Monthly Meeting

The monthly meeting of the Paris Landing Tourism League (PLTL) will be held Tuesday, September 10th, at 6 pm at the Senior Center inside the Paris Landing Emergency Complex.

Hope to see you there!

Paris Lakeway Kiwanis Club Arts and Crafts Festival

 This Weekend!

September 7-8

Paris Lakeway Kiwanis Club Arts and Crafts Festival

Paris Landing State Park

For more information: email: donlyme@outlook.com  or Facebook 

 

Come Play With Us!

 

Catfish Still Biting

Kentucky Lake 8-21-24

By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer (stevemc@charter.net)

LATE SUMMER CATFISH BITE STILL UNDERWAY PLUS WHITE BASS ACTIVITY

August is fading fast but the summer catfish bite along the main Tennessee River channel area is holding up well. Cat fishermen continue to score some dandy stringers while stalking the edge of the main channel area in depths of 40 to 50 feet. Whenever there’s current moving it flips the switch for catfish to go on the prowl. Overall, the bite has been consistent whenever TVA is pulling current.

This week the flow has been in the range of 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and that stirred up the schools of threadfin and gizzard shad enough to put a bend in the poles of anglers out there bumping bottom or sometimes fishing suspended around the balls of baitfish.

Cooler weather earlier this week offered another touch of fall. Chilly mornings had anglers donning long sleeve shirts, but it appears the honeymoon with a cool spell will be short lived. While the cool fronts sure feel nice, the northeast winds associated with the cool fronts are not friendly to fishermen. It usually means whitecaps in the big open water areas of Kentucky Lake. The weatherman indicates hot days are returning with highs climbing back to the mid 90’s by early next week. August sometimes tricks anglers with a cool day now and then but it usually holds up to its hot and humid reputation till the very end.

The catfish bite has held up well as of late with most anglers using nightcrawlers for their bait of choice. There are always going to be experiments by cat fishermen trying out various bait presentations ranging from chicken liver to cut bait, shrimp and hot dogs or something unusual. Scores of commercial catfish baits work great too.

Meanwhile, a few reports of schooling white bass have come it as of late. On the calm days some surface activity has been seen along the edges of the main river channel sandbars. Big schools of baitfish meandering along get the attention of these aggressive white bass who chase them out over shallow areas. The shad some to the surface in a last-ditch attempt to flee from the aggressive white bass who put on a feeding frenzy like a pack of wolves in hot pursuit.

Tossing a chrome-colored spoon, white Rooster Tail or any similar lure that mimics a swimming shad will pay dividends. Hitting the peak of a big school of white bass erupting is one of fishing’s finest moments. Action is fast and furious.

From the summer bass bite has come mediocre reports from anglers chasing after what has been a somewhat sluggish attitude for hot August bass outings. Fishing the main lake ledges has produced a few fish at times by anglers tossing big deep diving crankbaits and big Texas rigged worms. However, the overall reports indicate anglers have been slugging it out in the trenches.

Crappie have been somewhat sluggish as well with low numbers of fish taken during the hot spells. The number of anglers has dwindled lately whenever heat waves take over. Most are waiting on cooler weather to get here and stay here.

September days are on the threshold!

Full Moon On The Lake Last Night

 

CATFISH BITE CONTINUES…WHITE BASS INCONSISTENT

 Kentucky Lake 8-14-24

By Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer (stevemc@charter.net)

The best bite going for the mid-summer fishing scene here on Kentucky Lake has been catfishing. Both the bite and the weather have been pretty hot! Lake levels continue to fall slowly on the path of TVA’s winter drawdown schedule. Elevation this week has dropped to 357, which is down several inches from last week at this time. Surface temperatures have been in the 86-to-89-degree range.

Nice stringers of channel catfish, along with a few blues, are being caught by a few fishermen who have mastered the deep-water techniques of the Tennessee River. Thanks to a pretty steady flow of current lately through Kentucky Dam moving water has worked in favor of the catfishing scene. Most days TVA has been pulling water in the rate of 33,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). Some days less but holding around that range and that’s enough to stimulate movement of bait fish. When the current is moving it stimulates schools of shad to meander around, feeding on zooplankton throughout the water column.

That scenario within the food chain spells success for cat fishermen out near the main channel banks or humps in deeper depths of 40 to 55 feet. While most anglers choose to bump bottom with a double hook rig---hooks are often tied a couple of feet apart on drop loops---sometimes the fish may be suspended. Closely watching the movement of balls of baitfish, accomplished anglers monitor closely the depth of the bait and adjust their bait presentation accordingly. Sophisticated sonar units even help identify the whereabouts of the larger fish, helping anglers pinpoint their bait presentation.

A lot of the better boxes of fish taken are from those anglers who do just that. They mark the fish on their screens and attempt to put the bait right smack dab in the face of the fish! Productive bait choices always seem to have nightcrawlers on the list. Chicken liver, cut bait, hot dogs dipped in commercial concoctions are but a few of the more popular choices being credited for catches. There are always a few cat fishermen mixing up their own recipes of magic potions. As long as the current keeps flowing the main channel area catfish bite should hold up.

Bass fishing has been sluggish for most. Reports have trickled from anglers targeting the main lake ledges with big deep diving crankbaits, Texas rigged worms, swim baits and some jigging spoons. There have been some anglers finding locating a few isolated schools of base chasing shad while mixed in with some white bass.

White bass (stripes) have been seen busting the surface out in the main lake areas, but sightings of schooling fish have been inconsistent. Those catching a few white bass credit their catches to the use of white Rooster Tails and some silver-colored jigging spoons.

Isolated reports have come in from a few summer crappie anglers working the main lake ledges around depths of 18 to 25 feet. They credit their catch to the use of live minnows in most reports.