Chickamauga Dam Saturday & Sunday

[DHaun]

Saturday Night: Went below Chickamauga Dam from 7:45-8:45 pm and threw a chug bug on my spinning reel and glowshad on my baitcaster. The chugbug looked so good spitting and dancing in the eddies it even made me hungry to look at it...I thought for sure it would get nailed, but no luck. I am still leaving it tied on for next time I am on some flat water. I caught my biggest bass on a lure like this on a private pond and I think I may need to go back and try it there. I only had an hour to fish b/c Nikie and I were meeting to see a late movie (Cinderella Man is a great movie btw), but next time I plan on staying a little later into the dark...

The 1oz-5" glowshad came through as is typical. I was using a new knot I had learned to tie from FL Sportsman magazine called a "loop knot" which is supposed to give a jig more action so I was anxious to try it out and test its strength against the palomar and fishermen knot I usually tie them on with.

If there is such thing as a junkfish grand slam then I almost hit it last night. A gar kept chasing it each time I reeled it in from downstream and finally hit it in the right spot and cut my line after flailing around a bit close to the bank. I then caught a small striper 3-4 lbs. If it had been a shad or a cat I may have had the slam...emoBigsmile I also noticed a couple striper caught from the pier and a couple small smallies (or maybe one was a crappie) on minnows by the guy fishing next to me.

The exciting part happened when I caught this big drum (25lb estimate) that I thought for sure was a monster 40lb rockfish. All I could think of was this may be the biggest rockfish I have ever caught and I forgot the camera again... It peeled off the drag in 4-5 good runs, and then quickly cut through the current heading away from me pulling hard on 17lb line. I thought for sure he was going to cut me off by digging into the downstream rocks but I horsed him out and the hook/knot held for me. When I finally got him by the rocks to remove the hook he splashed water up in my face a few times like a hybrid and when I lipped him he slammed my hand against a rock as payback. I have hooked bigger, but this seemed like the meanest and strongest fighting drum I have ever caught. Yeah, I sure wish it was a rockfish, but it was my first big fish below the dam from the bank, it fought so hard my legs felt like rubber, and I have a couple bruises on my ribs this morning from the butt of the rod so I'll take a mean drum any day!

Folks in FL chase redfish (red drum) - they even have tournaments for them - the black drum is also sought after for a good fight and tablefare. They look similar, fight similar, and I assume taste very different, but the freshwater drum is considered a junkfish up here...That's fine with me b/c I like catching big fish and they do the trick for me when nothing else is biting and you only have an hour to fish! All fish safely released.


Sunday Afternoon: Went from about 3:30-6:00 pm about 100-150 yards above the railroad bridge. I threw the glow shad for about 20 minutes and then got nailed - I thought certainly this must be the rockfish I have been waiting on...Then after about 3 good runs I felt the telltale roll of a catfish. It was a good fight in that current and as I was just about to land him someone yelled down from the top of the rocks "whatcha got there?" Well it just so happens we knew eachother so he estimated my fish to be about 12lbs and then he (being a Dr) said " I recommend that you do not eat it". Sound advice - I just laughed and said I barely even eat fresh trout. I remembered that I had packed the camera this time so I took a picture. I would not have been so sure, but this confirms that blue cats will definitly eat a glowshad.

After about an hour or so a school of small striper started feeding on minnows on the surface busting the water right in front of me. I caught about 15 of these fun little guys on my ultralight with a small Yozuri minnow - took a pic of one too. Also caught one small skipjack and kept him for the freezer to save for catfish bait. All other fish safely released.

 

[jason]

I actually enjoy catching an occasional drum. On the Hiwassee, they will pick up a black/blue jig and fight like no bass ever does. Several times I've thought I had the new state record largemouth on my line...until it doesn't jump and digs straight to deep water!

 

[polo-dog]

Great job DHaun! When you fish below the dam do you fish with your glowshad brining it up stream, down stream, or accross the current? Do you bounce it off the bottom, and if so do you get hung up much? Fishing in fast current like below the dams always seems tough to me. I guess that I just haven't done enough of it. Is that a Amb. 5500 or 6500 reel that I see? I love the ones I've owned. The only problem that I have ever had with one is the new one with the anti-reverse. The reel just doesn't engage every time I start to reel. Does anyone know a good local reel repair man? I have a couple that need a little help that I can't seem to give. I have the name of the guy down in Rossville but it's so far away that I just haven't gotten down there.

 

[DHaun]

I use a 6500 with 17lb stren and a 7.5" medium-heavy rod. I lose about 3-5 jigs to the rocks each trip.

If throwing from the bank I throw upstream about 45 degrees into the current as far as I can get it out and quickly reel in the slack line while allowing the lure to sink. As soon as I feel it hit the bottom I raise the rod as if I was worm fishing for bass keeping the lure just out of the rocks reeling fast enough just to take out the slack - just allowing it to bounce downstream. This takes some practice to find the strike zone without losing numerous lures to the rocks. The rate at which the lure sinks also changes with the current speed, throwing in another thing to consider. The fish are mostly behind the rocks out of the swift current waiting to ambush a shad so that's where I get most of my fish. On occasion they have been slightly suspended though and have hit it on the drop. I assume this method is basically the same for most tailwaters around here. I need to try at Watts Bar or Melton Hill someday to find out for sure. Sometimes I throw straight out rather than upstream to cover different angles. I never throw downstream. One thing with the glowshad is that I rarely catch anything unless it is bouncing along the bottom and sometime moving up/down the bank can help cover more area for fish. There are known hotspots at different points from the bank that one can learn based on the time of day and frequency of fish caught.

Everything changes from a boat since you can place the drift in and out of various rates of current based on where you are in relation to the wingwall and where they are pulling water. From a boat I just cast out and let it sink to the bottom slowly bouncing it off the rocks as I drift. The guys I have seen using threadfin seem to be catching suspended fish just out of the current in the eddies that form because they just have a single hook with a split shot, much lighter than the glowshad...I am not sure if they are on bottom or not, but one guy told me for sure the fish he was catching were all suspended 10-12 ft down.

I use a Penn 4400ss spinning reel - their website has a form and instructions for sending them a reel to repair. Your reel manufacturer may have the same, although it may take longer than a local repair shop.