drumking, Chickamauga Headwaters, Rockfish and Smallmouth, 10 July 2012, Dr Phillip Gawthrop
I finally got Dr Phil out in the boat for the first time is so long that I can't even remember the last trip together. He was out of fish and wanted to catch a Rockfish, so we took a little trip this morning. We got in the water before daylight and ran up to the dam and on the very first drift, I hooked up with a Rockfish and the fight was on.
The fish didn't even realize that it was hooked for what seemed like 30 seconds, then it began to give us that "reel" music that we love to hear. At first, I thought it was 7 lb or so, but after taking so long to subdue this fish on light tackle (6 lb test fluorocarbon), the fish finally came to net. A beauty that was 34 inches long and topped the scales at 17 lbs 7 ozs. It made it back home to Dr Phil's house. I have to keep him in fish to keep him healthy. emoBigsmile
That was the last Rockfish that we caught this morning. Must have been the Lone Ranger or Tonto, cause we never landed another one. But, I did catch a pretty smallie that gave a good account of himself. Released after taking a pic for the forum. Phil got in on the action by landing a couple of white bass to get the skunk smell off him. I can't make a trip up to the dam without catching a couple of my pets. Fun, but they don't eat too good. Phil was all for releasing them back to the water. emoBigsmile
There was a couple more boats came up and tied off to the bluff and we saw one lady catch a dandy Rockfish. She was so happy. We could here her yell and laugh while taking pics of the fish. One other boat landed what looked like a couple of Rockfish too. I believe that all those other boats were live bait fishing. (Cheating) emoPoke Dr Phil and I stuck with the sporting way to fish; with jigs and plastic trailers. The Rockfish that I caught was on a chartreuse swimbait about 1/2 oz.
3 turbines running and the water was perfect. We saw what appeared to be a lot of skippies tearing up the minnows. Ospreys and a pair of Bald Eagles made for an enjoyable morning of nature watching. Lots of ducks, and other aquatic birds up there have a blast. We quit fishing at 8:30 AM and came back home. Just finished breakfast and time to post the report. emoBigsmile emoGeezer
I finally got Dr Phil out in the boat for the first time is so long that I can't even remember the last trip together. He was out of fish and wanted to catch a Rockfish, so we took a little trip this morning. We got in the water before daylight and ran up to the dam and on the very first drift, I hooked up with a Rockfish and the fight was on.
The fish didn't even realize that it was hooked for what seemed like 30 seconds, then it began to give us that "reel" music that we love to hear. At first, I thought it was 7 lb or so, but after taking so long to subdue this fish on light tackle (6 lb test fluorocarbon), the fish finally came to net. A beauty that was 34 inches long and topped the scales at 17 lbs 7 ozs. It made it back home to Dr Phil's house. I have to keep him in fish to keep him healthy. emoBigsmile
That was the last Rockfish that we caught this morning. Must have been the Lone Ranger or Tonto, cause we never landed another one. But, I did catch a pretty smallie that gave a good account of himself. Released after taking a pic for the forum. Phil got in on the action by landing a couple of white bass to get the skunk smell off him. I can't make a trip up to the dam without catching a couple of my pets. Fun, but they don't eat too good. Phil was all for releasing them back to the water. emoBigsmile
There was a couple more boats came up and tied off to the bluff and we saw one lady catch a dandy Rockfish. She was so happy. We could here her yell and laugh while taking pics of the fish. One other boat landed what looked like a couple of Rockfish too. I believe that all those other boats were live bait fishing. (Cheating) emoPoke Dr Phil and I stuck with the sporting way to fish; with jigs and plastic trailers. The Rockfish that I caught was on a chartreuse swimbait about 1/2 oz.
3 turbines running and the water was perfect. We saw what appeared to be a lot of skippies tearing up the minnows. Ospreys and a pair of Bald Eagles made for an enjoyable morning of nature watching. Lots of ducks, and other aquatic birds up there have a blast. We quit fishing at 8:30 AM and came back home. Just finished breakfast and time to post the report. emoBigsmile emoGeezer
