Pickwick Lake Fishing Report From Steve Hacker Guide Service 1-13-2012

gengberg January 13th, 2012

Water temp: 48.8 degrees
TVA discharge rate: highly variable, from 20,000 cfs to 103,000 cfs
Well, this is when I’m glad I only take short notice trips in mid winter, and don’t book trips far in advance as in the warm weather months! The ol’ office is feeling pretty good the past couple of days, with lake wind advisories yesterday for 35 mph NW winds and temps near freezing. Got enough snow and ice that schools are delayed until 10:00 today.Hacker Smallmouth

TVA finally got the water stabilized and back to near normal seasonal pool, but the up and down daily fluctuations this week have hurt that hot smallmouth bite. Tuesday I fished with Mark, Millage, and Bill, who had come all the way down from Nova Scotia, Canada. Weather was decent, and they caught fish, but we had to deal with a 5.5 foot increase in water level and discharge increase from 20,000 cfs to 103,000 cfs from 3:00 a.m. To 9:00 a.m., then the water level fell 3.5 feet and discharge decreased during the rest of the day down to about 40,000 cfs by the time we came in at 3:30. Water coming up over 5 feet and then dropping over 3 feet all in an 8 hour span after it had been so stable for weeks is not what we’re hoping for when we launch. But the guys are excellent fishermen, and still managed to put nice fish in the boat, largempouths, spots, smallmouths, and stripers. Striper bite remains good, and the guys had several doubles during the trip, and maybe even a triple.

The Huntsville area just upstream of us had record flooding Tuesday, getting 3 inches of rain on already saturated ground and nearby Athens getting 4 inches. Television footage of the flooding was incredible, with roads washed away and the rescue squad having to rescue people from cars. That will mean two things, 1 good and 1 bad (temporarily). Bad news is that all that mud has to come downstream through here, and no one likes cold muddy water to fish in. But the discharge rate and water levels should stabilize some for awhile, which is good. The dirty water should clear up in 4 or 5 days, and Norman and I are going to try the stripers again on Tuesday, assuming that the weatherman knows what he’s talking about in the extended Hacker Striperforecast!

All but two 2012 deposits are in, and Elliott started classes Wednesday (and with a big bill for books), so if you haven’t sent your deposit yet, please do so asap. Thanks!
Steve

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