Remember, you can always check water levels at the TVA Web site

(11/12/02) Well she was full and fell a tad on Sunday, but that was before this rain. I feel it will drop to low before next weekend, still another pitiful guess. Water temps ranged from 61 - 65 as things got warmer but will likely drop to upper 50's this week. With water being up it gave the illusion that most of the river channel grass was gone in one week, but not really. I still find little to no activity in the smaller creeks with not much more in the larger ones. Most activity is still relating to the main lake or one of the big creeks. Main lake color would still be perfect, for me anyway. Some pockets should be clear still, depending on the run off. Some pockets that are usually full of bait schools this time of year are empty, go figure?

(11/04/02) Well fall is here. Water temps inching their way down reach 67 in most areas. Without a lot of rain it seems we can depend on the water being at it's lowest point Friday night then rising till Tuesday before falling again, just a guess. Small sheltered pockets are still gin clear but at least the larger creeks have got some good color to them. I am still finding tons of bait fish in the creeks but they are still the tiny unpopular ones. Main river is at a perfect color. Grass still remains the same as last update. Fishing is slow and I believe it is due to the lack of Sun. Every fall we usually have cold nights but warm afternoons I know I have fished in the cold clouds for over 3 weeks now, go figure.

(10/29/02) On Saturday morning the water was about as low as it gets anytime of year. However it did go on a very slow but steady rise, being up 8 - 10" more on Sunday afternoon. River channel water color was perfect, in my book anyway. Stained, but more towards a green tint. When I was younger my grandfather said that was "Big Fish Green" I do hope all this rain bring some color back to a lot of the creeks. Water temps were 70.5 - 72.5 everywhere! The change of seasons has not yet effected some of the river hydrilla while other areas are void of it. 

(10/21/02) Water was up to near or even above full pool. Water temps in the back waters seem to be running about 68 - 70 with the main lake averaging 70 - 73. Main lake was slightly stained due to high winds with most back water remaining quite clear. Main channel grass is still very matted but most mats not as close to the channel as before. Creek channel grass is very scattered having not grown as well as last year, plus we have more hydrilla in the creeks than last year. Shad are moving into the creeks now but bass, for the most part, seem to be taking their time coming in after them. I look for more bass to be caught in the creeks every week and many anglers are already catching bass shallow however I am still doing better along the main lake.

(09/30/02) Well, there was no sign that we received a lot of rain from Isidore last week. I guess this is because we didn't. The heavy rain stayed well West of our part of the Tennessee River. Water is down and should stay that way, I guess one ever really knows. For the ones who do not know, Guntersville normally only fluctuates by 1.5 foot between high water and low water. Water temps on average seem to have reached the high 70's, as fall approaches. Back water areas remain rather clear, however, the main river was quit muddy due to high winds. The higher winds have taken their toll on the river channel hydrilla. Breaking off very large areas at a time and we will soon have the river main lake grass back to stubble once again. Might be time to watch Tropical Storm Lili as it is, for now, following Isidore's path. The coves and creeks contain more hydrilla than ever, making areas with milfoil more important to find. 

(9/23/02) Well for a couple weeks now the water level has been up to about normal for spring rather than late summer. Water temps ranged 80-83 in most areas. Lots of rain over the weekend will keep the water up or coming up till about Wednesday. I bet they have it back down to summer pool after this, just guessing though. Storms moved across North Alabama several times but the rain and storms just kept pounding NE Alabama with the front stalling over the area. Water level might get quite a bit higher. I am sure several inches feel over the area. Some creeks have gotten quite muddy while others still remain on the clear side. River channel hydrilla is hanging in there for now with about 60 percent of the coverage it had in early August. Back water milfoil is just not doing as well as last year, plus there is more hydrilla mixed in. Some scouting is needed to find the best ratting areas. The coontail Grass in doing well where the other grass has suffered. I look at fishing coontail clumps like fishing standing timber. See Below!

(08/28/02) Well at least the weather is beginning to break. Lows in the lower 60's instead of upper 70's. Water temps are still quite high, averaging 87-89 in most areas. While the air temps are lower than the water it's not by much, plus the sun is still very hot. Water lever has remained low for a couple weeks now. Back water milfoil is still gaining it's mat while the river hydrilla has already began to break up. The slim growing in the hydrilla as well as its own mass makes the wind and current break off big chunks at a time. The good news in all of this is the fish know fall in sneaking in, they show this by feeding more often. Fishing is not to bad right now, and getting better. I feel this will be a great fall of fishing.

