After our trip to Center Hill Lake in Tennessee May 29-30, I posed this question to guide Billy Stanton: We’re familiar with accepted theory that fish head deeper during falling water. With the low and dropping water we experienced, did you find that to be the case? Say, during normal pool the bass were holding in 24 feet of water, but as they were pulling it down you were finding them at 34 feet, or something like that?
Stanton: “No sir, I didn’t find that to be the case. If our trip had been during July or August, then I would believe that. Water temp was in the high 70s and we were a week before the June full moon, which is like a signal for those fish to feed as much as they can before the majority move to the bluffs. They were cruising pretty good, and most were in less than 15 feet of water. Most of the places we fished were points and shallow pea gravel areas. We found fish, but couldn’t stay with them.
Our trip was timed for the last few weeks when the bass stay shallow for longer periods of time prior to heading to the deeper bluffs. I fished the bluffs prior to your arrival and couldn’t put together a pattern because the fish were so scattered. The fish were shut down in places or were cruising as fast as they could, and I do believe that was due to their surroundings being eliminated by the dropping water level. They weren’t necessarily heading deeper, they were just cruising around more.
From 15 years of guiding on the lake, I believe that smallmouth bass in highland reservoirs are affected more by the sudden appearance of current than the dropping water level. Fish in highland reservoirs simply aren’t as affected by dropping water levels as fish in lowland reservoirs where “deep water” means 15-feet, not 45-feet. The smallies and spots in Center Hill often hold near vertical structure such as bluffs, and these fish are not as affected by falling water. If you want to catch fish on a highland lake that is being drawn down, the best places to go are points off the main channel, or vertical structure like dams, bridge pilings and bluffs. Other places to look for fish in this situation are the marinas and boat houses over deeper water. The fish are relating to the boats and slips, and not cover on the bottom.”