WATER CONDITIONS
The water elevation on July 3rd was 1,019.94-feet, which is 7.8-inches lower than it was last Wednesday. The water level is predicted to rise 4.7-inches by Friday, July 5th. The inflow is 3,445 cfs. The water temperature on the channels is 81 degrees in the mornings, rising to 84 degrees on late afternoons, lake wide. Coves are up to 87 degrees in the stained shallows, on sunny afternoons. The inflow is 3,445 cfs, and is predicted to increase. Periods of heavy rain are falling today and are predicted through Friday.
Moon phase: waning crescent. The new moon is July 8^th. The next full moon will be Sunday, July 22^nd and 23^rd.
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

Relatively stable water has helped. Rainfall will bring color to some creeks and hollows, and will help cool the surface temperature. Usual summer pattern: Dusk to dawn fishing is best because of the clear water and warm water temperatures. Daytime anglers using small diameter, low-visibility line are experiencing better results because of the clear water. Smallmouth and walleye are being caught on mid-lake humps at 15 to 20-feet in the mornings and evenings, and as deep as 30-feet at mid-day. Some bass are shallow, tight to shoreline brush and the base of shoreline trees, and at 25-feet on mid-lake humps.

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SPECIES DETAILS

BLUEGILL/REDEAR
Bluegill: Good. Shellcracker: Slow.
Shellcracker catches are slow; most have dropped into deeper water, but a few are still being caught near shallow, flooded brush at about 10-feet. Try moderately sloped banks, near rock outcroppings and wood structure at more than 15-feet deep. Surface to 30-feet deep for bluegill, on the bottom, in coves and along broken rock, steep banks. 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.

CRAPPIE
Fair, in the rear of larger creeks where there is brush on the channels and coves. Better at night under lights in the coves and creek hollows.
5 to 15-feet, tight to brush and wood structure. 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
Moderate.
Surface to 15-feet at night and through dawn. Daytime to 20-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.
Flooded brush and vegetation has produced some good largemouth and spotted bass. Clear water is keeping these fish at 10-feet or more after dawn unless there is ample cover. Where there is cover, these fish have been in the shade of brush or timber, often shallow. Good lures have been: Carolina or Texas-rigged Finesse/Slider worms or 7-inch Zoom swimtail worms. The Zoom worms in red shad or varieties of watermelon and pumpkin colors are 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
Fair. 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 6 to 10-feet or more 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
Moderate. Dawn is best.
25 to 30-feet in mid-channel on the river arms and large creek embayments, but a bit shallower on the upper half of the reservoir and on the Powell from Point 10 to Point 11 where catches have come from 25-feet. These fish are scattered and the water is clear.
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 11. 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.
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 25-feet at mid-day. Suspended walleye are holding at about 20 to 25-feet during the daytime hours. The quality of the fish caught has been very good, but numbers are low.

phs