(8/05/02) Fishing may have been even tougher this weekend. I saw water temps up to 95 in the shallows and on average 89-92 on the main river. Now that's some warm water. A bit too warm for my blood or shall I say as warm as my blood. On what should be a better note, the water stayed down this weekend for the first time since early spring. I do not know why they would choose to keep it down, but they did. In most cases the water being down is a good thing for Guntersville, but maybe not as good as when water temps are not so hot. Ever try night fishing? I rarely do but I caught most fish before the sun broke the horizon. After that it got really hard to get bit. Anyway we are still super clear in the shallows, darn near invisible. The main lake had quite a bit of color due to the current we always have when the water is down. I suppose in order to keep the water down they have to pull current.

(07/29/02) Fishing was tough all weekend. Water temps were 87 on average with the shallow water still very clear. Most back water milfoil mats still need more time to be just right. Still too much scattered grass between the mats and deeper water. Last year I did not do well in the back water mats till football started. It took that long for the matted areas to reach the deeper water. River channel hydrilla is looking better than it has in a couple of years now. Plus, to the milfoil fans out there, the farther you go above North Saulty the more milfoil there is along the river channel, especially on the right headed up. Down river still offers the best shot and finding the perfect point in about 12 foot. Like checking points? Fish 5 or more and you will get bit!

(07/15/02) Water temps still working around 84-87. Water is still very clear in the smaller creeks and coves. With river water only slightly stained. River channel grass is now a complete mat. Back water grass, mostly milfoil, is matted as well only there is not very many deep water edges since the underwater grass extends way out past these mats. Water this past weekend remained down for the first time since winter pool. Might have just been because of possible heavy rains for which we never got. If water remains down all week we should see current often, especially in the mornings and afternoons. Most river channel hydrilla has made it this far without the dreaded slime showing up. However, I feel it will just be a matter of time before the slime takes over and begins to kill the hydrilla. 

(6/25/02) Now it is starting to feel like summer out there. No wind sweat rolling off your face and the white bugs, oh we just got to love them. Water temps gain a tad every day averaging in the mid eighties. Lots of clear to just barely stained water is found most everywhere. River channel hydrilla is up and getting slimy 'er each day. Creek Milfoil is matting up to but the higher water makes it hard to get a good mat of milfoil going. Speaking of water level, it remains the same each week. Very slow fall taking all week to get down to just less than full pool. Then on the weekend we have the rise to just above full pool. And it is at it's highest point on around Tuesday morning before it starts dropping again. Shad schools are very scattered this year making it hard to lock down a deep or shallow pattern. You have some people doing well deep and others shallow, not much help but on average the fishing is real good.

(6/17/02). I Do hope everyone likes clearer water. If you like to fish shallow you can see bottom in four foot of water in the back of some of the coves. Water temps, thanks to this clear water and cool nights even made it back to the upper 70's in the mornings. Warming to mid 80's in the afternoon. It still appears that the water will start to rise on Saturdays and continue to do so all the way till Monday morning. It is Monday now and I just left the lake and water was over full pool, darn near flood. After Monday we have a very gradual drop back till Friday, while never really getting low. River channel hydrilla is up and matting very fast. You can see its progress every single day. The back water milfoil is growing fast too and matting up. The hydrilla once again is getting choked with the florescent green slim we all hate. The Slim floats on the milfoil which can be good for making a canopy for the fish to hide under. In the hydrilla however it covers the whole stem of the plant choking the area and eventually killing the hydrilla.

(5/29/02). Water appears to be rising to end most weeks and to begin falling on Sundays. Just a guess but so far it has been true. Now falling only means slightly. Temps have been steadily working their way up. Saw some 78 - 80 water. Seams to be some current early in the day which helps the morning fishing. Water as a whole is quite clear. Maybe even too clear in some areas. Grass Is still beautiful and green and growing like, well like aquatic vegetation. LOL Good Luck Out there!

(5/23/02) Water is staying up now but not to full pool. Cooler nights have kept the water in the mid to lowers 70's and even so upper 60's. Lack of run off and the filter effects of the growing grass has made some areas gin clear. Grass in the creek and cove back waters, which is mostly milfoil is growing great and is already on the surface. The river channel grass can be seen in most areas but is not op top just yet. Good news is some of the hydrilla is being replace by milfoil in a few select areas along the river channel. This is very good. Oh, not that hydrilla is all bad but it attracts that florescent green slim that we all hate. Clean hydrilla is good. Going to be a busy weekend out there so be careful.

