WATER CONDITIONS
The water elevation on July 17th was 1,020.34-feet, which is 1.9-feet lower than it was last Wednesday. The water level is predicted to fall an additional 2.8-inches by Friday, July 19th. The inflow is 2,743 cfs. The water temperature has responded to days in the 90’s. Afternoon channel temperature readings have been as high as 86 degrees. Some coves reached 89 degrees in the stained shallows, on sunny afternoons.
Moon phase: waxing gibbous. The next full moon will be Sunday, July 22^nd and 23^rd.

The Norris Reservoir biologist has provided the latest water quality report giving temperatures and dissolved oxygen readings. It can be found at
http://tnfish.org/WaterQualitySampli...TWRA_Negus.pdf
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 lake elevation has fluctuated almost four feet over the past two weeks. Fishing has been slow because of the fluctuation, heavy rains and storms, hot afternoons which have been inhospitable to anglers, and clear water. Many fish are holding tight into the brush and flooded timber, or are at the 25 to 30-foot depth.
Fish are in a summer pattern in which there is little change from week to week. However, the drawdown periods are putting bass on the points, near deep currents on the main channels. The best fishing has been for early morning bluegill and largemouth. Some walleye and stripers have been taken at 25 to 30-feet.
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SPECIES DETAILS

BLUEGILL/REDEAR
Bluegill: Good. Shellcracker: Slow.
Surface to 25-feet deep for bluegill, in coves or suspended along broken rock, steep banks on the channels. Early morning bluegill are hitting popping bugs well on rocky banks. By 10 a.m., larger bluegill have gone into deeper water. Crickets or mealworms have been 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. Small bluegill are being caught in shallow brush in the coves. This week’s full moon should see some larger bluegill move to the shallows to spawn.
Shellcracker catches are slow; most have dropped into deeper water. Try moderately sloped banks, near rock outcroppings and deep wood structure at 15 to 20-feet deep. A small number have been caught in the shallow, flooded brush, but most remain deep.

CRAPPIE
Slow, in the rear of larger creeks where there is brush on the channels and coves. Fair at night under lights in the coves and creek hollows.
5 to 15-feet, tight to brush and wood structure. The sudden water rise will put them a few feet deeper than before. Daytime catches have come as deep as 25-feet on the lower end of the lake. Shallow at dawn, getting deeper by 9 a.m. and difficult to catch when the sun hits the brush.
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. Good locations: Powell River arm channel from Union County Marina 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.
Surface to 15-feet at night and through dawn. Daytime to 25-feet, or shallow in the shade of flooded vegetation.
Best in the coves, tight into the middle of flooded vegetation, and shallow, at dusk and dawn. Some have hit Carolina rigged plastic worms or lizards on the bottom near shallow, flooded brush or on the gently sloping points down to 25 feet.
Flooded brush and vegetation has produced some good largemouth and spotted bass for those who get the lures back into the flooded structure. Clear water is keeping these fish at 10-feet or more after dawn unless there is ample cover. Good lures have been: Carolina or Texas-rigged Finesse/Slider worms or 7-inch Zoom swimtail worms. The Zoom worms, Brush Hogs, or Baby Brush Hogs in red shad or varieties of watermelon and pumpkin colors are still working well. Willow leaf spinners, soft jerk baits, buzz baits, and small topwater plugs cast tight to the flooded brush are catching some nice largemouth and spotted bass when placed close to cover.
Pig’n jigs and Finesse worms are picking up some largemouths shallow and to depths of 15-feet.

SMALLMOUTH BASS
Slow. Best at night, or on days with the worst weather when sunlight penetration is less.
20 to 25-feet deep. Shallower at night, dusk, and dawn. Smaller smallmouth are numerous in shallow shoreline cover.
The water is very clear, with up to 10-feet of visibility. Light, low-vis line, and keeping the boat as far from the intended fishing area as possible, is required if you’re going to fish shallow. Good sized smallmouth have been caught suspended in schools of baitfish, in mid-channel, 20 to 30-feet deep. Shad and alewife are taking the suspended fish.
Points, ledges, and the sides of mid-lake humps are good – shallow after dark through dawn, and as deep as 20 to 25-feet during the day. 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. Carolina or Texas-rigged 6-inch plastic Slider/Finesse worms, Zoom swimtail type worms, or lizards have taken fish on the ledges and humps, and far out on the points at 20-feet. Good colors have been any shade of watermelon, pumpkin, or red (or red flake).
Shiners fished at 20 to 25-feet on the bottom, on sides of humps and points have caught good smallmouth.

*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. Dawn is best.
25 to 40-feet in mid-channel on the river arms and large creek embayments, but on the the Powell from Point 10 to Point 11 catches have come from 30-feet. These fish are scattered and the water is clear.
Check the water quality report (link given above) to make sure you’re staying in depths with good dissolved oxygen and temperature in your fishing location.
Troll ½ to 1 oz bucktail jigs, 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.
On the lower half of the reservoir, try Point 19 to Bear Hole Bend and in the channel between Point 19 and Cunningham Cove. Island F up to Straight Creek has produced some but is slower than previous weeks. On the Powell side, from the mouth of Cedar Creek to Point 12. Cove Creek catches are fair near Point 2 and above Mountain Lake Marina. 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
Moderate.
Check the water quality report (link given, above) to ensure you are fishing in water of 68 to 75 degrees and if there is dissolved oxygen at those depths. 25 feet has been a good average depth for most locations.
Best after midnight and in the early morning hours. Lower end walleye are on shorelines with flooded timber, less than 10-feet deep at night. Cast hard jerkbaits, topwater plugs, shad, or alewife to the shorelines, very close to flooded vegetation as though you were bass fishing. Jigging under lights with Hopkins or Mann O’Lure jigs has been poor. Better night catches have come from shad or alewife cast to the banks. Daytime trolling catches improved for those using spinner/worm rigs, but better results have come from Redfins, Model-A’s, Thundersticks, long billed Rebels, or equivalent plugs trolled through schools of alewife and along the bottom at 15 to 20-feet at sunrise, and as deep as 30-feet at mid-day. The quality of the fish caught has been very good, but numbers are low.

phs