By Aaron Kephart
May is upon us, and with it comes not only stabilization in water temperatures and weather patterns, but also the opportunity for impressive “mixed bags” on our Murphy area lakes. With that in mind, I would like to focus on what you can expect from a trip with me during this time of year, on our incredible fisheries.
Hiwassee
Hiwassee Lake is my absolute favorite fishery during the month of May, simply because the diversity of species and sheer numbers of fish caught can be staggering. The first species I would like to focus on during the month of May is walleye. I love targeting walleye during their late winter/early spring spawning migration up the river, but I feel like the post-spawn walleye bite during the month of May is much more consistent. We are typically targeting big females during this time frame, and your average fish will be in the neighborhood of 25 inches. It doesn’t take many of those to constitute the makings of a fabulous fish fry.
The good thing about targeting walleye this month is that, even if you strike out on this ever-fickle species, your by-catch will generally include a good number of stripers, and the possibility for an absolute giant hybrid. This brings me to my second favorite May Hiwassee species: stripers. May is the month of versatility when it comes to catching these hard fighting fish, and while the tried and true planer board and downlining methods certainly put a lot of linesiders in the boat, you can also expect to catch quite a few bonus fish on swimbaits and topwater if you commit to them. Speaking of topwater, May is traditionally the peak of the largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass topwater and schooling bite on Hiwassee, due primarily to the blueback herring spawn. Finally, May is the month when I start guiding for crappie and catfish at night, and these are incredibly fun and consistent trips if you are out for meat. In short, Hiwassee has it all going on in the month of May, and I cannot recommend a trip highly enough.
Chatuge
I apologize for my brevity concerning a lake as fantastic as Chatuge, but there are really only two species and tactics to think about when it comes to May on beautiful Lake Chatuge. The first species is big hybrids, and the second is world-class trophy spotted bass. During May, the hybrids will be crashing bait early and moving deeper later in the day, and they can be caught on both live bait and shallow artificial offerings. The big spots will also be crashing bait on top, but they will keep looking up longer than the hybrids will. It is commonplace to catch a giant spot in the middle of the day working the appropriate topwater this time of year.
Apalachia
While Hiwassee and Chatuge will be on fire during the month of May, Apalachia is a different animal. First of all, the smallmouth and largemouth will be spawning, and the big brown trout will be doing their annual late Spring/Early Summer scattering routine. Most importantly, however, the TVA is currently undertaking major renovations to the single boat ramp and parking lot for this lake, and the lake is effectively closed to the public (at least if you have a boat bigger than what you can carry over your shoulder) for the foreseeable future. However, the good news is that this lake is at its absolute prime for smallmouth and largemouth from September through March, and I am booking trips now during that time frame for this mysterious, wild, and amazing trophy fishery.
If you are interested in a trip on any of our fantastic Murphy area fisheries please give me a call at 865-466-1345, or email me at mtnlakesguide@outlook.com. My bookings are getting pretty full at the moment, but due to cancellations and what not I will do my best to squeeze you in. I hope to hear from you soon!
Aaron Kephart is the Owner of Mountain Lakes Guide Service. To book a guided trip on one of the Murphy area mountain lakes, contact him by phone at 865-466-1345 or by email at mtnlakesguide@outlook.com Check out his website at http://www.mtnlakesguideservice.com and catch him on facebook@mountainlakesguideservice.
