Here’s a few dates and bag limits for those who have turned their attention to dove and ducks.

Dove Season – Phase II continues until November 5; Phase III, December 8 to January 15, 2018
Daily bag limit – 15

No limit on collared dove. If claiming a collared dove in your bag, the head or one fully-feathered wing must remain attached to the carcass while in transport from the field to home. Doves not readily identified as collared doves will be considered to be mourning doves and will count toward the mourning dove daily bag limit.

Statewide Duck Zone (the remainder of the state outside the Reelfoot Lake Duck Zone) Reelfoot Duck Zone (the lands and waters within the boundaries of Reelfoot Lake WMA only)

Virginia & Sora Rails – season continues until November 9. Limits: Virginia Rails, Sora Rails &
Coots: 15; Gallinules & Moorhens: 25

Ducks: The Daily bag limit of ducks is 6, and may include no more than 4 mallards (no more than 2 of which may be female), 3 scaup, 3 wood ducks, 2 black ducks, 2 canvasbacks, 2 redheads, 1 pintail.

Mergansers: 5 (only 2 of which may be hooded mergansers)

Fishing Report

Gibson County Lake
Water temperature: lower 70s.

Bass: “Good bass are being caught off the edges of the creeks in three-to-seven-feet of water on top-water poppers, silent lipless cranks and green craws,” Trenton’s Brent Smith said.

Crappie: “The crappie bite has picked up on the main body of the lake around stump piles … 10-feet, black and white jigs,” Brent said.

Pickwick Lake
Water temperature: 77 degrees. Elevation: 413.5

Bass: “When bass fishing early in the morning, don’t forget about the grass beds in the lake,” Clagett Talley said. “Over the past few weeks, we have caught a large number of fish in and around those beds using the Strike King Spit ‘N King top-water baits.
“The easiest way to fish the grass with this bait is to just work it around the edges of the grass and not in the middle.”

Clagett, a tour guide from Savannah, said he likes to use a Lews medium action rod and reel to work these baits.

“Lews medium rods are perfect for gaining the most action you can out of these lures,” Clagett said. “Sometimes you can catch good fish in the middle of the grass beds but you will need to switch to a weedless frog.”

Clagett said there are a number of shallow areas visible from the Pickwick Dam where grass is just under the water surface.

“These areas usually hold a lot of fish and are easy to fish baits over the top of them without getting tangled in the grass every cast,” Clagett said. “You can also fish a creature bait through these areas on a weighted hook or Texas Rig, and this method sometimes works throughout the day.”

Clagett said the deep water humps and ledges are still holding good fish – for now.

“In the deeper water, throw a deep-diving crankbait or a heavy spinner bait,” Clagett said. “Strike King has a one-ounce spinnerbait that is a hot lure on Pickwick, Bay Springs and other lakes, using this heavier spinnerbait as well.”

Stripers: “The Strike King Spit ‘N King has been an all-around great top-water (bait) with stripers and bass in the Tennessee River below the Pickwick Dam,” Clagett said. “Popping this feathered tail bait attracts fish in the area that are actively feeding on the surface (and) if you are after stripers, and you have already caught a few big ones on the top-water baits, you might want to switch over to a jerk bait, because you can usually hold on to the fish longer with a jerk bait.”

Clagett said for the time being, you can find small stripers busting the surface all day, but the bigger stripers will be in deeper water after the first few hours of daylight.

“Throughout the middle of the day, you will need to switch to a live bait rig and drift downstream with a live minnow on a bait hook,” Clagett said. “If you can catch skip jack minnows in the river for this method of fishing, you will be more successful catching good stripers but you can use minnows from a bait store.”

Clagett said the store bought minnows usually produces fish if the natural bait is not present below the dam.

“I only fish with Lews rods and reels below the dam for stripers,” Clagett said. “I’ve stripped out a lot of other reels fishing for these large aggressive fish, but Lews reels are strong enough to hold up to years of catching a lot of big fish.”

Catfish: “We have caught several catfish drifting the Dyna-Bites in 25-to-30-feet of water,” Clagett said. “I hear livers and shad guts are very productive baits as well right now, from other catfishermen. This is also a good time of year to fish a little deeper … you may improve the size of catfish you’re catching.”

Want more from the “Mayor of Pickwick Lake?” Give Clagett Talley a call (731) 607-5266 or visit him on line – www.pickwickareaguide.com

Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley
Water temperatures: 71 degrees, and dropping. Water color: clear at 356.0 feet.

Bass: “Largemouth bass are still slow with the south end of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley producing better than up north,” Darrell Van Vactor said. “A few good fish are still being caught on shaky heads with large tubes and crankbaits around secondary points primarily on the east side of Kentucky lake south of Egners Ferry bridge.
“With cooler water and cloudy days, top-water action for non-keeper size fish has been pretty good all over both lakes.”

Darrell Van Vactor is the Operations Manager for Crappie USA/Cabela’s King Kat Trail in Benton, Kentucky.

Darrell said smallmouth bass are slow, but a few are being snagged on jigs on main lake points with chunk rock.

Crappie: “Good, with limits being caught regularly on both lakes, but you will catch 10-to-12 non- keepers for every 10-inch plus fish you catch, it seems,” Darrell said. “This is good news for next year.”

Darrell said crappie are hitting chartreuse/black tube jigs vertically jigged over cover in eight-to-12-feet of water and double hook minnow rigs fished along creek banks and secondary river channels in 10-to-14 feet of water.

Catfish: “They are slow,” Darrell said. “But you can catch a few on main lake humps where small shad are present. Cut shad and skipjack has been best (bait).”

David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
https://www.facebook.com/NewsTalk1015/