SUMMARY:

We have a beautiful weekend coming up with temps. close to the 70 degree mark. That’s pretty good for the middle of November, so we need to get out and enjoy the nice weather. The water temperatures are right where they are supposed to be, the water level is maintaining very steady depth and the fish are cooperating for the most part. The falling water temperatures are triggering fall feeding instincts, and all species of fish are starting to bite a lot better, especially the ones that like cooler water, such as the crappie and the striped bass along with the muskies and the smallmouth bass. The fall bite is always good, and it is also a beautiful time to be on the lake, especially when the fall colors are at their fullest. There is already some color beginning to show, but over the next couple of weeks we should be getting close to the peak of the fall foliage. This time of year also makes for some beautiful pictures, so bring your camera. There have been lots of musky sightings from Bull Run Creek all the way down to the Melton Hill Dam. A good number of the ones being spotted are juvenile fish, but there have also been some huge fish spotted by some of the musky anglers. The little shad minnows are working the surface over the entire reservoir, and that means the predator fish like the black bass and the striped bass plus the white bass and all other minnow eating fish will be following the giant schools of baitfish. The striped bass are starting to break more and more over the entire reservoir. The musky bite is starting to pick up and should continue to improve as the water temperature begins to cool. Some nice muskies have been spotted as far down as the ski area around Reactor Bend. Jigs and brush hogs and crankbaits are still doing fairly well for bass. The jig and brushhawg combination is still catching some good keeper bass. The bass seem to be concentrated on the banks with rocks and submerged timber and also around islands with deep water ledges close by. A good place to start is on any rocky banks or submerged timber especially with current flowing past close to deeper water. The crappies have slowed down a little over most of the lake.     

LARGEMOUTH AND SPOTTED BASS
Moderating.
5 to 20 feet.

The bass seem to moving back up and concentrating close to the rocky banks especially the banks with some kind of trees or submerged timber near deeper water, especially if you can find a bank that has rocks and fallen trees close together. Watch for fish to be breaking the surface, and throw a minnow imitator into the area where the fish are breaking, and do a quick retrieve to catch some of the breaking fish chasing shad minnows. Submerged tree tops are producing some fair size bass around the mouths of the creeks, but structure seems to be the key. Rocky banks and points along with ledges that dropoff into deeper water seem to be holding some fair sized ones too. Green pumpkin brush hawgs and baby brush hawgs are always a good choice. Instead of rigging a brushhawg Texas style, try rigging it with a jig in the 3/8 to 1/2 ounce size. Spinnerbaits in white and chartreuse are working fairly well. Deep diving crankbaits and Carolina rigged lizards are good deep water baits.    

SMALLMOUTH BASS
Improving.
5 to 25 feet.              

Smallmouth are still hitting those green pumpkin brushhawgs. These bass are mainly on the rocky banks and points over most of the lake. Don’t forget to try the shallow humps and the stump fields around Carbide Park and across from the mouth of Bull Run Creek. Crankbaits and chatterbaits are top choices along with small crawdad imitating jigs in the 3/8 to 1/2 oz. size. The float and fly is always a good choice for smallmouth, and it works for crappie too. Lizards are picking up few here and there, mostly around the boathouses.

CRAPPIE
Improving.
4 to 10 feet.              

The crappie are slowly coming back to the brush piles and submerged timber, but it seems like they are being very slow about schooling back up, and still seem to be a little scattered.  There are still a few crappie being caught up in the Bull Run Creek area, but they seem to have moved on back out to deeper water and more toward the main channel. Any boat houses close to deeper water is a good place to start looking. Try chartreuse grubs tipped with a minnow. Try about 4-10 ft. deep with a float, but you may have to go as deep as 25 ft.for the bigger fish.

STRIPED BASS
Improving.
7 to 20 feet.          

Watch for the breaking stripers and throw a minnow imitator into or around the school, you can pick up some very nice striped bass and sometimes a largemouth or two will be in the bunch. Sometimes you have to crank up the boat and run over to the place where the fish are breaking and start casting about 25-30 yards before you get to the breaking fish. 10 to 12-inch skipjack herring is another good bait for huge stripers. These big fish are all over the lake, but sharp drop offs into deep pools is a good place to start looking for the bigger ones. Swim baits that imitate shad sometimes fool these big predators. Trolling live Skipjack Herring always seems to work the best.

MUSKY
Improving.
3 to 10 feet.                     

The musky bite has begun! They are as far down as Reactor Bend back in the ski area and in Jackass Cove. Some monster fish have been spotted in both areas. There has also been a good number of juvenile fish spotted, which means the musky fishery seems to be doing well. A couple of good lures to try are the Jointed Believer, and the Shallow Invader, which are both proven Musky catchers, along with the Bulldawg and the Jointed Rapala. Pitch either of these lures up close to the bank and try a jerk and reel type retrieve. Remember, there is a 44-inch minimum limit on these fish. Which means that a Musky has to be at least 44 inches to be harvested and anything less than 44 inches must be released unharmed.

Two boat ramps, one below the dam and one above, give boaters access to Watts Bar Reservoir as well as Melton Hill Reservoir. Roads on both sides of the river are great for walking, jogging, or bike riding. Game fish in the reservoir include sauger, crappie, and bass.

• Crappie
• Smallmouth Bass
• Largmouth Bass
• Catfish
• Striped Bass