ok guys, I took a trip last yr in june, fishing kinda sucked, water was hot. I have a trip planned for 2nd week in april, staying at the same place by the 25E bridge, look for some advice for early April. I believe the flw had a tournament in 2018 in April, so I've been watching that.any additional info would be fantastic, I would love to focus on smallies and maybe some strippers, I have never caught them. thanks guys
Focus on the lower end of the lake from 25E down to the dam and target smallmouth. Best areas are banks with boulder rock/mud and throw at any dark crack you see with baits like Ned rig, Senko, Wacky Rig, Fluke, etc.....SM will be spawning in 5-10 feet of water for the most part in early April. The lower end of the lake is predominantly SM now with about a 80/20 mix.
Topwater wake baits will produce early and late also as long as the water temp is over 55. The chance of catching stripers exists with the topwater also but the biggest population of those species have headed upriver for the annual spawning ritual in March and will be starting to come back downstream late April/May.
very good advice, thank you very much, how much lower will the water level be compared to june levels?Originally Posted by sll
They start taking the lake up from winter pool pretty quickly near the end of March...….how much and how fast it is brought up is according to how much rain we get around that time. But the lake is pretty much near full pool by Early/Mid May. So that is about 30 feet of water depth change in a 8 week period. It should be about 10-12 feet lower in mid/late April than it is in June at full pool......but it is according what week in April you are coming as that is a 4 week span that can make a difference of how far along it is under normal conditions.
Heavy spring rains can make a dramatic change though. For instance about 3 years ago we got so inundated by heavy rain here in East TN, and the Mississippi River valley did too, that the TVA couldn't release as much water here upstream to make room for it and the lake came up 25-30 feet in a 2 week period. Makes for some tough fishing when that happens.
Go after Striped Bass. I'd use a castnet and catch gizzard shad for bait then fish downlines. If they die, cut them up and use them as cut bait. Check the regs. There is a no fishing zone down my the dam during some dates. Might want to contact the Tennessee striped Bass Association for tips. They have website. A guide might be worth the funds. I'd recommend Ezell Cox or Allan Franklin as a good guide. Allan is at 865-805-3120. Watch the birds because they tell you where the fish are. If you take a big bag of popcorn you can throw some in the water. The birds dive it on it and all the fishermen come blasting over. Kind of a jerk thing to do but it's funny. ;)
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