roadwarrior

Drive south, the bite's on!

It's Monday, so here's how it went: Eight open flood gates running 137,000 cfs through the dam, water temp 49.7 and stained but not muddy water, visibility 2-4 ft. Prespawn pattern, smaller males in shallow, swift water on the flats, bigger smallmouth holding in current, on structure in or near deep water. Average results, fifteen smallmouth but none over 5 lbs. Lots of big white bass, drum, buffalo and one catfish. Plenty of action but no real prize.

You will catch bigger fish on soft plastics, Senko, tubes, Ika and lizards in deeper water. Cast parallel to the bank, five to ten yards off the bank and work your baits slowly. I wrote a piece a week or so ago on pond fishing on a thread in this section called "the clinic". Check it out.

I rarely (read never) throw a spinnerbait just because everyone else does. But last weekend (2/20) I wanted to practice with one of my fast retrieve baitcasters, so I took it out to one of my ponds and really burned a blade. To my surprise...it worked! I didn't catch any big fish but I caught eight in a couple of hours. It was great fun on a Sunday afternoon. I bet it works for you, too.

Check out "the clinic", I wrote a short piece on pond fishing.

Chapter #3 River Smallmouth and Deep Structure The Tennessee River is managed for year-around commercial barge traffic. Man-made riprap bank reinforcement, thousands of tons of boulders and wing dams have been built to maintain a navigatible channel in the river. Barrels are permanently anchored throughout the river system, visually defining the channel. During prespawn, this is where the big girls stage. On the inside of nearly every bend, the river deposits gravel and silt to form vast flats, the perfect setting for bedding bass. In late February and March the males begin to build nests in hopes of attracting a mate. I don't fish the flats in the spring, I don't fish bedding bass. But I do fish the transition or the channel drop because these fish are huge, aggressive and not yet on the nest. We drift the river and fish either side of the imaginary line running from buoy to buoy. I generally fish live shiners, but grubs, tubes, lizards and jigs should be effective along the drop. The key is having enough weight to stay on or very near the bottom without continually hanging up. In the spring, we catch the largest smallmouth in this deep water and as an added bonus, we generally have it all to ourselves. Get away from the shore and get away from the crowd. The trophies are out deep.

Sixty degrees and sunny, got to get over to the Tennessee River tomorrow but we have a challenging situation: TVA opened the flood gates earlier this week, 140,000 cfs running through the dam! Anyone faced these conditions? Suggestions are appreciated.

Lunker, I have been vacationing in Door County every summer for the past ten years or so. Although we catch a lot of smallmouth, I've never caught anything over 4lbs. Maybe my buddy doesn't know where the big guys hang out. But as far as numbers go, you won't be disappointed.

No. My observation is that big fish suspend or stage in deep water and occassionally chase prey in shallow water where they are sometimes caught. This leads fishermen to believe big fish are in shallow water and is probably why so many guys beat the bank. I consistantly catch bigger fish deep and smaller fish (bank runners) shallow.

Go to page 2 in the section and read "Bank Fishing vs Boat Fishing" from yesterday.

Well, I'm never going to catch the world record largemouth in this region, they just don't get big enough around here. However, I fish every weekend for the world record smallmouth and it does live here. The current world record, as recognized by the IFGA is 10 lbs 14 oz caught at Dale Hollow in Tennessee (the "other" world record was supposedly 11lbs 15 oz also caught at Dale Hollow but on the Kentucky side of the lake). The next world record will probably be caught on the Tennessee River, either Pickwick Lake or Kentucky Lake in Tennessee. Now here's where we get back to the discussion in this thread: Smallmouth are NOT native to the Tennessee River or this region in general. They were introduced throughout most of the country over one hundred years ago. So my point is, "native" is not the criteria, it's size that counts.

I have a two man Ocean Kayak that's collecting dust. It's wide-body and steady. It's built to handle a small trolling motor and has a couple of dry storage compartments. I paid around $800 plus shipping for it a couple of years ago. If you're interested we might make a deal.

Does anyone fish for spots? I catch them incidently when fishing for largemouth and smallmouth, in both rivers and lakes. My question is: Is there something someone is doing to specifically target Kentucky bass? Lures, locations, techniques?

Boating simply opens up more opportunities. I fish small ponds from the bank regularly and by their nature, I can cover them throughly. On the other hand, I also fish some big water, the Tennessee River in particular, and would be lost without a boat. The main difference is fishing relatively shallow from shore versus deeper structure from a boat. Again, the opportunities presented in fishing from a boat are vast, whereas limited from shore. If you just consider the amount of water you can cover from a boat, I think the differences are obvious.

