Area lake levels have come up form the rainfall which fell last week in the Tennessee river valley, with levels as of Sunday at New Johnsonville holding stable at just over 356 ft, with TVA predicting levels to remain stable this week. Flow rates have been around or just above the 100,000 cfs mark, which is very strong, TVA is showing that the flow rates are going to be around the 100,000 cfs mark this whole week. Water temps are holding in the low to mid 70’s, but a cold front is expected next weekend, which will bring more seasonable weather, and hopefully bring the water temps down into the 60’s.
Fishing hasn’t been all that bad, with crappie starting to bite better in the 10-15 ft range, but still seem to be on the move, as cooler water temps enter the picture, the crappie will relate to cover better, and group up. Bass fishing continues to be hit-or-miss, with most fish still shallow on rocky banks with cover. Baits that produce the best results are the shad baits, like rattle-traps, and swim baits fished across the rocky points in water less than 3 ft deep. Catfish continue to be found shallow, with some great catches being reported coming from the shorelines fishing night-crawlers and stink baits. Larger cats seem to have started moving, as large blue cats will travel this time of year back to the lake portion of the Tennessee river, and I’ve seen some dandy’s this week, with a friend catching a 64 lb blue and a 30 lb flathead the same day in the New Johnsonville area.
Deer season continues, with only 25 deer harvested to date, 6 have been bucks, and the rest antlerless deer. The juvenile deer hunt will be the last weekend this month, and then the muzzleloader season will begin the next weekend after.