Fair and improving on the lower end; moderate on the upper arms of the Powell and Clinch embayments. In the rear of larger creeks where there is brush on the channels and coves. 10 to 15-feet deep on the lower end, tight to brush and wood structure. Cooler water will bring them into shallower brush. The best crappie fishing does not occur until the water is in the 50’s, but some improvement is usually seen as the water cools toward that mark. Lost Creek and Mill Creek catches improved. The Clinch channel above Sycamore Creek and from Greenwelch ramp to Point 30 is still one of the better areas for crappie, right now.

Good lures: Tuffy minnows, small doll flies, mini tube jigs (red/white, blue/white) and 1/32 ounce hair or feather jigs tipped with minnows, Trout Magnets, or Slider grubs in a variety of colors.

Historically good locations to try: Powell River arm channel from Point 15 vicinity to Earl’s Hollow. Davis Creek from its headwaters to a half-mile below Powell Valley Marina. Doaks Creek. Big Creek from Indian River Marina to Campbell County Park. Cove Creek above Twin Cove Marina. Mill Creek, Big Ridge Hollow, Lost Creek above its junction with White Creek. Poor Land Creek. Bear Creek. Flint Creek. Sycamore Creek. The Clinch channel above Point 31.

Good Topwater to 10-feet. Use Spinners, 3-inch plastic grubs (Twister type) or swimbaits (Yum, Yamamoto), and small Bandit or Norman crankbaits are catching some largemouth and spotted bass close to shoreline cover in the early morning hours. Plastic worms, or lizards fished with a slow drop have caught some largemouth. Top producers have been small, medium running crankbaits, white spinners, surface jerkbaits, grubs or swimbaits. Small, shallow or medium running crankbaits are taking some fish in the larger creek channels, and in the rear of the creek embayments on rocky banks. Varieties of watermelon, crawfish, or pumpkin colors are still working well. The Powell side, Davis Creek, and Cove Creek have produced the most spotted bass.

Larger smallmouth dropped to 25 to 30-feet on old timber and rock structure on the shorelines when the discharge through the dam was off, or at a minimum. Higher discharge periods saw smallmouth move to the tops of the humps and along points, and in shallower water down to 20-feet. Smaller smallmouth are hitting shallow in the early mornings, along broken rock shorelines. Cooler water is bringing smallmouth up to shallow water at dawn and dusk on steep, broken rock shorelines. Late evening has some scattered feeding on shallow baitfish on the surface. Tube jigs or swim baits are taking deep smallmouth off wood and/or rock structure. Trolled plugs, small jigging spoons, or small swimbaits fished deep on 25-foot deep shelf drop-offs, humps, and long points are taking larger smallmouth on some days. The water remains clear, with up to 10-feet of visibility. Good colors have been any shade of watermelon, pumpkin, or red (or red flake).

Slow on the lower end but with a slight improvement in numbers caught; moderate farther upstream on the main channels, and on the upper half of larger creek embayments. Dawn is best. Lower end catches improved from the Dam to Point 9, but were still overall moderate, at best. Considerable searching may be required to keep them located from day to day. 20 to 30-feet in mid-channel on the river arms and large creek embayments. Surface feeding fish have been seen widely scattered across the reservoir in early mornings and late afternoons, mainly in the channels on the upper half of the lake where baitfish schools are most numerous.

Slow 30 to 35-feet for most locations on the lower third of the reservoir, whether bottom fishing on the humps, or if trolling plugs for walleye suspended in schools of baitfish. Trolling long, thin plugs which imitate the alewife shape has produced best. Troll at the 30 to 35-foot depth whether using downriggers or fast trolling to get to depth. Best results have come from Redfins, Model-A’s, Thundersticks, long billed Rebels, or equivalent plugs trolled through schools of alewife and along humps and ledges on the bottom as deep as 30-feet at mid-day. The quality of the fish caught has been very good, but numbers are low. Night jigging with spoons or Mann O’Lures is slow.

Be sure to also check out Statewide Creel and Length Limits & Regulations and the weekly updated TWRA Fishing Forecast for Norris Lake.