(5/07/02) Water is up due to rain and the fact it is time for it to be up. Water temps were mid 70's on Friday but dropped off the low 70's after a weekend of cloudy cooler. We had lots of rain Friday which raised the water on Saturday, but it feel back on Sunday. Lake it basically full pool. Water was lightly stained everywhere very little so called clearer water. River was a nice color a stain green tint to it, big fish water we call it. I would guess water will stay up till June. Still saw many active beds with some fish still having eggs. 

(4/26/02) I got a chance to run by the lake last evening and water was down quite a bit from the last update. Almost as low as winter pool. Water was fairly stained due to high winds. Did not get to check water temps, but I would bet 72-75 would be a very accurate  guess. Bass are spawning, got to be, but they might spawn a good bit deeper with the lower water and more so due to the large areas of grass. After all it has been very warm, a front is coming and today is the full moon. I would assume the water will be going up in the next week or so and stay up time mid June. I sure do miss the days when they raised the water on the 15 of April, like clock work. Oh well, looks like a chance of rain and storms so if you get out there be careful and good lick!

(4/18/02) Wow it got hot quick, more like July than April. Anyway, the bass should be loving it to say the least. Water is lower than normal for this time of year but will be up to full spring pool any day now. The lack of rain and wind has allowed time for the water to clear. This is helping in two ways. First the grass is getting plenty of sun and growing fast plus if there is any beds to be found you should be able to see a few. I would guess for there to be about a 30 percent spawn this weekend, which is quite large. Water is warming so fast bass will spawn and leave all in a matter of a few days. Water temps are soaring into the lower 70's and only cooling a few degrees at night. These warmer nights are the big triggers that should run the bass shallow to spawn. Most grass is very green and growing like crazy, but still remains out of sight for the most part. Grass along the river got knocked back real far this winter so it will be even slower coming around.

(3/25/02). While the air temps were bone chilling Saturday morning the water temps hung in there. Ranging from 56 - 58 to start the weekend, not too bad. Water was still down and fell more on Saturday. No real level change on Sunday. Clear skies and brisk wind kept the water from stained to even muddy in many areas. Slight to even heavy current was found as well. The warm sun has returned now and so will the rain to begin our week. I look for the water to warm to near 70 by Friday. Water should rise as well with some rain coming in. A bass bed or two just might be found this week since they are shallow and full of eggs.

(3/18/02). Water level at this point would be called unchanged still at a lower stage. Now, the good news is the water temps. WOW! 60-64 anywhere you check it. And the bass are responding. I would still have to say this fishing is a bit slow for most people but each day it is getting better with bass over 10 lbs. showing up quite often. Water was mostly clear through out the lake with only an exception for the wind blown banks. Some shallow water is extremely clear. Grass along the river is still brown but all of the back water milfoil is turning green fast and that is where most bass are being caught.

(3/12/02) For the most part the water was about as low as it ever gets. The clouds and rain kept the water temps from getting above 55 in most areas. The shallows were as low as 51-52 and remained that way all day! The high winds made many areas of the Main river quit muddy, while the shallows remained quit clear. Fish activity was up from last week. The BFL tournament had some tremendous stringers with over 23 pounds winning on both the angle and co-angler sides. Click here to read about it!

(02/25/02) Water was back down as expected. Warmer water was found everywhere. River temps ranged from 54-57 and the shallow water really got up there to about 63 during the warm afternoons. Now we know the temps are dropping this week. Water was clearer for the most part with more color to the river channel. Not much fish activity going on, however. It was as if they knew it was not going to stay that way.

(02/18/02) Water level was up from last week if only a few inches. Had a lot more water color as well. Since we have not had much rain in a few days I would have to blame the water color on the persistent N. W. Wind that made fishing quite miserable. Water temps ran from 51 - 53 on main river while the shallows started colder, around 47 or so and barley warmed any at all, even with the bright sun. I look for this week to bring the best days so far in 2002. Air temps in the mid 60's just might turn the fish on for the rest of the spring. After all, no one told the fish the ground hog did see his shadow.

(02/10/02) Today the water lever was down compared to the near flood waters 2 weeks ago. Most of the run off was down steam from Guntersville so we were spared the mudding high water conditions they had down on wheeler through pickwick. Most shallow water had some color today and temps seemed to average 47-53, the bright warm sun got some areas up to 58. Great for this time of year. Still had quite a bit of current on the main river. Most fish activity seemed to be in the shallow water. Backs of coves and smaller creeks  that contained the higher water temps is where the fish were found, as they should be. I would think the water will go down even more next week as they try to keep the winter level ready for any major rains that could be around the corner.

Remember, you can always check water levels at the TVA Web site

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