31airborne
Well-known member
Spent the weekend on The G w/ my oldest and best Army buddy. He's retired and living in Huntsville and now calls The G his home water. His knowledge of the lake has grown tremendously since he's been here. The work he's put in paid off for us. Was a catching kind of weekend.
Same lake but two very different demeanors for the two days we fished. On FRI 8-10' was the magic range. Fish were holding on breaks tight to the bottom or on top of the submerged vegetation. On SAT they moved up shallow and were actively feeding - even after the full moon - on top of points and off shore structure. On FRI they wanted it moving (SK 1.5 DD was best). On SAT they wanted it slow and on the bottom. On FRI there was lots of top water activity, with fish actively chasing bait just about everywhere we went. Nothing doing on SAT. Had a few gar surface and swirl around us but otherwise no feeding on top or near the surface anywhere. Caught a lot of short fish - prob every 14.75" fish in the lake on SAT - but the handful of keepers we managed to land were all solid fish.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 79 on FRI AM at launch to 84.5 around midday on SAT. Temps were not uniform. There were spots out in the main channel and in the backs of creeks where temps would swing 5 degrees up and down within a short stretch. 2) Clarity ranged from ~clear (>4' of viz) in the main channel to heavily stained (<2' of viz) in the backs of creeks. 3) Saw lots of new grass (eel, milfoil, and hydrilla) but none of it was at the surface in any of the places we fished. Lots of emergent grass (pepper? and some willow) in the backs of creeks. It looked lush and full. For our fishing spots, eel grass patches produced best. 4) SK 1.5DD, c-rig, and jig did the damage for us. Numbers on the c-rig, quality on the jig. Greens for jigs and soft plastics, shad patterns on crank baits. 5) Structure with grass on top or near the first break were best. Wind blowing across the structure was better than wind blowing in on it. No wind sucked because it was hot and humid. 6) Knowing when TVA was going to move water was extremely helpful. Don't forget the barges and locks.
While the boat traffic was heavy I was impressed w/ how mild mannered the rec boaters were. We had more issues and close calls w/ other fishermen than we did w/ the recreational doods. I was also struck by the strict adherence to social distancing guidelines (not!). Saw many (many) bow riders designed to hold 5 or 6 carrying twice that. Kinda went downhill from there.
Grateful to my old battle buddy for a productive, informative trip. Saw a lot of new water, learnt a lot. Looking forward to the next trip.
peace,
B
Same lake but two very different demeanors for the two days we fished. On FRI 8-10' was the magic range. Fish were holding on breaks tight to the bottom or on top of the submerged vegetation. On SAT they moved up shallow and were actively feeding - even after the full moon - on top of points and off shore structure. On FRI they wanted it moving (SK 1.5 DD was best). On SAT they wanted it slow and on the bottom. On FRI there was lots of top water activity, with fish actively chasing bait just about everywhere we went. Nothing doing on SAT. Had a few gar surface and swirl around us but otherwise no feeding on top or near the surface anywhere. Caught a lot of short fish - prob every 14.75" fish in the lake on SAT - but the handful of keepers we managed to land were all solid fish.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 79 on FRI AM at launch to 84.5 around midday on SAT. Temps were not uniform. There were spots out in the main channel and in the backs of creeks where temps would swing 5 degrees up and down within a short stretch. 2) Clarity ranged from ~clear (>4' of viz) in the main channel to heavily stained (<2' of viz) in the backs of creeks. 3) Saw lots of new grass (eel, milfoil, and hydrilla) but none of it was at the surface in any of the places we fished. Lots of emergent grass (pepper? and some willow) in the backs of creeks. It looked lush and full. For our fishing spots, eel grass patches produced best. 4) SK 1.5DD, c-rig, and jig did the damage for us. Numbers on the c-rig, quality on the jig. Greens for jigs and soft plastics, shad patterns on crank baits. 5) Structure with grass on top or near the first break were best. Wind blowing across the structure was better than wind blowing in on it. No wind sucked because it was hot and humid. 6) Knowing when TVA was going to move water was extremely helpful. Don't forget the barges and locks.
While the boat traffic was heavy I was impressed w/ how mild mannered the rec boaters were. We had more issues and close calls w/ other fishermen than we did w/ the recreational doods. I was also struck by the strict adherence to social distancing guidelines (not!). Saw many (many) bow riders designed to hold 5 or 6 carrying twice that. Kinda went downhill from there.
Grateful to my old battle buddy for a productive, informative trip. Saw a lot of new water, learnt a lot. Looking forward to the next trip.
peace,
B
