Chickamauga Dam 10-22

[DHaun]

Jerdog and I took his boat below Chickamauga Dam. I picked up 3 dozen large shiners and we launched from the river park at 7:30am. We fished the wingwall and rockpile below the Dam using shiners, twister tails, and trolling lures. Nothing but skipjack and 4-5 small bass wanted the shiners. We then decided to troll some crankbaits and caught 8-10 smallies with a couple largemouth mixed in - all were small. Finally got 2 nice smallmouth and a big channel cat. We left about 1:00pm. I did not have the digital camera but took some pics with a disposable camera of the 2 nice smallmouth, maybe in a few days I will post them. Water temp was about 72-74 I think...I am going back in the morning for more of the same or to Nickajack Dam to see what's happening down there with the stripers.

 

[flip1up]

Dhaun, I just figured out that my post to Jerdog is N/A. I have been trying to get in those Smallmouth for months but just cant put it together. What did they weigh? I fished Tims Ford for years and could catch them with pretty good consistancy, but not here. Not used to fishing tailwaters and this much current I recon.

 

[DHaun]

Yep - We originally were going to go to Nickajack Dam today but decided to go to Chickamauga instead due to the generation schedule. I am not sure what the smallies weighed since I did not weigh them...I figure 2 to 2-1/2 pounds and maybe 6-8lbs for the channel cat.

I caught a 5lb smallmouth a few years ago along with several 3 pounders so I figure they can get to some decent size below the Dam if we don't overfish them. They sure pull hard on light line and they feel bigger than they are! If Nickajack won't be flowing in the morning then I am going back to the Chick about 10am to try for more. It looks like they don't turn on until 1:00 pm though - I guess I'll find out tomorrow how much the current matters.

http://lakeinfo.tva.gov/htbin/lakeinfo?site=CHH&DataType=All&submit=View+info

Trolling for smallmouth is fun, relaxing, & fairly straightforward - I posted a bit of info on a previous thread:
http://www.ChattanoogaFishingForum.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=325&posts=4

 

[flip1up]

If they have to be 18", I would say you are being humble. More like 3.5-4.0.

 

[polo-dog]

Sounds like great fun guys. Smallies are great fighters and I'd love to learn how to get them below the dam. Is most of the trolling that you do in front of the rip rap banks or is there some other consistent pattern that you can figure out? Did you guys lose many lures this time or are you learning where to miss with the crankbaits?

 

[DHaun]

Smallmouth seem to like the rocks so that's what I try to target when trolling, although I have also caught them right in the middle of the river at times. I have never kept any that I catch so I did not measure any. I look at the depth mostly 8-10 feet with the crankbaits I'm using. I have some that go 18-20 ft but have not tried them yet. Funny thing, we never mark any fish when we are trolling so I guess they are scatterred on the bottom at various spots behind rocks, in depressions, or behind some kind of small cover.

The water was lower today than my last trip and although we got hung-up 4-5 times we did not lose a lure. After catching a few and the channel cat one of my crankbaits stopped running true and started to twirl a bit. I retied and tried to ensure everything was straight but it did not work so I guess I kind of did lose one lure today.

Jerdog was using the Splatter Back and happily mentioned Jason when he caught a nice one. I only had one left so I was using something I found cheap called Matzuo WartHogs. I found them on discount at one of my favorite places to buy from - http://www.gofishin.com so it was not a full lure price, but maybe that's why it gave out on me...

I figure if I'm not getting hung-up then the lure is not bouncing bottom in the strike zone so I had just made a homemade plug-knocker to try out (5oz sinker with a huge snap swivel tied to it). Luckily I did not have to use it. My buddy Jeff and I plan to try in the morning about 9-10am, but the generation schedule says no water until 1:00pm... I will let you know how it goes.

 

[polo-dog]

Thanks DHaun, If there is no current in the AM do you have a plan for hooking up? I would suggest that you try to fish holes if you can find them. If you are fishing below Nickajack, you might want to try fishing the channel of the Sequachie where it runs into the TN river. There is a definity channel there and if you fish it before the river starts to move you can have a better idea where the channel is and how to fish it when the water starts flowing. There are times when big smallies stack up there and I would expect more activity when the water is flowing but you may be able to fish it vertically before the water starts flowing which is really impossible when the water is flowing. It's pretty deep out there near the river channel so fishing crankbaits deep enough may not be an option when the river is flowing and the presentation along the Sequachie channel would be accross the current and not with the current which would be less optimal. Do let me know how it goes. The TVA website does say that there will be no flow until 6pm tomorrow below Nickajack. Maybe fishing below Chickamauga would be better, as you said, flow after 1pm.

 

[DHaun]

Thanks for the info on Sequatchie! I will definitely try it next time I go to Nickajack if things are slow below the Dam. I have never checked it out when there was not any current but it looked like a decent place to try the few times I have seen it.

Tomorrow is going to be at Chickamauga again. I know of a few deep water holes I can try with a 3/4 oz spoon jig or medium size shiners. If there is no water and things are slow then I may also try for cats near the Dam if I can catch a skipjack to cut up. Looks like it's going to be a nice day with a bit more sunshine and cooler - I will just be glad to be back out on the water emoCool