WATER CONDITIONS
The water elevation on May 15th was 1020.05-feet, which is 2.1-feet lower than it was last Wednesday. The water level is predicted to fall 3.2-inches by midnight, Friday, May 17th. The inflow is 3,443 cfs. The reservoir water temperature is remaining unseasonably cool. Morning surface temperatures are in the low 60’s lake wide. Afternoon temperatures following the cool nights earlier this week were only in the mid-60’s. Loyston was only 64 degrees, and that was on a sunny day. Today’s 85 degree temperature, coupled with the wind, warmed the upper few inches to almost 70 in some places. The channel color is clear with visibilities as high as 10-feet.
Moon phase: waxing crescent. The next full moon will be on May 25^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
The greatest problem daytime anglers are encountering is clear water with visibilities exceeding 10-feet in many locations. Low-visibility line is essential. 6 lb test, low visibility line has taken many of those fish caught during daylight hours. Clear water has them deep, or tight to vegetation and other woody structure in those areas. More fish have moved into the shallow brush, but the drawdown has put some fish on the humps and points. Crappie, shellcrackers, and largemouth bass are nesting among the flooded brush and small trees. Shellcracker catches slowed. Bluegill improved. Largemouth are in the shallow coves.

BLUEGILL and REDEAR (SHELLCRACKER): Bluegill good. Shellcracker moderate. Bluegill are hitting crickets and mealworms at 10 to 15-feet close to the bottom in the coves. Shellcracker are 4 to 10-feet deep close to flooded brush and small trees, holding close to the bottom. But shellcrackers were slower than last week.

CRAPPIE: Good in lower end creek hollows and good far upstream in the river headwaters, tight to cover in spawning areas, 5 to 10-feet. Look for water in the mid-60’s or warmer.

LARGEMOUTH BASS: Good.
In the coves and rear of creeks. Shallow and close to the shore near brush, especially in large coves. Some are nesting, and are in the coves on sloping, sand and gravel shorelines, near cover.

SMALLMOUTH BASS: Moderate.
Some have spawned, but others are still pre-spawn. On the broken rock, moderately sloped banks in the mornings, moving to more gently sloped points by midday, but still on chunk rock and near gravel. Transition zones from boulders to white gravel points, as well as shelves on clay/gravel banks have been good. Transition zones on points have been the best if not far from spawning areas on points. As deep as 20-feet.

*REGULATION CHANGE FOR SMALLMOUTH BASS: The regulation changed on October 16^th. It now allows five smallmouth with a minimum length limit of 18-inches. This regulation remains in effect until June 1^st.

SPOTTED BASS: Good in the hollows; improving on the rocky main channel shorelines. 15 to 20-feet on main channels and humps, shallower on secondary points. Texas-rigged slider-type worms, small, crawfish pattern crankbaits and pig’n jigs along the shorelines where there are big boulders and plenty of gravel to boulder transition zones.

STRIPED BASS: Fair. (*See regulation change, below, effective Nov. 1^st.) Surface to 20-feet deep in the channels. Many have moved back downstream from their spring run to the headwaters. They’re scattered. Where there are baitfish in the creeks, striped bass have been caught from the surface to less than 10-feet deep, on drifted shiners or small shad and alewife.
*REGULATION REMINDER FOR STRIPED BASS: April 1 – October 31, 2 per day, 15-inch minimum length limit.

WALLEYE Slow. Lower end walleye are on the broken rock, steeper sloped banks at less than 15-feet deep, near big, old timber, and on red clay/gravel shorelines. Night fishing for lower end walleye on those steeper, rocky banks is improving in Cove Creek and the lower part of Big Creek. Night fishing along the flooded timber is fair in the Loyston to Lost Creek section. Few baitfish have been seen flipping on the surface, along the shoreline at night.
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SPECIES DETAILS

BLUEGILL/REDEAR
Bluegill: Good. Shellcracker: moderate.
Shellcracker have been schooling in the flooded brush and small timber, holding close to the bottom in water which is 5 to 10-feet deep. Catches are slower than they were last week. Keep searching the coves, in the flooded trees, until you find a school and fish that area.
10 to 15-feet deep for bluegill, on the bottom, in coves and along broken rock, steep banks. Crickets or mealworms have been best for bluegill.
For bluegill and shellcracker, use redworms, meal worms, crickets, or small minnows fished with no float, but tightlined or cast to shady, rocky banks and dragged slowly across the bottom. Crickets are the best bait for bluegill. Most of the shellcracker catches have been on red worms or nightcrawlers.

