Saturday will see a lot of folks head to the fields for our opening day of turkey season. I have been doing some scouting, ok driving around watching birds, and they are ready. Tons of toms are strutting and drumming in fields every where around here.
During one 20 minute drive this week I counted no less than 26 toms, all mature birds no jakes, some in full strut and drumming away within yards of the road. Afternoon is when I am seeing toms cruising already. This weekend should see lots of tags filled.
Good luck and be safe out there.
I got the chance to head to Percy Priest this weekend for my first trip of the year and folks it is on. The big fish will be moving in within the next week or so and you had better be ready.
I fished with Calvin Osborne Sunday morning and we caught fish all day. We only had fifteen keepers along with 51 big bluegill but we had to have thrown back at least 40 that were close. The water needs to warm just a few more degrees for the big bite to happen. We fished minnows and crickets at 2-4 feet deep over a creek channel that runs 10-25 feet deep. Light line and light floats were the rule but we saw many folks tight lining minnows down to maybe 8 feet catching tons of fish.
Get your crappie rigs ready it is time to load the boat.
Bass are hitting great for our buddy Mark. He had one day last week where he lost count of how many he caught when he found them chasing shad in less than 2 feet of water. Today he sent me pics of 7 he took on top water this morning. He said the water in his area was still 52 degrees but the fish are hitting.
Once again our intrepid kayak angler Mark Easterling braved high winds to fish some of his local backwaters of the Cumberland. Mark was throwing his favorite, topwaters, and the fish were happy to oblige. He says he hooked up on several good fish and two really big ones but sadly he was having a bad day so the fish were winning more than he was.
He reported water temps around 50 but the bass were holding shallow even though they were doing more slapping at the baits than really hitting. Still to be able to have fish blasting topwaters this time of year is awesome. Mark says he will be back out soon and share another report with us then.
Mac on another trip with a good fish.
My friend Mac McBroom from West Tennessee hit Reelfoot lake this weekend and had some success the odd part was what he saw and caught.
Mac says he saw bass fry in the shallows and caught females that were already spawned out. I would have never thought that you would see that this time of year with water temps where they are. Since Mac is one of the more knowledgeable fishermen around I have no doubt about his report, he knows his stuff. Hopefully Mac will keep us up to date on what is going on in the western part of the state.
Get out there and give it a try from the looks of the reports coming in the bass are already hitting and forecasters are saying the warm temps are going to be around.
Be safe, wear your PFD and let us know how the fishing is in your area.
