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Keith from IN
Kentucky Lake Crappie Fishing
"1 pole jig fishing"
Crappie Action
Guide Service
MESSY SPRING STILL ANNOYING ANGLERS…CRAPPIE SPAWN STILL A MYSTERY
Dogwood winter started the week off for the Kentucky Lake fishing scene
as frigid temps followed a wet and windy weekend. A quick rebound
returned by Tuesday only to have cooler conditions with more rain and
thunderstorms in the forecast as Easter weekend arrives.
Seems a weird spring just won’t release its grip. There have been a few
nice days sandwiched in-between the inclement weather but overall,
anglers have battled challenging weather and this week was another
example. That roller coaster was still running!
Jane and Tom TN Crew
Kentucky Lake Crappie Fishing
"1 pole jig fishing"
Crappie Action
Guide Service
Since last week the overall crappie bite improved for some fishermen
but the overall picture still has many wondering when peak spawning
phases will take place.
An annoying spring has played games with fishing patterns, keeping most
crappie fishermen wondering why fish haven’t moved toward shallow
structure to kick spawning phases into high gear. A few more fish were
caught this past week and some showed signs of moving up toward shallow
zones and shorelines but it has not been an aggressive blitz like times
past.
Techniques such as spider rigging and long line presentations of curly
tail grubs and Road Runner style jigs continue to pay the most dividends
for boaters slow trolling and covering a lot of water. The bulk of
decent stringers this spring in the Paris Landing and upper Big Sandy
sector have been taken by these two techniques.
Tom and "OC" from Chicago
Kentucky Lake Crappie Fishing
"1 pole jig fishing"
Crappie Action
Guide Service
A few anglers have managed to take limits of crappie while long lining
or spider rigging but not everyone has been catching crappie on a
consistent basis. In fact, for the vast majority the spring crappie bite
has been below average this year.
Crappie continued to stage in open water flats and bays this week,
suspending out over midrange depths instead of heading toward shallow
structure such as manmade stakebeds and brushpiles.
Since surface temperatures climbed into the mid to upper 60’s last week
the fish left deeper depths and moved toward 7 to 10 foot depths in some
areas. Up Big Sandy and West Sandy a few crappie were taken in the 5
foot depth range this week.
Surface temps last week responded to sunny days and climbed to the 66 to
67 degree range for a day or two. Some decent stringers were taken,
mostly by trolling techniques, but a few boats vertical fishing jigs and
minnows over midrange structure began to pick a few prespawn fish out of
submerged beds.
It was a short honeymoon with nice weather, however, as a cool start to
last weekend paved the way for a cold snap that saw temps drop down near
the freezing mark a few nights. That pulled surface temps back down to
the 61 degree range to start the week off and had only warmed to the 63
degree range by Tuesday.
Roger Binkley and Chase Binkley
Kentucky Lake Crappie Fishing
"1 pole jig fishing"
Crappie Action
Guide Service
Cold fronts can play havoc with spawning phases. Dropping surface temps
can back the fish off for a day or two, interrupting their path toward
spawning territory. Once stability returns anglers are hoping a few fish
make another attempt to transition toward shallow venues and structure.
Water color has been pretty good across the reservoir this week. Lake
levels are a few inches above normal but nothing too drastic for
mid-April. Elevation is projected to hang around the 357.6 range this
weekend.
Normal summer pool level is 359 and TVA’s target date for that each year
is May 1.
Meanwhile, crappie have continued to evade a lot of anglers who have
fished traditional locations and depth ranges only to find extremely
scattered results.
Up Big Sandy a few fish started showing up in the New Hope and Country
Junction area last week but that big push has eluded most fishermen as
to the timetable and location.
It seems the long line and spider rigging techniques that covered more
water have been the ticket. Fish usually stage in midrange depths and
make a blitz toward structure where they broadcast their eggs around
cover but that peak time frame remains a mystery for many this spring.
Some boats were casting shorelines with curly tail grubs and live
minnows worked slowly beneath slip bobbers but the successful days have
been few.
Hopefully weather patterns will settle down after the Easter weekend
cool snap. That could see the crappie picture continue to evolve if
warmer days return next week.
Dave and Jeff KY Crew
Kentucky Lake Crappie Fishing
"1 pole jig fishing"
Crappie Action
Guide Service
Bass fishermen haven’t been too happy either. Finding big number of nice
size bass have not been in the cards for some of the lake’s veteran
anglers.
Rising lake levels have now brought some bass toward shallow shorelines
where dead grass is attracting them just outside of pockets and
shoreline habitat most of which is still a bit too shallow.
Casting Texas rigged lizards and craws have worked well at times as have
shallow running crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Still popular have been
crankbaits on gravel points and roadbeds and around rip-rap banks.
Weekend tournaments continue to paint a pretty tough picture of the bass
scene as catching a hefty limit of fish has not been easy for most of
the field.
Now that mid-April has arrived anglers should see stability improve in
the weather patterns. Hopefully these leftover March winds take their
ugly mood swing and vacate the area soon.
Also check out our past:
Kentucky Lake Fishing Reports
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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