TnRiver46

Sweet

Usgs website has water temp for several sites, I look at it daily

Wow loaded question. 1) hank Williams sr. Tied for second : Johnny cash, willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Merle haggard, don Williams, Marty Robbins, glen Campbell, probably a few I’m forgetting as I listen to all these artists over a glass of scotch

Sure looks like catchable bass to me. Or maybe other fish but they are definitely there. One problem I encounter is just because fish are there doesn't mean they are catchable. I like to jump in the water with a mask on to see what it really is. This is very frustrating though because every time I have done this, I see bass easily. It is absolutely CRAZY how many bass see your lures and never bite them, at least where I live (heavily pressured waters)

Intended to go striper fishing but realized while pumping gas that I had cracked my lower unit the day before. Quick change of plans and floated from point a to point b and used trolling motor and paddle. Caught a nice brown trout with a gold spoon

Hahahah! My cousin tells that story the exact same way but it’s a Muskie not a bass

^bingo

Throwing them into a cooler of ice would be ideal. I’ve carried them around all day in a creel with no ice and they were still delicious

That’s pretty much par for the course on chickamauga, guntersville, Pickwick, and ky lake. @Oregon Native frequents the much quieter lakes

Great job and Great report. Congratulations! Five boats sank??? Oh dear. I don’t fish the river downstream of Sweetwater if the wind is blowing. It’s basically an ocean in the main channel from Chattanooga all the way down if the wind is above 15mph. Kentucky dam is still pushing over 250,000 cfs, here’s a visual of the lake level haha

Going upstream keep the red buoys on the right and green ones on the left. Vice versa going downstream

White bass are showing up in big numbers. Had 4 people in the boat Saturday and Sunday, probably got 75 Saturday and about 60 Sunday. And another 15-20 after work Monday between 3 of us

That's a spotted bass I think, the rows of spots below the lateral line are a good indicator, it usually helps to look for a tooth patch on the tongue as well

Bingo

I would use it to throw ultra light lures. Bass will surprise you with how small of a lure they will hit, especially when it's cold. Like a small rapala countdown

I use stren 100 percent flouro. When the lure gets stuck it's pretty hard to break the 12 lb. Usually it will straighten the hook on a small tube before it breaks. 20 lb power pro, Albright knot, and 12 lb stren leader

Sounds like you should be the one giving us fishing tips!!! Congrats

In late February I suppose I don’t look for things to determine if they are in the prespawn phase, I just assume they are

My goodness gracious throw a saddle on those things and try to go 8 seconds!!! Especially that first one!!

I’m also guilty of catching a bunch of drum on accident, my buddies love to make fun of me about it. I ate a small one, maybe 1lb and it was decent.

I also forgot to mention that sometimes when largemouth are blitzing shad, a lure that looks nothing like the shad will work. Like someone above mentioned a tube, maybe a jig, or even a purple or chartreuse crankbait. Something completely different stands out to the fish. If they are blitzing shad on top over deep water in summer, a Mann’s little George way down deep can get the big ones

I always use a grub that I find laying on the floor of the boat, mostly zoom fat Albert. Or the back half of a trick worm or finesse worm. The hardest thing about swim jigs for me is keeping big drum from eating them

Thanks y’all! I was in a tributary and the water was already 60 degrees

Gotcha thanks

Nice fish @Team9nine, I’m curious as to what tactic your employed to catch these shallow aggressive bass