• 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 May 21st was 1011.85-feet, which is 10-inches higher than last Wednesday’s elevation. The water level is predicted to rise 3-inches through Friday, May 23rd . The inflow is 1,8928 cfs.
    The lake is clear, with visibilities of 15- to 20-feet on the lower end. The head of some creeks may have visibilities of less than 5-feet.
    Surface temperature readings show 69-73 degrees over most of the reservoir. Shallow, protected coves and creeks are as high as 77 degrees.
    Moon phase: Third quarter moon. The new moon will be May 28th.
    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
    Clear water and sunny days are making midday catches a challenge. Smallmouth and largemouth bass have either dropped to 20-feet, or are close to the shoreline, hiding beneath wood or rock to avoid the sunlight. Night catches are much shallower and easier to get.
    Shellcracker continue to hit in the brush. Some crappie have already spawned, as have smallmouth and many largemouth bass. Catches of post-spawn smallmouth came from the long, sloping points and along broken rock shorelines at 15- to 20-feet, with some suspended at that depth.
    Extremely clear water makes the spawning fish wary and harder to catch. Two to four-pound-test, low-visibility line, and long casts are doing best.
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    SPECIES DETAILS

    BLUEGILL/REDEAR
    Bluegill: Moderate. Shellcracker: Good.
    Shellcracker catches improved in flooded timber, mainly in the rear of coves. The lower half of the reservoir is best for shellcracker, but they can be caught in most of the lake. They’re hitting wax worms, nightcrawlers, and small tuffy minnows at 5- to10-feet deep, just off the bottom. Bluegill catches improved for those fishing on the bottom with crickets. Look for them in shallows adjacent to creek channels or in coves near brush or stumps. The bluegill which have spawned are dropping into deeper water. Popping bugs took some good bluegill on the shaded, steep, rocky shorelines before 10 a.m..

    CRAPPIE
    Fair, in brushy coves in the creeks and coves.
    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.
    Crappie have been observed nesting in coves near brush at depths of 3- to 8-feet, but many of those caught have already spawned.
    Plastic grubs in blue ice, green, pearl, or yellow, as well as tuffy minnows, are taking crappie when fished in the middle of brush where spawning is occurring. 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. 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
    Fair for largemouth; slow for spotted bass.
    Surface to 20-feet; deeper or tighter to structure during the day.
    These fish have been caught within inches of the shoreline where there is wood structure and on small points along rocky shorelines. Some are in the back of coves, in the middle of floating brush, limbs, and other woody structure. Slow retrieves with soft plastic (Flukes, Slider worms, Brush Hogs, or shaky head jigs/slider worms) have taken some nice largemouth at 15- to 20-feet. A variety of watermelon or pumpkin shades have worked well.
    Watermelon Zoom worms and 4-inch slider or whacky worms are working.

    SMALLMOUTH BASS ​
    Good.
    Good smallmouth catches have come from those which are suspended at 15- to 20-feet along steeper, broken rock shorelines, or near the bottom on points at up to 20-feet deep. The suspended fish have been 20-feet deep where the bottom is as deep as 40-feet.
    Soft swim baits, small plastic Slider worms, plastic lizards, Brush Hogs, or rubber skirted jigs have taken fish from the points. Any shade of watermelon has produced well.
    A slow, steady retrieve worked well on the sunny days, with the lure 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.

    ​*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 scattered. Crooked Creek to Black Fox at Point 29 continues to produce in the early morning, as does Lost Creek. The channel from Point 19 to Stardust was slow, but a few small fish were caught. The Powell side has had catches from Point 10 to Point 12, and from Point 15 to Point 16. Cove Creek, near Point 3 and above, has produced some striped bass over the past week in early morning.
    Trolled umbrella rigs, shiners, alewife, 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.
    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
    Moderate.
    Surface to 15-20 feet, near the shoreline where there is broken rock or red clay. Best at night after 10:30 p.m., but trolling plugs has produced some in the daytime.
    Lower end catches were good at night along the red clay/gravel shorelines. Night catches have come on topwater plugs, Flukes, Shad Raps, and snagged alewife casted toward the shoreline. Some alewife have been spawning at night, providing good action where walleye have moved in to feed.
    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.
    Daytime trolling was slow.
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