By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer (stevemc@charter.net)
LAKE LEVELS, WIND AND STORMS ADDING UP TO STUBBORN SPRING
Anglers have juggled a variety of unstable conditions this past week in their quest to find spawning crappie and bass. Some redear sunfish (shellcracker) and bluegill have entered the picture too as surface temps rise. Last weekend Kentucky Lake reached the summer pool mark of 359 at Kentucky Dam---some two weeks early---for a day or two only to fall back a few inches. As of this update the reservoir was resting around the 358.6 elevation.
Watercolor is clear across most of the reservoir. High winds are still a thorn in the side of fishermen. Water levels are always of concern to anglers and all lake users for that matter but especially during peak spawning phases of crappie. Once surface temperatures reach the 62-to-66-degree range it signals the active spawning range of crappie and bass aren’t far behind.
Normal summer pool level isn’t supposed to arrive here until May 1 according to TVA’s annual curve, but lake levels have not followed the usual stair-step climb this spring. TVA’s curve starts reservoir filling on April 1 where lake levels are normally at the low ebb of winter pool (354). From there is reservoir is supposed to climb slowly until it reaches its target of summer pool on or around May 1.
This spring the lake has fluctuated and jumped around a bit as it has been above normal since early April. That throws off fishing patterns to some degree. Some folks like higher water early; others prefer TVA stick to its normal projections, slowly bringing up the lake on a gradual basis. Rainfall across the region sometimes falls in drastic amounts and upsets the apple cart, swelling Kentucky Lake ahead of normal. When that happens rising waters send a lot of floating debris about the lake, a scenario which scatters fish and the fishermen trying to find them.
Such as been the case this week. Some bass and crappie anglers were hoping to see the lake stay high at summer pool and inundate shoreline buck bushes, weed beds and all sorts of habitat. They love fishing visible stickups. Since last week more crappie have moved up and while a few anglers found some crappie attempting to spawn in shallow areas there were scores of fishermen finding the bite challenging. The fish have been scattered and roaming.
No sooner had the reservoir reached the summer pool mark last weekend TVA began pulling the water back down toward its curve. The agency is creating more storage capacity pulling the lake down a bit here in mid-April as heavy rains could occur at any time. Meanwhile, the fishing scene has continued to evolve each week. Some crappie moved up to shallow flats in the upper Big Sandy and West Sandy last week and were taken in 2-to-4-foot depths at times. Down toward the Paris Landing sector most boats were targeting somewhat deeper depths and finding fish in the 7-to-13-foot depth range.
Successful techniques ranged from vertical jig presentations over shallow stumps and manmade fish attractors such as stake beds and brush piles to spider rigs pushed slowly out over flats where scattered crappie were staging. The buffet bait presentation was working pretty good for some folks. Trolling curly tail grubs, Road Runners and some crankbaits has paid dividends too. Some fish have been suspended and not relating tight to structure at times, a byproduct of changing lake stages and stubborn spring weather.
Generally speaking, it has been tough for most anglers to witness a distinctive blitz by the crappie towards shallow structure. Usually, they stage and dart toward cover where they deposit their eggs. Several females were still holding eggs at midweek.
Entering the picture as of last week were some hefty bluegill and redear sunfish (shellcracker) tagging the jigs of crappie fishermen as they worked midrange to shallow crappie beds. Bluegill are not on the bed yet but headed in that direction. Shellcracker usually hit the banks prior to the bluegill’s arrival. Watch for activity to increase for both those species in the next few weeks. Peak bluegill spawning usually begins in early May, but the timetable can get pushed up if warmer surface temps (70-degree range) arrive early. Shellcracker are on the verge of their early spawning phase as some big females have been taken lately and they’re bloated with eggs.
Bass anglers are banging away at the banks and finding the bite decent around shoreline grass. Still not quite enough water on the buck bushes just yet but bass are up around shallow pockets and grass enjoying the warmer surface temps in their prespawn phase. Tossing a Texas rigged craw or lizard has been productive as have floating fluke style worms. Some topwater jerk baits have worked too as have spinnerbaits and buzz baits.
There are some boaters backing off the banks and fishing secondary humps and ledges with Carolina and Texas rigged worms, swim baits and deep diving crankbaits too. Kentucky Lake always has a variety of patterns and depths producing at the same time. As surface temps heat up more shallow shoreline fishing will enter the equation, especially for bass, bluegill and redear sunfish.
Best start mending the terminal tackle and light spinning rigs. Those powerful panfish are about to hit active spawning phases and the catfish are on the prowl too. Soon rocky banks will attract catfish to spawning spots so that’s fast approaching.
