By Aaron Kephart
By the time you are reading this, summer should be in full swing, and with it comes a change in fishing patterns and species availability on Hiwassee, Chatuge, and Apalachia lakes. Summer also brings consistency in weather, something that has been sorely lacking this spring. With that in mind, I would like to do a species by species breakdown on what to expect in the next couple of months on Murphy area lakes.
Smallmouth Bass-the late-April flooding on the Tennessee River System dictated that no water could be moved through either Hiwassee or Apalachia for an extended period of time. This really hurt the smallmouth fishing during that stretch. The good news is that timeframe also coincided with the smallmouth spawn, and I would like to think that this will be a good recruitment year with the stable water levels on Apalachia. With that in mind, air conditioners are running and water levels are stabilizing, so it is simply a matter of time before the generators start pumping water and the smallmouth start chewing. Summer is always one of the best times to catch the smallmouth of a lifetime on Apalachia. Lure choices and location can vary, but my personal favorite place, time, and fish to target is giant smallmouth on Apalachia, June through September.
Spotted and Largemouth Bass-largemouth will be hitting best early and late in the day, in the creeks around cover, on all of our area lakes. Some topwater bite will linger into June. Spots will be on the main channel ledges and the ends of points. This is a great time of year to go after big Chatuge spots, as they will often be found in bunches. You also never know when you will run into a big hybrid or two.
Walleye and Stripers-This has been the best spring in a long time for me on Hiwassee for walleye and stripers. As usual, walleye are scattered (we have caught them from the dam to the headwaters recently), unpredictable, and hard to catch, and they certainly aren’t there in huge numbers, but there is a realistic chance to possibly luck into finding one (especially at night). Striper fishing has been exceptional, with a lot of 7 to 13 pound fish showing up. Summer is my favorite time of year to chase stripers on Hiwassee, but keep in mind, early in the day is always better for linesiders.
Crappie and Catfish-I wait all year for the crappie night bite to start. Last year was the best I had ever seen in over 30 years of fishing this lake. We caught huge numbers, and we also caught some big crappie and quite a few respectable flatheads. I am very excited about the possibilities this summer. I took a scouting trip the other night and, although we only fished about an hour and a half, I was very impressed by what I saw, and I am ready to start working the night shift for these tasty fish.
Trout-Apalachia trout have been hit or miss, which I contribute to the lack of current (it affects them similarly to how it affects the smallmouth). We might catch 15 one trip, none the next, and 6 the next. However, the 3 biggest trout ever landed in my boat were caught in the summertime, and I anticipate a good bite this summer.
I guide for just about everything that swims around here, so if any of these options interest you, or if you want more information, please give me a call at 865-466-1345 or email me at mtnlakesguide@outlook.com. You can also follow us on Facebook@mountainlakesguideservice, or check out our website at mtnlakesguideservice.com. As of this writing (May 1) June is roughly half booked, and I will be gone on a redfishing trip and vacation for a week in July. However, I do still have some dates open. I hope to hear from you!
Aaron Kephart is the Owner of Mountain Lakes Guide Service serving Murphy Area Lakes.