Lake levels have been consistent so far this year, with current levels at New Johnsonville holding at 359.4ft. Flow rates have dropped off, with averages between 23,000-36,000cfs this week. Water temps have continued to climb, with average surface temperatures now in the mid 70’s and climbing. Both the Duck and Buffalo Rivers saw a rise last week, with both rivers cresting by mid week, and are now falling towards normal. The Duck River should be below 2.5 ft by mid week, and the Buffalo below 1ft by the 1st of June.
Fishermen had to contend and share the waterways with pleasure boaters this past Memorial Day weekend, although many who headed out early, found some good fishing. The bass bite continues to be multi-patterned, with the shallow bite continuing, and the “ledge bite” starting as many fish move out on the river flats looking for food. The shallow water is being fished by those tossing spinner baits, worms, and jigs at cover, especially when current is present. The river bite seems to be “hit or miss”, with fishermen throwing crankbaits, rattle-traps, and spoons over shell beds and hard bottom humps. As always, look for areas with baitfish present. The catfish bite is still going strong, mainly for channel cats in shallow water around rock cover. The blue cats seem to have gone on bed and are not biting well. The flat-head cats should be heading shallow, as they will spawn just after the Blue cats do. Blue gill and shellcrackers are still being taken by fishermen in the backwaters and some really good catches are being reported.
The spring turkey season will have ended by the time you read this, but here are the totals as of early Thursday last week; Benton-326, Houston-363, Humphreys-528, Hickman-598, Perry-265, Dickson-731, and the top County so far is Maury Co. with 1,015 turkeys. The statewide total is 31,247. The turkey season ended on May 28th. I want to remind hunters that the spring squirrel season is open through June 11th, with a limit of 10/day.
Now that the Memorial Day weekend is behind us, and hopefully everyone had a great weekend and remained safe out on the water; the Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start of the boating season, and when many pleasure boaters hit the waterways. As a reminder before heading out to the lake, here are a few items to check before putting the boat on the water; Registration, all motorized boats must be registered before being operated on public waterways. PFD’s (personal flotation devices), a wearable PFD must be on every boat for each person on the boat, and must be in good condition and proper size for each person. All boats over 16ft must have a throwable device, all boats with gas attached gas tanks must have an operable fire extinguisher, anyone who was born after January 1st, 1989 must have a “boater education” certificate before operating a boat. There are many more items to know and more information can be found at TWRA’s web site; TNWildlife.org One item I often see on the waterways, is knowing who has the “right of way” generally the boat which is harder to maneuver has the right of way, like barges and sail boats. The “jet ski” usually has to give way to all other boats, and over the years, has accounted for the vast majority of boating accidents. Remember there are no speed limits on the water, and as a general rule, always keep a lookout for danger, and try to avoid accidents. For more in-depth information on boating or any other TWRA information, go the the web-site; TNWildlife.org