Fishing 11-15

[drc]

polo, I have fished every spot you circled on the hiwassee map and caught some good ones. I haven't ever fished the other places but I'm bitting at the bit to get on those rock dikes on the breedenton map!
The one thing that sets WattsBar apart from the few places Iv'e tried on the Chick is consistantsy. If I were to fish 5 days aroung the hiwassee island and bluffs I might get one or two big fish but up on the Bar landing a couple of 20lbers is a slow day. But I know the Chick is just as good I just need to do my part and cover some water and try new places. It's just hard to do now that I have the bass fishing fever!

 

[polo-dog]

I know the feeling. I like bass fishing for some reasons and I like catfish fishing for other reasons. They both pull on me. What have you found to be the best catfish bait, does it matter which species you are after? I have not used cut bait but I know some people swear by skipjacks. I've only played around with threadfins because they are so available. When I go for flatheads it seems like they are always after my bass baits, mostly anything that looks like a crawdad. I have heard that flatheads aren't some much scavengers as are blues and channel cats and that would go along with me catching them on active baits rather than dead baits.
I'm glad that those spots look good to you too. At least we're on the same wavelength. They do look like spots where predators would stack up and have easy pickings when the big balls of bait get washed by.

 

[drc]

Yeah, I'm one of the people that swear by skipjack. They are the best bait for blues IMO followed by gizzard shad. Once in a while I'll fish for flatheads with big live bluegill but usually end up catching blues or LM bass, I never fish for channel but if I did I would use chicken liver or night crawlers. Iv'e heard that flatheads will bite both cut and live bait in the fall and winter, but don't know if it's true or not. I'm going to run by cottonport this weekend and see how the boat ramp looks, if every thing looks in order I may try and hit those rockdikes in the next week or two.

 

[DHaun]

Thanks for the maps! I don't ever get up that way but that is some generous info! This is one of those threads that really has some value for those catfisherman who end up stumbling across it.

I wonder if anyone has ever fished the bluffs around the Veterans Bridge here in Chattanooga. I have been looking at them going to work in the morning thinking about scouting them out a bit... Moccasin Bend is my first choice for cats since it has a few deep rocky holes, but I have been told of some monsters down by the Raccoon Mtn facility...never fished it though.

I have also read about the old Hales Bar Dam and the rubble containing cats, once again never been that way though. I love fishing for huge fish! Knowing they are around here saves me the trouble of going all the way to the Gulf to get my fix.

 

[polo-dog]

DHaun, I know the feeling. Fishing for big fish has something to be said for it. I have been a diehard basser from way back but with the availability of the big cats in the river, they are hard to pass up. The way I look at it is, if I want to eat fish I catch bluegills. If I want to catch numbers of fish, I fish for stripes. If I want to fish for big fish I will fish for cats, and hope to learn how to fish for stripers some day. If I want to fish only artificials or shad are not available, I fish for bass. There is an art to fishing for all of them and I enjoy figuring each of them out. Oh, and in the winter, I know where to catch lots of big crappies too. I rarely eat them as my kids don't like the texture as well as they do bluegills. I am still in the hunt for that big flathead and fished my hole today for about 30 minutes. That's all it takes to see if they are there. Caught my first two fish on 2lb test, both bass. It will cool off some in the next few days and the cats will be on the spot. The water temp in the creek was 57 this afternoon. They usually aren't in there until the water is in the low 50s. I sure hope that I hook one bigger than 30lbs right off as if it takes an hour or more to land the fish it will be a waste if it's not close to a record. I hope not to have to wade through a bunch of smaller ones. I caught one that was 26lbs last year on 4lb test. If I can find the digital pic I'll post it.

 

[DHaun]

My addiction to fishing comes from the unknown of it all when I was a kid seeing my zebco yanked off the dock...I finally learned to tie it up overnight with a stringer and throw out cutbait. I guess that's why I like below the Dams so much since there is a mystery to what you might catch and a decent population of big fish.

Saltwater really gets me going because you never know how big or mean it might be, but these cats and stripers around here can tear into your gear and make you feel the same. I have found that if the cats are in a spot they should let you know in 15 minutes...otherwise I move. I also agree with drc on the cutbait...skipjack has always worked best for me. I also find that they drop the bait if they feel resistance so I use a line alarm/free-spool and an egg sinker/swivel to let them take off with it before I set the hook.

Are you using a bait cast with a ton of 2lb line on it? I would think a reel with some extra capacity might be useful. Is it still a line record if you use a leader? The way they twist and get rolled up in the line I would want to try some floro and a barrel swivel for line twist if it is legal. Is this a State or National line record? What is it you are shooting for in species & weight? Do you plan on taking it to Hamiltons to have it weighed if you get one? Do you need a witness on the boat for it to be legal? Sounds fun Polo-dog, Go get-em, I'm rootin for ya!

 

[polo-dog]

Here's that pic.

 

[drc]

Is it hard to get a good hook set using 2lb test? And what do you do if you have a fish on that you know is under say 15lbs? Will you break him off and retie or do you just play him out?

 

[polo-dog]

DHaun, a swivel is legal and I forgot to add that this year, I will change that. I am using a spinning reel and since I am in a boat, what I normally do is follow the fish, so I don't need large amounts of line. Once I hook them I just stay right over the top of them and follow them with my trolling motor until they give up. You just hope and pray that they don't get the 2lb test over a rock or into some brush. Last year that fish got under a branch for a few seconds, I could feel it grating on the leader but luckily he got out of it. The world line class record for flatheads on 2lb line is I believe 32 lbs or close to that. I called up the IGFA last year and got the particulars. They have a website but you have to pay a yearly fee for a subscription. I haven't called them back. I have caught flatheads bigger than that record out of my hole in years past and I always let them go, so I know that there could easily be a record there. Once you get them hooked on skinny line, it's just a waiting game. Last year it took me 45 minutes to beat that 26 lber and it was still a bit green. I stuck a few more big ones last year and they either got off or broke off. You never see them until right before you can grab them so if they get off you never know how big they were. Learning to back reel is really the best way to whip a big fish with light line as otherwise you do get some line twist and the line breaks because of the angular stresses, at least that's what I've been told. I also plan to use a net this year, I've always lipped them before but lost a couple that way too. I don't think that you have to have a witness in the boat but it's a pain getting them in the boat by yourself! I've done it a couple of times with light line and I'm glad that I'm still flexible and have a good back. In the next month or so is when I would expect the big ones in my hole, if I get close to the record I'll let you know.

 

[polo-dog]

drc, setting the hook seems to be the biggest problem that I have with the light line. With four pound test it seemed like I got the hook in them pretty well. With two pound I haven't been able to keep them on for more than a minute or two. To set the hook well you need to give the max that 2 pound will give you but then you have to back off the drag as a back up as I'm not the best at back reeling and sometimes they just take off too fast. I'm still working on the logistics but I think that if I stick a few and keep them on for a few minutes I'll get the hang of it. The problem is that I only get a small number of chances at them each year. I have thought that circle hooks and not ever "setting the hook" might be the answer but I catch them with a jig and craw trailer and I don't know where to get live "dads". I think that I'll get a good one if I keep working at it.