String bridges, now that's unique. It seems I recall that and a few other points you made from other articles you wrote. I sure like the way you put this new piece together. Did you invent the string bridge? I just can't picture me using it, but it's an interesting thought.

Got to get out of here early Friday and spent five hours on the Tennessee River plus the whole day Saturday. We caught seven smallies the first day and seventeen Saturday, including a 6 both days! Sunday it rained, I mean poured, but yesterday things cleared up so I went pond jumping. Caught eight largemouth over a three hour period, but no big guys. So last week at least, I liked smallmouth on Friday and Saturday and preferred largemouth on Monday.

I often carry soft baits only when I'm pond jumping. My three baits are 6" Senkos, Fat Ika and 4" tubes.

Great article Craig! Everyone who hunts big bass should enjoy this piece and pick up several ideas for improving their tactics and success. Thank you for sharing some of your secrets with us.

Go with the medium power, it's an all around rod. It can handle big fish and makes smaller fish much more fun to catch. Look for a sale this time of year. The Shimano Stradic 2500 is a GREAT reel that lists for around $120 but is occasionally on sale for $69-$79 at BPS, Cabelas or other big sports stores.

Chapter #2 Fishing Ponds From The Bank I fish metropolitan ponds, both public and private, during the week and when I can't get to the river. On average I expect to catch at least one 5 lb+ largemouth a week and here's how: First of all, you need to do a little homework. Target a handful of ponds and find out when they were built and if they were professionally stocked, DOW or privately. I don't care how good you are, you won't catch a bass if they aren't there! Look for ponds that are at least 5 years old, newer sites may have aggressive fish, but they're going to be small. When you fish the water be alert to what other people are doing. I catch big fish at little public parks where everyone that fishes is using worms or crickets and a cork. If there are bass fishermen, 99% are throwing spinner baits. I rarely see any good fishermen and never see anyone catch a decent fish. But I know they are there. So you found a pond where you're pretty sure some quality fish live. Okay, that's a big hurdle, now what? This is my plan and these are my methods. First, I only fish for big fish. I throw 6 & 7 inch Senkos, big tubes and for the last year or so, the Fat Ika. Second, I get out early morning or late evening OR...either side of noon (all my 10s have been caught between 10:00 and 2:00). Third, walk the bank and fish parallel to it, out 5-10 yds. I know largemouth prefer cover and structure, but in a pond they are forced to cruise around looking for prey. Fourth, be patient and fish slooooooooooow, even in the summer! When I get comfortable knowing the water holds fish, I'll use other equipment. I rotate my rods and try to use every lure I own, just for fun. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't. When I really want to catch fish, it's back to basics.

Send Glenn a private e-mail, he's the Chief.

Okay Chris, here is my contribution: I'm a recreational fisherman who likes to catch big fish and lots of 'em. So I fish live shiners in 5-15 ft of water on a big river. Here's the gear and the technique: Spinning combo, medium power, fast or medium action ( I use both), a reel with a GREAT drag system, 4 & 6 lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid, Gamakatsu #6 Octopus Circle Hooks and #4 or #5 split shot (sometimes heavier, you have to be clicking rocks). Position the boat so you can cast to within a few feet of the bank. Cast at a ninety degree angle and fish at no more than a forty-five degree angle upstream - NEVER downstream. Your goal is to make the minnow look as natural as possible, so your bait should drift at the same pace as your boat. Buy big minnows, I don't think they can be too big. Position the split shot 2-3 ft from the hook (this will be determined by your casting skill). DO NOT set the hook when using a circle hook, it sets itself and generally in the jaw. That's all there is to it. Good luck!

Try deep structure near the original creek bed or river channel. An abrupt drop that provides big fish access to deep water will often hold fish, sometimes suspending, sometimes in position for an ambush. Smallmouth position themselves several feet out, in current if possible. Largemouth are more likely to be found nestled right up against a rock or a stump and almost always in calm water.

Wow! I use circle hooks 90% of the time when fishing live bait and I don't ever recall a problem with eye hooks. The circle hook is suppose to slide up the gullet and attach or hook up near the lips, which is what usually happens. I use them mostly to reduce the number of deep hooks and even then I do my very best to get them out. This eye thing is news to me.

Nice!