Chickamauga Dam 11-11

[DHaun]

Took the day off and went out with Jerdog on his boat below the Dam from 7:00am-1:30pm. I had a few shiners ready to go and we went up below the dam to start drifting them. It was a pretty cool morning but it warmed up after the sun came out. We drifted every possible angle and fished at every depth. We threw spoons, shad lures, and trolled crank baits and redfins. There were 2 other boats drifting skipjack and they didn't do anything either...one guy said he had hooked small catfish and that was it. Finally Jerdog got a quick hit on a shiner and then I caught the smallmouth right after (pic below). I also caught a largemouth by the wingwall but for the most part today it was ChickaNOTTA and we did not see a single striper.

After that we decided to troll downstream for smallies and still had no luck. They turned a turbine off later that morning and the current had weakened so we went down to a deep water hole I know of and started jigging spoons, soaking shiners on the bottom, and throwing small jigs. We caught a skipjack, 3 bream, about 10 small stripe, and 10 small bass. There was one huge fish that kept busting bait near the bank like a nice striper so we flatlined the skipjack out for about 4 drifts...it died of boredom. All other fish safely released. All the fish were small and in that deep hole today except for the smallmouth in the pic. I was hoping for some bigger fish in the boils but 25 small fish was a nice day and it's still way better than going to work!

 

[drc]

Nice looking bass DHaun, did you get it around the rockpile, judging from the pic it looks like your pretty close to it.

 

[DHaun]

Thanks drc. Yep, I guess we were about 20 yards upstream from the rockpile drifting right towards it.

 

[flip1up]

Nice smallie, that fish has been eating well too.

 

[polo-dog]

DHaun, Nice smallie. Were you using a drop shot rig on your drifts, and how high off the bottom were you fishing? How much weight does it take to keep contact with the bottom there by the dam? About how much did that smallie weigh?

 

[DHaun]

Yes, I really like that drop shot rig. I alternated between 1oz and 1/2 oz egg sinkers (depending on the current) held on with a split shot. I lossed about 7 of them today as they pulled off from being hung the rocks, but I kept my circle hooks and could quickly replace the lost lead and get back into the water! If I felt bottom then I would just reel up enough to bounce the sinker (12-15" below the hook) along the rocks. I never weighed the smallie, it was not 18" but was the biggest fish we caught today...

 

[polo-dog]

I have forgotten about how deep is the water there below Chick dam. Was your presentation mostly vertical or did you cast away from the boat? Is there a hole somewhere down from the boils there below the dam or do you have to go farther down the river to find the holes?

 

[DHaun]

Water depth varies from 6-12 feet. Shallower downstream from the turbines and deeper downstream and left from the wingwall. Presentation was about 50/50 vertical and casting away...casting away when your'e not catching anything trying to get to better water or when you already know where the fish are stacked up. There are several deep holes that I have scouted on the river...all further downstream, but there area also good-looking varying water depths below the RR bridge due to the channel meeting the rockpile extension. Yesterday, the fish seemed to be on the downstream side of the hole as it started to get shallow again.

 

[polo-dog]

Thanks DHaun, it's always nice to have an idea what things are like before you get there to fish. I haven't done any live bait fishing below that dams but I think that it is the way to catch the most fish. I am really hoping to get down there sometime in the next few weeks.