Lake levels were back to normal at the end of last week, with water levels at New Johnsonville on Thursday holding just above 354ft. The Cumberland River at Dover was at 54ft. The surface water temperature at the end of last week was about 45 degrees. Flow rates were dropping off last weekend, but we had some rain on Thursday, and expect flow rates to increase if we see much more rainfall.
Fishing action continues to be impacted by the strong winds and rain, but those who did get some time to venture out onto the water, were reporting some catches. The increase in the flow rates, pushed the crappie into the bays, where flow wasn’t as big of an issue, and a few good stringers of catfish continue to show up by fishermen using nightcrawlers and small cut bait, when fished along the old river channel. Nothing on how the bass are doing this past week.
The regular deer season is now over. We had a ‘private lands anterless hunt’ this past week, and also the juvenile deer hunt this past weekend. I’ll have the juvenile hunt totals next week, but as of the end of the private lands hunt, Humphreys Co. harvested 2467deer this season. The top Co. for the state was Montgomery Co, which harvested a total of 3,771 deer. There were about a half dozen Counties which broke the 3,000 mark this year. The state wide total was 157,072 deer. The water fowl season continues through the end of the month, and a few blinds have been having some good shooting this year. Most of the ducks continue to be along the Mississippi river form Cairo, Illinois to just below Jackson, Mississippi into Arkansas. There are many other hunting opportunities to take advantage of now that deer season is over, including; coyote, squirrel, rabbit hunting, with most of the hunting season ending at the last day of February. Always check the most current hunting guide for more information.
TWRA is soliciting comments for its 2023 hunting seasons regulations. This is an opportunity for the public to provide ideas and share concerns about hunting regulations with the TWRA staff. The comment period will be open through Wednesday, February 1st. The easiest way to submit comments or concerns is by visiting TWRA’s website; Tnwildlife.org and going to the ‘News’ section and following the prompt.