Paris Landing Tourism League spent the past weekend honoring the 163rd anniversary of the Battle of Belmont.
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Kentucky Lake - 10-9-24
By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer (stevemc@charter.net)
Thanks to an extended spell of nice weather the fishing scene across Kentucky Lake has suited anglers just fine. Fall has been kind to fishermen the last week or two with a little ride on the weather roller coaster at times in terms of temperatures. Lake levels had been holding around the 355.5 lately at Kentucky Dam. Surface temperatures have been reluctant to let go of the 72-to-73-degree range but watch for that to fall as cooler nights will continue to pull that down toward the upper 60’s soon.
Watercolor has been good with a slight stain. Last week the current diminished to 33,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) for a few days, which is a good range for cat fishermen stalking the main channel area.
A few boats have been working the main channel banks and finding the catfish bite pretty good in the 35-to-45-foot depth range.
The fall crappie bite has been fair the last week or two for a few anglers. Some report the fish acting quite finicky on the bright days when high skies influenced a sluggish bite. A few fish were still lingering in deep water on main lake ledges in the 17-to-20-foot depth range. However, anglers targeting the deep main lake areas indicate several small fish were taken but big numbers of keeper size fish were challenging.
Some anglers credited their catches to 9-to-14-foot depths where scattered crappie were taken in the midrange stake beds and brush piles. A few credited their success to minnows; others opted for jigs. Popular colors have been Monkey’s Milk, Mayfly and some unpainted lead heads with dull colored skirts. Tipping jigs with Berkley Power Bait has enticed a few fish to bite. Sharing the midrange structures have been loads of yellow bass and even a few aggressive bluegill.
Bass anglers have been chasing their prey on some main lake ledges at times. Tossing swim baits has been producing bass that are running schools of roaming shad. The shallow bite has not turned on for most bass fishermen this fall. Most of the fish have opted to stay on secondary sandbars and some main lake ledges.
Surface temperatures have been slow to cool the last two weeks. The cool snap earlier this week likely influenced the water to cross the upper 60’s temperature threshold. So far, the fall bite has made most anglers work pretty hard to earn bites. That can change quickly so hang in there.
Great photos of the Northern Lights over Paris Landing Marina last night. A special thanks to Yong Medluck Huffstetler for the photos. See more on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/XehkZJHBTWwYwURi/
The monthly meeting of the Paris Landing Tourism League (PLTL) will be held Tuesday, October 8th, at 6 pm at the Senior Center inside the Paris Landing Emergency Complex.
Kentucky Lake - 10-2-24
By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer (stevemc@charter.net)
Kentucky Lake’s fishing scene has been the beneficiary of some great weather this week. That scenario has been long overdue. Some cooler days gave way to warmer weather as the weekend arrived but not to worry; cooler fall weather is expected to return early next week. Jacket mornings and shirt sleeve afternoons are now in play for fishermen.
Tennessee Valley Authority has done a great job pushing water through Kentucky Dam the last week or so as they began increasing discharge rates over a week ago in anticipation of the wrath of Hurricane Helene. Lake levels are in good shape as discharge rates have kept the reservoir’s elevation at around 355, which is pretty much normal for this time of year. Currently TVA is pushing around 75,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) through Kentucky Dam.
Fortunately, TVA has been able to release a large volume of water for more than a week now as the Mississippi River has been low and able to absorb high discharge rates from both the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Surface temperatures have been in the 73-to-75-degree range as warm weather lingered last week and earlier this week. Anglers can expect a drop in surface temps as the weekend approaches as cool nights this week were forecast to dip to the upper 50’s and low 60’s.
Next week’s cool spell will further influence the fall to lower surface temps. Fishermen should see surface temps in the upper 60’s next week. Watercolor is clear in the Big Sandy area, but some stain exists along the main Tennessee River channel. Overall, the lake is in good shape.
Decent stringers of crappie have been taken lately, although a few days of north winds that brought the cool snap to our door, caused whitecaps in the open water areas at times. Depths of 16 to 20 feet were giving up crappie the last few days. That’s likely the result of warmer surface temperatures lingering into the start of October. A few crappie were caught in 7-to-12-foot depths by anglers stalking manmade fish attractors such as brush piles and stake beds. Fish were finicky and scattered in the shallow to midrange depths, so it required a lot of stops to accumulate decent numbers of keeper size fish.
