Fishing Report

Kentucky Lake 2/19/25
Report Contributor, Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer stevemc@charter.net

Unstable conditions have dominated the fishing scene since last week's flooding roared down the Tennessee River. A rapid rise sent the lake's elevation jumping above summer pool (359) but already the reservoir has crested and began its descent. TVA has been pushing a large volume of water through Kentucky Dam again this week. Strong current has been present in main channel areas and even behind islands. Added to the mess came a dramatic temp change and snow flurries. While warmer days are in next week's forecast anglers are dealing with instability as the region mops up from the mess and struggles to dry out. Crappie are likely to rebound soon as temps rise amid falling lake levels.

RISING LAKE LEVELS AHEAD FOR ANGLERS

Kentucky Lake 2/12/25
Report Contributor, Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer stevemc@charter.net


Inclement weather continues to dominate the Kentucky Lake fishing scene this week. Nasty winds and several days of downpours have dampened the spirits of most of the winter crappie fishermen this past week. According to the long range forecast it appears cold weather will linger into next week as below average temperatures are the story for next week’s weather too. Fishermen haven’t gotten much cooperation from the weatherman lately, but they really can’t complain as they’ve had several nice days mixed in this winter that allowed some nice stringers of crappie to be taken.

No doubt scores of fishermen are now suffering from cabin fever as a week or two of bad weather has kept most at bay, dodging the rain or huddled around the fire waiting on the return of favorable conditions. Not to worry; pleasant weather is on the horizon.

Meanwhile, prior to the recent weather dilemma a few winter crappie fishermen were scoring decent stringers while fishing both minnows and jigs around manmade fish attractors located in the 9-to-14-foot depth range. Some credited their catches to even deeper structure located out on the main lake area in 16 to 20 feet.

Kentucky Lake is rising slowly and a lot of runoff has entered the system this past week. TVA has done a good job of keeping lake levels normal as of late but watch for an increase in elevation to occur in the days ahead. Lake levels as of this posting were in the 354.7 range. Upstream at Pickwick TVA was discharging a large volume of water so Kentucky Lake will be rising some in the days ahead.

Current is now a factor in the main river channel as TVA has increased discharge rates at Kentucky Dam the last few days to 248,000 cfs (cubic feet per second). That’s pushing a large volume of water through the system at the present time.

Anglers will be addressing rising lake stages for the next week or so. It will be interesting to see how much the crappie scatter during the rising lake situation. The fishing scene will rebound quickly once nice weather returns and stability returns to the lake’s elevation.

Monthly Meeting

  The monthly meeting of the Paris Landing Tourism League (PLTL) will be held Tuesday, February 11th, at 6 pm at the Senior Center inside the Paris Landing Emergency Complex.

Hope to see you there!

How's The Fishing?

Kentucky Lake 2-6-25
Report Contributor, Steve McCadams, Professional Guide/Outdoor Writer stevemc@charter.net

Kentucky Lake’s fishing scene had some unusually warm weather recently that had anglers out and about. Several days with above average temperatures had anglers testing the water for crappie. A few days the daytime highs climbed to the lower 70’s and upper 60’s, stirring fishing pox among the ranks of winter anglers.

Some nice stringers of crappie were taken too. Most successful anglers credited their catch to depths of 9 to 14 feet, which has been the norm lately. There were some reports of fish coming from deeper depths of 16 to 20 feet as well around the Paris Landing sector.

Lake levels have remained relatively stable lately despite some heavy rains across the region at times. Currently the reservoir is resting around the 354.8 range, which is near the winter pool mark. Watercolor has been clear.

It appears things are about to change, however. A cold front is in the forecast for later this weekend and will influence the fishing scene well into next week. Daytime highs are expected to be cold with highs only making it to the upper 40’s in the long-range forecast. February is always a month full of surprises. Looks like cold days are returning for the Kentucky Lake fishing scene at least until late next week.