• 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 June 18th was 1012.68-feet, which is what it was last Wednesday. The water level is predicted to remain steady through Friday, June 20th. The inflow is 1,335 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, especially after a storm passes through.
    Most of the lake has a surface temperature of 83 degrees on the main channels; coves can be a couple of degrees warmer. Some shallow, stained coves were 86 degrees.
    Moon phase: Waning gibbous. The new moon will be June 27th.
    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.
    There is a new, statewide hook regulation in effect. Read it here: http://www.eregulations.com/tennesse...s-regulations/

    SUMMARY
    Hot summer days and warm water have slowed mid-day fishing to a crawl. The best luck has come at night or in the early morning hours; by 9 a.m., the action slows for most species. The exception: Trolling plugs along the bottom at the 20 to 25 foot depth has caught some walleye in the middle of the day and into the afternoon hours. Unlike spring and fall seasonal changes, the passage of summer days see little to no change in the pattern of game fish except for the night hours when fish will come into shallower water.
    Smallmouth anglers: the summer smallmouth length and creel regulation is now in effect. See the smallmouth section, below, for details.

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    SPECIES DETAILS

    BLUEGILL/REDEAR
    Bluegill: Good. Shellcracker: Moderate.
    Shellcracker catches are still coming in, but the numbers were less than in previous weeks. The average depth is 10-feet, in coves on wax worms, nightcrawlers, red worms, and small tuffy minnows. Mornings have been the best time to catch shellcracker and bluegill. Many large bluegill were spawning in the flats at 5 to 10-feet. Some are still in the shallows and are being caught on crickets dragged across the bottom with no float used. Popping bugs are catching good for bluegill on the shaded, steep, rocky shorelines before 10 a.m.. Once the sun is up, the larger ones drop into deeper water and into available cover and shade. Look for the spawning bluegill to move to deeper water.

    CRAPPIE
    Slow during the day; best at night in brushy coves in the creeks and coves, and on main channel brush.
    10- to 20-feet deep.
    Clear water and bright sunshine have limited the best catches to nighttime, under lights, and the early morning hours.
    Plastic grubs in blue ice, green, pearl, or yellow, as well as tuffy minnows. 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. Night fishermen are catching them on tuffy minnows beneath lights on main channel, deep brush from Point 29 and above.
    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. Locations between the Dam and Point 9, and the Dam and Point 2 typically produce no crappie.

    LARGEMOUTH & SPOTTED BASS
    Slow during the day, improving at dusk, and best at night.
    Surface to 20-feet; deeper or tighter to structure during the day. Same pattern, but better action from sunrise to 9 a.m.
    Night fishing on the humps and flats adjacent to deeper water has been good on Carolina-rigged plastic worms/lizards or Texas-rigged plastic worms/lizards. Sweet Beaver trailers (size 4.20) on 3/8 oz to1/2 oz rubber skirted jigs (shades of pumpkin or watermelon with flake) have taken good catches of largemouth and a few good smallmouth at night on the flats and humps at 10 to 15-feet bottom depth.
    There have been periods of good topwater activity on some afternoons, starting a couple of hours before dark. Some early morning catches have been on topwater plugs and buzzbaits.
    Slow retrieves with soft plastic (Flukes, Slider worms, Brush Hogs, or shaky head jigs/slider worms) have taken some nice largemouth at about 8 to 15-feet. Motor oil and pumpkin colors are working for lizards and 8-inch worms, Carolina-rigged and fished in the coves where the bank is not steep.

    SMALLMOUTH BASS
    Slow during the day, best at night.
    15- to 20-feet.
    On long points extending into the channels, and rocky points of any slope. Hump fishing with small hair jigs or deep running crankbaits has been good on some late afternoons and at dusk.
    Topwater breaks are not numerous, but have produced some fish on the right mornings, before 8 a.m., often in mid-channel. A few have taken top water plugs at dusk, on steeper, rocky banks off wood structure or small points..
    Pig’n jigs, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beavers, 6-inch slider worms and lizards are working from dusk to dawn. For soft plastic baits, jig skirts, and spinner skirts, any shade of watermelon/pumpkin continues to produce fish. Walleye anglers are still picking up smallmouth on shad or alewife, at night under the lights, by casting the bait to the shoreline and letting it drop.
    Under the current, clear water conditions, daytime smallmouth fishermen are doing best with very light, low-vis line (2 to 4 pound).

    *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.)
    Fair in early morning. Locations widely scattered, but Cove Creek, the Lindymood Hollow section of the Powell, and the Point 19 vicinity have produced fish.
    Surface on driftlines, or 15 to 20-feet in mid-channel.
    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.


    *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.
    18-25 feet.
    Best at night after 10:30 p.m., but trolling plugs has produced some in the daytime, near the bottom at 20-feet along humps and drop offs.
    Night catches have come on snagged alewife or shad, casted toward the shoreline when fishing under lights. Jigging Mann O’Lures and Hopkins spoons has caught some, but has not been as good as casting alewife or shad to the bank, just out of the lights.
    Daytime trolling is picking up fish on plugs such as Thundersticks, Long Billed Rebels, Mod. 911 Redfins, or Model A’s.
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