When fishing the deeper holes, a lot of credit has gone to the use of live minnows fished on tightline techniques. Some are just tightlining minnows while other are using jigs and tipping them with a shiner minor. Sometimes that live minnow seems to enhance the bite. Other times switching colors and experimenting sizes of jig heads—from 1/32-ounce to 1/16-ounce---has worked best.
Anglers should see an increase in the shallow bite by next week since surface temps will be cooler down to their normal early October range. Shad will increase in numbers swimming around the shallow flats and backs of bays which will lure the fish to their shallow locales. The overall attitude of shallow to midrange crappie should improve in the days ahead. Some cloudy days will also help the bite from light sensitive fish.
Bass fishing has been fair with most tossing shad-colored variations of Rattle Traps, shallow running crankbaits and swimbaits. A few have attempted tossing a spinnerbait and shallow running crankbaits around shallow stickups. Some surface activity has been seen out on the main lake from white bass and a few largemouth busting into schools of shad meandering out over shallow sandbars at times.
Catfishing has taken a backseat, at least to a degree, out on the main Tennessee River channel due to the increased current. And catfish are beginning to move up a bit to midrange depths as crappie anglers are tying into one on a regular basis when fishing the 9-to-12-foot depth zones.
It looks like fall conditions have finally arrived and it’s nice to be on the lake these days. Some warm days will return now and then but overall nice, pleasant weather will hang around for the next several weeks. Don’t miss out on this autumn angling!
Kentucky Lake 9-26-24
By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer (stevemc@charter.net)
Fishermen have an eye in the sky across the Kentucky Lake region as the weekend approaches. The backside of Hurricane Helene is expected to come inland and head up the Tennessee Valley as the weekend approaches, threatening rainy days through Sunday. Anglers will be watching out for not only heavy rains, but wind associated with the storm which will be rated a Tropical Depression by the time it reaches our area. Lots of rain is expected to dump several inches on what an extremely dry late summer and early fall has been.
Just how much rain remains to be seen as forecasters are changing predictions by the hour. No doubt inclement weather will disrupt the fishing scene for a few days but in the aftermath, it appears fall weather is on the horizon. By Monday cooler days will begin to arrive, and next week’s forecast looks good with cool days and chilly nights. Finally, a nice fall forecast is on the way.
Presently Kentucky Lake’s elevation is around the 355.5 range as TVA pushed a lot of water through Kentucky Dam the last few days in anticipation of the forthcoming wet weather. The storm surge is expected to dump a lot of water before it starts departing Sunday. Lake levels will likely rise a few inches in the days ahead, but no severe flooding is expected in our region at this time.
Surface temperatures have reflected the week of hot weather. Readings have been in the 75-to-78-degree range. Watch for surface temps for fall beginning early next week once cool weather enters the picture. Watercolor has been clear. Increased current in the main Tennessee River channel the last few days has improved the catfish bite. Flows had increased to 45,000 cfs (cubic feet per second). That could increase throughout the weekend.
Some nice stringers of catfish have been taken from the 30 to 40-foot depth range. If lake levels rise a bit these next few days watch for catfish to move up to as they follow the rising water.
Crappie fishermen have been tying into a catfish now and then as they work midrange depths of 14 to 17 feet. Some crappie are lingering around the 9-to-13-foot depth range and more will move up by next week when rising lake levels and cooler temperatures coincide. When lake levels were falling earlier this week it pulled some crappie back out to slightly deeper water. Plus, the hot weather and rising surface temperatures were factors as well. That’s about to change.
Anglers should see a blitz by schools of shad and crappie this next week. The fall-like weather should stimulate activity and enhance the overall bite. Anglers have been catching a lot of small crappie in-between the keepers while stalking the deeper structures out on the main lake areas. Mixed in with the crappie have been a catfish or two and some bluegill that are also taking up residence in manmade fish attractors.
Looks like a few days of nasty weather will be followed by a few days of stability.
Bass fishermen have been finding the bite sluggish lately. The shallow bite backed off during the hot spell but hopefully that will return next week as more shad schools move shallow and start relating to sloping gravel banks and structure.
It’s time for an aggressive fall bite to kick in. Best keep the raingear handy these next few days. Be observant and cautious as inclement weather is in the cards as the unstable weather pattern passes through.
