Humphreys Co. Outdoor Report for March 5th

Published Mar 7, 9:06am

Area lake levels on last Friday were at 355.5ft, with TVA showing a slight fall over this past weekend, but with a slight rise through Wednesday to a level of around 356ft. Kentucky Lake flow rates have been on the strong side, with flows averaging over 120,000cfs over this past weekend. Both the Duck and Buffalo Rivers saw a significant rise, with the Duck reaching 11.5ft last Saturday, and the Buffalo cresting at 10.5ft. The Cumberland River at Dover was at 56.8ft Saturday. Area lake water temperatures have responded to the warmer than normal temperatures, with average surface temperatures around the mid to upper 50’s (57degrees) this past week.

Many fishermen have been wanting to get some fishing time on the water, but with the warm weather, we often see very strong winds. Combine the strong winds with strong current and often it’s difficult for anglers to find areas where they can fish. The fish have responded to the warming waters by moving shallower, but TVA dropped the lake last week, and confused the fish, which seem to have moved to somewhat deeper water. As the lake stabilizes, I do expect the fish to head shallow, especially the crappie and bass. Those who have been out crappie fishing, most have targeted the mid-depth ranges of 5-10ft with some success. Most of the better catches are coming form 10-15ft of water, and with the strong river current, many of the “river fish” have moved into the bays. Fishermen can use this to their advantage by looking for crappie and bass inside the bays, just outside of the strong current, often where the flow pushes ‘up’ on underwater ledges around cover.

Fishermen wanting to regain access to the Federal refuge (Duck River Bottoms) they will be able to in a few weeks, as the TnNational wildlife refuge re-opens on March 16th. Trout fishermen can now find trout in Hurricane, Tumbling and Whiteoak Creeks, as the TWRA has stocked trout in normal stocked areas, and will continue to stock trout at the end of March and April.

Turkey season is still over a month out, with the Juvenile turkey hunt starting on April 8-9th, and the regular turkey season starting on April 15th. More information can be obtained on page 26 of last years hunting guide, or by visiting TWRA’s website; TnWildlife.org