Fishing Report Archives

Hello from the Excel 230 Elite. We are beginning to see the end of the high water on the lakes. By early next week we should be at or close to summer pool levels. Where TVA decides to go from there is anybody’s guess. For the sake of the fish spawn, my hope is the lake levels are allowed to stay close to summer pool.

Fishing is slowly picking up as the lake levels fall. The beginning of the week I felt the crappie should be moving toward shallow cover as the level rose. I fished shallow bushes all the way back into the woods but didn’t locate the numbers of pre-spawn fish I had hoped for. The fish I did locate were at the very outside edges of cover.

A change of tactics and locations produced a decent catch a day later with one crappie over 16”. These came from deeper water while trolling Fin Spins and Crappie Magnet plastics as the lake level began to fall.

Today I switched to Pico INT crankbaits and probed deeper areas. The crappie were scattered with one here and one there but we ended with a nice catch with a couple approaching two pounds.

Other fishermen are slow trolling minnows, using forward facing sonar, and using minnows under a bobber. A lot of water must be covered to accumulate a nice catch.

The water temperature continues to increase into the mid 60s. The lake is covered with trash, some of it big enough to cause serious damage to a boat if struck. The eggs of the female crappie I have cleaned appear to still be several days away from being ready to be laid. Hopefully the spawn will coincide with stable water levels.

Cornfield Fishing Gear Demo Days will be next week, April 25-26 at Moors Resort and Marina. There will be an owners tournament for owners of Cornfield equipment on Saturday. Check Cornfield’s site for particulars.

My boat will be there along with several pro fishermen and celebrities. We will each show you what Cornfield products we use, how, and why.

There was a terrible boating accident on Smith Lake in Alabama yesterday. A guide boat was overrun by a tournament bass boat. All three fishermen in the center console guide boat died as a result. I rarely release a report without urging my readers to be careful on the lake. All the safety one would ever use could not save you in such a crash. Too many operators in boats become single focused and forget to be aware of conditions around them. Add excessive speeds into the mix and you have a tragedy in the making. Three fishermen minding their own business never had a chance.

Be careful out there. Wear your PFD when above idle speeds. As the lake level falls, the floating trash will be pulled from the banks into travel lanes.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.