CRAPPIE
Good in the rear of larger creeks on the lower end and above Point 17 on the Powell and above Point 30 on the Clinch. Good in Sycamore, Davis, Cove, and Doaks creeks.
3 to 10-feet, tight to brush and wood structure. Spawning crappie are in the brushy areas in the larger creek hollows and are shallow. Night catches, under lights, are improving.
Good 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.

LARGEMOUTH & SPOTTED BASS
Good. best in the coves, tight into flooded vegetation on shallow sloping shorelines. Spotted bass catches are better on the Powell side than on the Clinch, and they’re better in the creek embayments than on the main channels. Many are nesting at 5 to 10-feet deep off shallow sloped, gravel banks.
Shallower, sand and gravel shorelines in the coves, warmed by the afternoon sun, has attracted many largemouth and baitfish. Texas-rigged Slider worms, spinners, soft jerk baits, buzz baits, and shallow running plugs have caught fish in these areas. They’re deeper on the main channels, where the water is cooler and very clear.
Flukes, Sliders, and other plastic lures which are able to be worked in flooded shoreline brush and timber are working best. 200 and 300 series Bandit crankbaits and Norman Little N crankbaits fished parallel to the rocks in stained sections, and soft jerk baits close to the shoreline wood structure. Spawning largemouth are taking lures reluctantly, knocking plugs or moving soft plastic lures away from the nests, very often requiring repeated casts to the same area. Good hits are coming from post-spawn bass.

SMALLMOUTH BASS
Moderate. Best on the days with the worst weather when sunlight penetration is less.
The water is very clear, with 10-feet or more of visibility. Light, low-vis line is needed.
The smallmouth spawn is still underway. Actively spawning smallmouth have been reluctant to hit. Smaller, male smallmouth are on the gravel points and in the shoreline vegetation, as shallow as 3 to 10-feet on many days. Good catches are coming on post spawn fish on ledges and sides of humps at 15 to 20-feet.
Soft jerk baits and small plastic lures (Gitzits, Centipedes, Slider worms, etc.) have taken some tight to the banks in the flooded brush and floating wood. Texas-rigged 6-inch plastic Slider worms, Zoom worms, or lizards have taken fish on the ledges and humps.
Other lures which have produced: crawfish imitation colors, 3/8 oz hair jig with trailer; or popeye jigs (1/16^th to 1/8^th oz), tipped with a tuffy minnow. Dark green (cedar tree green) or gray colors have worked well for the small hair jigs tipped with minnows.


*REGULATION CHANGE FOR SMALLMOUTH BASS: The regulation changed on October 16^th. It now allows five smallmouth with a minimum length limit of 18-inches. This regulation remains in effect until June 1^st.


STRIPED BASS
Fair.
To 30-feet in the channels and across long points and over deep humps in the main channels of the river arms or large creek embayments. Look for feeding gulls which indicate the location of baitfish schools and troll or tightline alewife or shad in those locations.
Troll ½ to 1 oz bucktail jigs, umbrella rigs with trailers in pearl or chartreuse, or live bait (gizzard shad, shiners, or alewife) tightlined to the depth of the forage fish schools in mid-channel especially across the points and humps.
On the lower half of the reservoir, try Lost Creek, Mill Creek and from Crooked Creek (behind Island F) up to Straight Creek, and on the Powell side, from Lindymood Hollow to Point 11. Some have been reported caught near Point 3 on Cove Creek and near Point 6 in Big Creek.
There is a new, statewide hook regulation in effect. Read it here: http://www.eregulations.com/tennesse...s-regulations/

*REGULATION REMINDER FOR STRIPED BASS: April 1 – October 31, 2 per day, 15-inch minimum length limit.

WALLEYE
Slow.
The darker moon phase will help night fishermen using lights.
Lower end walleye are holding close to broken rock shorelines of moderate slope, near old timber, less than 15 feet deep at night.
They’re hitting topwater (Spooks, Pop’R’s, jerk baits) or shallow running plugs (Shad Raps) at dusk and through the night where baitfish have moved into the shallows. That action is hit’n miss, at best, but those fish caught have been of good size.
There has been little shoreline alewife activity at night. Fishing under lights with snagged shad or alewife has produced some fish.

phs