Kentucky Lake water levels at New Johnsonville as of Sunday were at 357 ft, and TVA is predicting a fast fall this week to a level of just under 355 ft by Thursday. The Duck River fell 6 ft from last Thursday to Sunday. Looking like we will be back to normal by next weekend, although fishermen will have to tolerate some strong current on the lake this week, with more flow leaving the system as is coming in. Flow rates early this week will be in the 150,000 cfs range falling off somewhat throughout the week. Water temps have been holding in the upper 70’s, and are expected to remain somewhat stable this week, even with the warmer than average temps predicted mid-week.
Fall fishing is near, when the bite improves, but we will have to wait until the lake stabilizes, as it seems that changing water conditions can cause the fish to get ‘lockjaw’. Once stability returns, we should see the bite improve. The shorter days and longer nights, combined with cooling temps, will get the fish into a feeding mode, and some good catches of all sports fish should improve. Most bass fishermen have been coming up with some small fish, no big numbers or sizes this past week,. Most tournaments have been won with weights in the low teens. Crappie seem to have moved to deeper water, and the crappie bite has slowed down, possibly due to falling water levels. Catfish are starting to move, and most fish being taken are the ‘eater sized’ fish in shallow water flats next to the river channel.
Deer archery season began this past Saturday, and a few hunters found success, with 5 deer being checked in on Saturday. No turkeys were reported taken as of Sunday in Humphreys co., but hunters are reminded that one turkey may be taken during the archery deer hunt, also there is a shotgun hunt coming up next month for turkey. Squirrel season continues, and hunters can hunt them on the TN National Wildlife Refuge, Duck river unit. A USFS refuge permit (type 064) is required to hunt the refuge in addition to your regular state licenses. It is strongly recommended to pickup a refuge hunting guide for all regulations and hunting dates before hunting on the refuge, as many small game hunting opportunities are closed during refuge deer quota hunts.