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Steve McCadams'
Kentucky Lake Fishing Report for:
November 5th, 2004
Some heavy rains and high winds have marred this week’s fishing
report, although warm temperatures have remained in the picture.
According to the weatherman, things are about to change.
Cooler conditions are in the forecast as a cold front will push the
clouds and rain away. It may be time to dust off the overcoat as fall
weather, although overdue, is about to arrive.
Kentucky Lake has been rising slowly all week. Runoff from heavy
rains throughout the TVA valley has entered the system so anglers can
expect the slow rise to continue throughout the weekend.
TVA is predicting lake stages to be in the 357.8 range this weekend
at Kentucky Dam. Upstream at New Johnsonville the elevation is expected
to be in the 357.7 range. That’s more than two feet higher than last
week at this time so things have been changing for anglers.
Surface temperatures remain above normal for this time of year due
to the above average temperatures for late October and early November. I
found water in the 67 to 69 degree range early this week. That’s likely
to change this weekend with the approaching cold front, however.
Watercolor is somewhat dingy in the upper Big Sandy and West Sandy
areas in the aftermath of the heavy rains. The mouth of the Big Sandy in
the Paris Landing area is still clear while some stain has entered the
main Tennessee River in the last few days.
Crappie continue to hit good. The high winds and heavy rains have
affected the fishermen more that it has the fish.
With the rising lake levels anglers will likely see some improvement
in shallow structure as the shad move up. Earlier this week crappie were
hitting good in the 9 to 13 foot range where stumps. Brush, and
stakebeds were located.
I had some very good days while tightlining white and chartreuse
jigs over cover. Some days the fish preferred the jig tipped with a
minnow but most days the jig tipped with some sort of scent attractant
worked fine.
Deep-water anglers are still scoring as well. Some hefty stringers
came from the 17 to 20 foot zones earlier this week as anglers there
were bottom bumping with live minnows.
The approaching cold front may slow things down a day or two but
look for action to rebound early next week if the weather cooperates.
Overall, crappie fishing has been good this fall but not many anglers
have been on the lake taking advantage of it.
Some good reports from bass anglers are still coming in, courtesy of
shallow flats and rock banks where the fish have been busting shad on
the surface. Anglers tossing chrome colored Rattle Traps and a variety
of stick baits have enjoyed success.
Some anglers are tossing small jerk baits on light spinning tackle
and getting a good response, as the bass can sometimes be finicky on the
calm days.
The rising lake levels and approaching cold front may offer a
temporary setback for both bass and crappie anglers but watch for things
to resume quickly. There’s still some good fall fishing left.
For The Lake Barkley Report
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Also check out our past:
Kentucky Lake Fishing Reports
Steve McCadams
Steve McCadams is one of the nation's best known Crappie Fishermen
and a full time resident of Paris, Tennessee. Steve is also a
professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area.
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