November is one of the best times to fish in East Tennessee. The water temperatures are heading towards a magic range, which is 58° to 62° F, and the fish can sense this decrease in water temperature.
Typically this temperature range is reached in the low- to mid-sections of Norris no later than Thanksgiving. In the upper Powell and Clinch Rivers this magic water temperature can be reached much earlier in the month.
The point is, fish seem to really start feeding with a frenzy around November, because nature is telling them winter is soon to follow. This applies to most species of fish in Norris Lake, especially bass, stripers and crappie.
So where should you start looking for the fish standing first in the buffet line? As with most TVA highland reservoirs such as Norris, the first place you will see the fish put on the feed bag is in the head of the river or in large creeks.
It happens first at the head of the rivers and major creeks for two main reasons.
One reason is because the rivers and creeks are naturally shallow and therefore cool quicker as the days get shorter, regardless of the air temperature.
The other reason is because TVA began to aggressively pull the lake down in September, and by the beginning of November, all these factors have reached their zenith and the magic water temperatures happen first upstream.
Now you don’t have to wait on this magic temperature range to have some of your best fishing of the year. Again, the fish can sense the days getting shorter and the temperatures dropping, so they put on the feed bag in advance, but they really get with it from 58° to 62° F.
Fast-moving lures or retrieves are usually in order in November. However, you may need to experiment as there are no absolutes in fishing, which is what most of us fishers love about fishing. Fishers love the challenge of figuring out exactly what it takes to catch the fish.
For bass, top water lures can be the cat’s meow! In early November, especially on cloudy days, start with a buzzbait, Pop-R, perhaps a River2Sea Whopper Plopper or a walking bait, like a Heddon Zara Spook.
The closer you get to the magic temperature, lean more towards the larger baits like the spook or plopper.
The reason for the larger baits is that the bigger bass are usually eating larger shad in shallow water.
If the wind is blowing or the water is dingy, you may want to switch to a spinnerbait or Z-Man Chatter Bait. Shallow running crankbaits can also be very effective in dingy to muddy water in November.
If fishing shallow flats, lean towards square bill crankbaits of flat side crankbaits like a Spro Little Jon.
If fishing steeper banks go with a Spro Rock Crawler or a Bandit 200 to 300 series.
Deeper schools of bass are also available in November, but that is a story for another time.