnfish.org/index.html
  • Gary was raised on a farm in Scottdale, Pennsylvania and graduated from East Huntingdon High School in 1964. He is a well rounded outdoorsman in every sense of the word. He attended Penn State University studying Law Enforcement and Correction. Gary has a passion for fly fishing, fly tying, canoes, photography and anything with fur, fins or feathers on it.

  • Douglas Lake Fishing Report - TN

    The elevation behind the dam on May 7, 2014 at 10 PM was 990.84 feet above sea level. Water temperatures averaged out to 68.15 degrees for the week, creeks combined with bay areas.

    SUMMARY:
    Fishing activity has stabilized or leveled out over the past two weeks and the lake is simply providing good fishing for all species. Crappie have moved to deeper water on the bay areas as well as the creeks during the hot hours of the day. Black bass have taken positions closer to shore on points as well as behind underwater knolls. Largemouth bass could be seen laying on the bottom in ditches and behind humps throughout last week. The intense heat and sun of the day is now a factor in fishing successes. Huge bass tournaments have pounded the lake on weekends turning in high weights at the scales.

    CRAPPIE: Good
    Crappie are still fishing well although they have gone deep on many areas of the lake.
    Swann’s Marina area (behind the marina), the bridge piers on the main lake as well as the shoreline downstream from Swann’s are all fishing good.
    Try minnow and bobber, crappie flies, crappie spinners as well as trolling methods with minnows. Traditional methods are effective. Small Rapallas and jerkbaits have been used this week with great success as well.

    SAUGER/WALLEYE: Fair
    Sauger and Walleye have slowed down a lot but there are anglers who are relentless in walleye chase and turn in good numbers.
    Fish the holes and along the seams in fast water. There are no new tricks. Take advantage of the walleye’s habitat with green or red jigs fished deep or allowed to tumble along and across current.
    Try shadraps, Rapala Husky Jerks, Redeye Shad, stick jigs and a variety of spinner baits. There isn’t really any secret lures here as most of the baits are traditional and effective for sauger and walleye.
    Best fishing should be on the upper river from point 18 upstream to and above the Rankin boat ramp.

    BLACK BASS: Good

    Largemouth and smallmouth bass have been targeted more and more and bass tournaments are now being held across the lake.

    Lures used throughout the week have been varied with the plastic 8” worm, Carolina rig a favorite. Retrieves have been slow, very slow across the bottom. Bass are becoming more active as the water has warmed and are now active at all points across the lake.

    Deep diving crank baits as well as spinner baits with gold blades have been effective. Dark colors are recommended and dark green is preferred. Smaller size spinner baits in greens and chartreuse are effective baits.

    Fish, for the most part have been in deep water and have been lethargic. This is now changing. Largemouth are hanging on shorelines, especially during late afternoons and early mornings. As the sun rises and heats the surface - the bass go deeper, like they always do.

    WHITE BASS: Good

    White bass are still being caught in good numbers.

    Great fishing can be had from above Swann’s Marina all the way upstream to Rankin boat ramp.

    Some great lures to try for white bass are the Rat L Trap crank bait which should work well under trolling conditions. Worden’s Roostertails for shallow fishing has been an old standby. The Road Runner Bucktails work well for deeper fishing.
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