With the upcoming waterfowl season, which began on the weekend of November 26th, hunters were busy preparing for season; brushing blinds, setting out decoy spreads, and filling propane tanks with heaters ready to warm and cook in the blinds if ducks didn’t cooperate. With lake levels near winter pool, and still little rain to offer water in needed areas in local WMA’s, hunters will be looking skyward in hoping this season will be better than the last. So far this year, it looks like the ‘shining light’ will be more focused on the cooking than the ducks! At least this early part of the season. More on the waterfowl season later in the article.
Water levels remain just above winter pool, with levels at New Johnsonville holding stable at 354.2ft, flow rates have been varying between 14,000cfs-45,000sfs. Water temps have continued to fall into the mid to upper 50’s. Sorry I haven't much of a fishing report this week, although what I’ve heard is that most of the better fish (crappie and bass) are continuing to come from north of Danville. Catfish have continued to be taken in our area quite regularly, by fishermen using nightcrawlers and liver, or cut bait fished along the old river channel. After Thanksgiving, is often when many fishermen head out to find one of the most coveted fish in our river system, the Sauger. Sauger don’t put up a good fight, but they excel in tasting good when cooked! The most often used technique at fishing for Sauger is using a ¾ oz or larger hair jig tipped with a minnow, and bouncing it along the bottom of the river bed while drifting with the current, areas to fish include; creek mouths and river bends with gravel bottoms.
Deer season continues through January 13th, and so far this year Humphreys Co. has harvested over 1,100 deer, opening weekend of gun season had 276 deer harvested in our county, which is around 80 more than last year's opener. So far the state has had 14,283 harvested, with Montgomery Co. seeing the highest harvest with 1,985 deer. Hunters are reminded that TWRA did away with the requirement of the type 094 permit to harvest anterless deer.
Back to waterfowl season, there have been some flights of waterfowl in our area, but over the last few years, it seems we definitely have dropped off, most of the action continues to be well north of us, if we see some cold weather and heavy snow up north, which will push the waterfowl further south, we probably will see a repeat of the last few years. As mentioned above, due to low rainfall, much of the local waterfowl hunting areas will be below normal for the water levels, including some areas in Camden Bottoms, Big Sandy, West Sandy, and elsewhere around the state, which might make getting to the blinds difficult. Kentucky Lake is normal, but over the last few years, we’ve seen much more rainfall and flooding than this year. The limits on waterfowl haven't changed much from previous years, but always consult the most recent hunting guide for more information.