Ken Smith

The Great Outdoors
by Ken Smith

Area lakes were approaching winter pool levels last week, but we’ve seen a slight rise due to the rain on October 30th. Kentucky Lake at New Johnsonville was at 354.4 ft and is predicted to be at 354.8 ft by the first week of November. Flows remain around the 20,000 cfs rate in the Tennessee River. The Cumberland River at Dover was at 54.3 ft, Clarksville was at 25.2 ft, and Cheatham Dam was at 355.3 ft with an average discharge of 9,400 cfs. Most area lakes and rivers are now seeing surface water temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.

I had a chance to get out on the water this past week and found a few crappie in water depths between 8–12 ft. The bite was slow even though we saw many fish on the stake beds. Getting them to bite was difficult, and the schools seemed to move around a lot. Baitfish were everywhere, and it looks like the shad spawn was as good as the acorn crop in the woods this year. Reports across the area have been similar — the crappie bite is hot one day and gone the next. Fall is when we should see the crappie move into the shallows, but they haven’t made that move just yet.

The bass bite has been tough for most anglers, although there have been a few good catches during the tournaments held last weekend. The catfish bite has been “hit or miss” lately — some days producing good numbers, while others see little to no action. Over the years, I’ve noticed that watching where and when commercial fishermen place their trotlines is a good indication of where the catfish are. As the shad move into the bays with cooling water temperatures, so do the catfish. Fishing where the shad are can produce solid catches, and using moving techniques (like dragging baits) can help fishermen locate concentrations of fish.

The stripe (white bass) are still being seen chasing shad to the surface. Gulls can often be seen diving where the action is, and tossing a 1/8–1/4 oz white curly-tail jig can result in some exciting fishing.

We had the Juvenile Deer Hunt on October 25–26. Saturday was a great day for the kids, but Sunday brought quite a bit of rain and wind. Here are the totals for the deer season so far — the first number is the total for the season, and the number in parentheses represents the juvenile hunt:
Benton – 80 (34)
Dickson – 227 (84)
Hickman – 133 (53)
Houston – 104 (55)
Humphreys – 181 (89)
Montgomery – 347 (83)
Stewart – 208 (43)
Perry – 118 (71)

The statewide total stands at 16,396 deer, with 4,472 from the juvenile harvest.

Muzzleloader season starts November 8th and continues through November 21st, followed by regular gun season beginning November 22nd. Many hunters are reporting bucks in “full rut,” chasing does. The “peak of the rut” is usually during the first couple of weeks of November in our area.

Quail and rabbit seasons are now open, and trapping season will begin November 21st. The second segment of dove season ended November 2nd, with the final segment beginning December 8th. Hunters should get their “bags and flashlights” ready for the upcoming snipe season, which begins November 14th.

Although I’ve never encountered a snipe hunter during my time as a game warden, there really is a snipe season — though they’re hunted with a shotgun rather than a bag and light! Snipe are a shorebird often found in open farmland near wet areas, and they’re fairly common this time of year. Their eyes are set far back on their heads, allowing full vision to both sides and even binocular vision to the rear. This helps them detect predators even while feeding. The daily limit on snipe is 8 per hunter.

Waterfowl season starts November 29th.

Upcoming Events

• TWRA’s 2025–26 Youth Fish Art Contest: Open to students K–12. Submit original artwork of any Tennessee native fish for the national Art of Conservation contest. Free entry via www.theartofconservation.org/fish-art-contest.
• Mid-Season Waterfowl Quota Hunts: Application period open through November 12th at gooutdoorstennessee.com, the TWRA mobile app, or any license agent.
• Cumberland River Catman’s Association: November 8th in Clarksville.
• Kentucky Lake Bass Anglers Classic: November 8th in New Johnsonville.
• Perry County Bass Club Classic: November 9th at Spring Creek.
• Tennessee State Parks “Battle of Johnsonville” Walking Tour: November 4th, 12:30–3:30 p.m. at New Johnsonville. ($8 entry)

• Fishing
• Fishing Report
• Great Outdoors
• Hunting
• Kentucky Lake
• TN River