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Brought to you by: Fishtale Lodge
Steve McCadams'
Kentucky Lake Fishing Report for:
May 4th, 2008
COOL SNAP/HIGH WINDS DELAY
BLUEGILL/BASS BEDDING...WARM WEATHER ON THE HORIZON
A cool snap this week has
curtailed bedding activity for both bass and bluegill to some degree as
surface temps have been a bit below normal. Two different cool fronts
have influenced surface temps this past week and anglers had to dig out
the jackets most days.
It appears warm weather will return
this week as the 5-day forecast shows a stable warming trend on the
horizon which should help anglers return to normal fishing conditions as
last week saw a combination of high winds and cooler than normal temps
that did not help the bite.
Heavy thunderstorms Friday night
dropped a lot of rain on the area and lake levels have jumped about a
foot since the middle of last week. However, a slow fall is now
underway.
Water
color has some stain in the upper ends of bays after the runoff from
thunderstorms Friday night.
Lake
levels jumped about a foot the last few days in the aftermath of heavy
rains and thunderstorms that delivered a lot of runoff. Some areas had
in excess of 3 inches of rain Friday night but since then high skies
have returned and rain has moved out of the area with warm weather in
the forecast.
Present lake levels in the New Johnsonville area are 359.9 and falling
slowly with a projection of 359.4 by Tuesday. At Kentucky Dam the
elevation is 360 and falling to 359.7 by Tuesday. (Those readings about
more than a foot above what they were last week at this time.)
Surface temps cooled the last few days due to another cool snap---the
second one this week---that has kept water temps in the 67 to 69 degree
range most of the week. Bluegill and redear (shellcracker) need to have
surface temps in the 71 to 75 degree range for best results as to
spawning phases as it appears the fish backed off beds this week in
response to the colder weather.
Both
bluegill and bass should show improvement in the days ahead. Crappie
should do better too but will likely remain scattered for another week
or so until post-spawn phases fade away and fish return to a more
structure oriented mode.
Anglers had another week of strange spring weather that once again
altered fishing conditions. High pressure had a negative influence on
bluegill, bass, and crappie anglers this weekend as the high skies and
northwest winds seemed to turn the shallow fish off. Watch for that to
change quickly in the days ahead if the predicted warm up arrives and
surface temps climb to the lower 70's and stay there.
A
cold front slipped in the door last Monday and according to the National
Weather Service set a record low Monday night in some areas with the
mercury dipping to 32 degrees. By Wednesday temps rebounded to 70
degrees courtesy of gale south winds that whipped the lake with
whitecaps. However, another cool snap entered the picture Saturday
morning after inclimate with thunderstorm and tornado warnings Friday
night escorted the cool snap that is still here today (Sunday).
In
the bluegill/redear department crickets continue to be the bait of
choice with a few fish taking redworms and wax worms. Although the bite
has been off this past week, look for action to improve in the days
ahead as the fish resume fanning those craters in shallow gravel areas.
Bass
have been fanning their beds too and several anglers are having trouble
catching fish in shallow areas. Most say they’re seeing fish on the bed
in dead grass and shallow buck bushes but the fish won’t hit.
A few
larger fish have been taken by anglers backing off the banks and casting
Carolina rigs and tossing jigs around gravel points near deep water
where some fish are staging in a prespawn pattern. No doubt the cold
front earlier this week backed a few fish off the banks but watch for
that to change quickly in the days ahead.
Most
anglers were flipping and pitching crawfish, jig/pig, and lizards
imitations around buck bushes and dead grass around small pockets and
bays off the main lake. Spinnerbaits were working too as were
Chatterbaits, floating worms, and some suspending jerk baits.
Several bass fishermen resumed topwater presentations this week with the
warm up and some fish were responding on cloudy mornings to buzz baits,
floating worms, and assorted jerk baits.
Catfish were hitting pretty good along rocky bluffs and inside feeder
creeks. Some bank fishermen were still finding fish around rock levees.
Crappie appear to be in a post-spawn phase and have been somewhat
scattered this week with a combination of depths producing fish from
anglers searching everything from shoreline to main lake ledges.
A few
good catches were taken in stakebeds and brushpiles where depths of 5 to
10 feet were giving up fish. Most anglers were tightlining jigs tipped
with minnows with popular colors ranging from pink/pearl to
brown/chartreuse.
A few
crappie were taken on gravel banks last week where anglers were casting
chartreuse twister tail jigs toward shoreline. Several male crappie are
still lingering there but were scattered.
Some
crappie continue to linger on the main lake ledges and depths of 14 to
16 feet were giving up some decent size ones but not much quantity.
It’s
not unusual for crappie to scatter during post-spawn and take on a
finicky mood for a week or two. That appears to be the case right now
but watch for fish to settle down in the next week to ten days and
congregate more around structure.
Meanwhile, some nice stringers of crappie were coming from behind the
levee at Springville pumphouse. The West Sandy WMA area has been flooded
most of the spring and restocked during the high water periods when
Kentucky Lake was on a tear.
Right
now the water is high in the backwaters of West Sandy WMA since the
flooding from Friday night thunderstorms.
Watch
for some good bluegill and crappie fishing there in the weeks ahead.
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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