On Thursday last week, our local rivers and lakes were on the rise and many were out of their banks. Lake levels were coming up over a foot per day, TVA says that the lake will crest by the time this article is published. Expected levels are well above the summer pool levels, but expect TVA to drop the levels when they can. The normal time to raise the lake is starting on April 1st with TVA having the lake at summer pool by the end of April. No fishing report this week, due to the high water situation, not many folks have been out on the water. Normally this pre-spawn time is one of the best times to find trophy fish of any species. Many of our sports fish are laden with eggs, moving towards their spawning areas. But with the excessive flow rates, we saw over 350,000 cfs on Thursday last week, and muddy water, the fishing will be off for awhile.
The local bass club, (Kentucky Lake Bass Anglers) will be having their meeting this Thursday, March 3rd at the Waverly fire hall at 7pm for anyone who would like to come and join. As the tournaments start to ramp up this spring, I’ll try to post more information on them. Trout are scheduled to be stocked this week in Hurricane and Tumbling Creeks. The trout will be mostly put in off the bridge by the Mill at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch and off the bridges on Tumbling creek between Hwy 13 and Bucksnort Road. To fish for or keep trout, anglers must have a trout license in addition to their regular hunting and fishing license. Senior citizens and kids under 16 don’t need one, but kids between the ages of 13-15 do need the junior hunt/fish license.
I do want to remind everyone that our licenses expired the last day of February, so before fishing, everyone needs to purchase their new license. Licenses may be purchased in our area at Walmart, Caseys General Stores, Hunts Outdoors (should be open in April) and Bud’s Market. Licenses may also be purchased at any TWRA offices and on-line at the TWRA website (tnwildlife.org) or by using TWRA’s mobil app; TWRA on the go. Available on the apple store or play store for free.
Turkey season will begin at the end of the month, regulations are on page 38 of this last years hunting guide. Juvenile turkey hunt is on the weekend of March 26th, with the regular hunt staring the next weekend for everyone else on April 2nd. There will be a hunter safety class being taught by Coach Bradford on March 17-18th at the shooting range off Scepter Rd. Pre-register for the class on-line by going to (TnWildlife.org), find hunter ed and look under traditional class. The class will fill up quick, so try to pre-register as soon as possible. I also want to remind everyone, that most all the hunting seasons have ended, with the exception of a few, on the end of last month, so consult the hunting regulations before hunting.