Rain and lake level
The lake got some pretty substantial rain, but the watersheds soaked most of it up. In August the watershed ponds and lakes are usually so depleted that there's far less runoff than when they're full. The lake is about 1.3 feet over normal at 744.33, with 1,260 CFS of generation below the dam. That should mean fantastic fishing down there, and the longer they run water, the more fish gather at the generators. Late August and September are the tail end of summer patterns and the start of fall patterns.
Crappie on TV
Haydn with Williams Guide Service did a show with Scott Turnage of G3 Sportsman. They caught a lot of Crappie in brush piles toward the middle of the lake on 2-inch soft-plastic jigs. His two favorite colors are a clear red-white-and-blue flake and a baby-Sunfish color. The show day brought a hard north wind, the one direction Haydn hadn't been guiding in, but he has so many brush piles marked that he got out of the wind and pulled off a nice show.
Catfish
Drift fishing is really good in the mornings and evenings, anywhere from about 40 feet up to 10. Drift up or down the slope and the fish will tell you the depth where they're feeding. Close to daylight and sundown, Blue Cats move shallower. Drift in 15 feet or less on main-lake points around Governor's Island, Goat Island and the islands around Horse Creek.
Spoonbill on LiveScope
Haydn had a client, from Kansas Jeff believes, who wanted to LiveScope-snag Spoonbill. They got three or four Spoonbill in a couple of hours, then went to a brush pile and caught about a limit of Crappie in another hour or so.
Night fishing under lights
People are fishing dock lights at night. Those green lights and fishing lights draw schools of White Bass and Crappie this time of year. Don't get on people's docks, hook their lights or tie up to their cables, but Jeff doesn't mind a few folks fishing his lights at night.
Coming up
Jeff is spending a lot of time in Greenwood, Arkansas, and is working on getting Haydn to help with the reports.