• Melvin Stewart on the Cumberland River:
I traveled toward downtown on Sunday and fished the main river channel. The water was stained, at 79 degrees and 6 inches above summer pool. I greatly enjoy fishing first thing in the morning for small mouth bass in the current on rocky bluff banks. I caught one nice three-pounder on a top water popper while riding the bank making long casts. In addition, I also caught three large mouth bass in the shallows using a 10-inch red-and-black worm. .
• Brian Carper on Percy Priest:
The lake continues to produce quantity and quality crappie. Up lake is producing the most with a mix of keepers and short fish. Focusing in 12-18 feet of water around brush piles and stake beds while fishing with live minnows 2-3 feet off the bottom and with Crappie Magnets in purple/chartreuse on a 1/8 ounce jig has been the ticket. Around Fate Sanders Marina, the Weakley Lane Bridge and up to Spring Creek have been fabulous. Bass continue to move up and down points and ledges in 8-12 feet of water. Mid-range crank baits in shad pattern, Carolina Rigs and shaky heads with Zoom green pumpkin trick worms or red ribbon tail worms have been successful. With the abnormal cooler temperatures moving into Tennessee for August we'll continue see a shallower bite.
• Chris Snow on Center Hill:
Bass fishing continues to be good and has been all summer. The nighttime bite is still producing the best results. This trend should continue for the next several weeks. Worms, jigs and spinner baits are the baits of choice. Fish these baits along 45-degree banks for best results. Walleye fishing continues to improve, especially in the mid- to upper-section of the lake.
• Steve McCadams on Kentucky Lake:
At midweek, in the aftermath of thunderstorms, a rare August cool snap descended and the change is suiting Kentucky Lake anglers just fine. Lower humidity and temperatures aren’t the norm in late August, but no one is complaining. Surface temperatures have been in the 82-85 degree range. Lake levels have been falling slowly, but some localized flooding on Tuesday may see the reservoir crest for a few days. Projected elevation for Kentucky Dam this weekend will be 356.9. Upstream at New Johnsonville the reservoir is projected to be in the 356.7 range. Water color remains clear in the main lake, but several bays are stained in the upper end. The upper end of Big Sandy also had muddy water entering at midweek. There has been a little current this week as TVA has been pulling water most days through Kentucky Dam with enough volume to keep a little flow in the main channel areas. The slow current has helped bass and catfishing at times. Bass anglers are finding main lake ledges paying dividends in a typical summer pattern. Big Texas-rigged worms are still producing as are shad colored variations of big deep diving crank baits. Carolina-rigged craws and worms have produced too as have some swim baits.
• Tim Tighe on lower half of Cheatham Lake:
As of Monday afternoon the main lake is in relatively good shape, but stained in some areas and clearer in others. You can catch fish in both, but the clearer water gives you more options for sight baits such as swim baits, drop-shotting, etc. The Harpeth River is very stained. This has been a tough year for water clarity especially in the Harpeth, which forces you to slow down and probe the thick cover with dark colored or vibration baits. Most of the creeks are also in good shape. This will sound similar to last week’s report, but very little has changed except for the Harpeth’s condition. What has been working for me lately is fishing early when the fish may be almost anywhere. They moved to the transition zone or the first break line about 8-15 feet as the sun gets stronger or brighter. I use my electronics to see what level the shad are at and catch them with a crank bait, swim bait or other shad-imitating bait. Then, as the sun gets even higher in late afternoon, I find them around deep wood or on the ledges in the main lake using Zoom Old Monster worms in plum or redbug, Strike King Bottom Dweller spinner baits (3/4 to 1 ounce) or Strike King 6XD crank baits on the appropriate level on the ledges.
• Joey Monteleone on the headwaters of Percy Priest and a small lake:
Surface water temperatures are steamy. Late summer typical patterns of early morning and late are holding up. Many species are holding in the shade or combinations of submerged wood and aquatic weed beds. I found fish scattered in as little as one foot and up to 12. I actually saw some active bluegill spawning beds this week. Catfish remain active, still seeking comfort in cooler current close to deep cover. We’re locked into a strong summer bass pattern of a top water bite, subsurface crank bait and soft plastic success. The Texas-rigged soft plastics, worms, craws and creature baits are solid for the next several weeks. Try submerged wood and secondary weed beds of any variety. Points and dropoffs deserve a cast or two. The crappie bite is sporadic. It will get better once temperatures drop. Live minnows, soft plastics, small tubes and small curly tail grubs are working for crappie. Bluegill, redeye and sunfish continue to eat red worms or bits of nightcrawlers on a No. 8 light wire hook with a small split shot for weight all under a float. The next major moon phase will be full Sept. 6.
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