Fishing Chickamauga 10/12

[polo-dog]

Fished from 12 to about 2:45 today. The lake level was holding steady or just a tiny bit up from yesterday AM. Jmax, fished just outside the shallow areas first out to 15-18 ft of water without takers. Moved to the shallow areas with grass just under the surface and there was little activity and no takers until some bass started moving the shad in 6-12 inches of water. They were small but fun. Caught three or four off a very shallow point with scattered grass on a chug bug. The only way to get a hit was wait to see them rush the bait and cast to the action. There was tons of bait in the shallows but none molested until about 12:45. Decided to move out towards deeper water to find bigger fish. Saw some bigger shad that were being molested here and there over and near a submerged roadbed but couldn't get a strike. Fished rattletraps and splatterbacks in deeper water off the shallow flats and marked lots of fish but no takers. Ran over to Harrison Bay State park to hit some old faithful shallow stumps and there were takers there. Big black balls of bait being harrassed and clobbered by bass in 10-12 inches in stumps and caught a couple there. Still with the chug bug. Couldn't get anything to bite in the 3-10 ft stumpbeds. Had to get to work so had to leave them. I will get out one of the next few mornings for the morning bite and figure on more and bigger fish. Lots of shallow bait will draw them out.

 

[Jmax]

Hey polo-dog thanks for the report. The deer in Arkansas are calling my name this weekend and I am going to go after Bambi's dad. Muzzle loading season starts there this Saturday and I will be out there to see if one will come my way. Keep up the reports so when I get back I will know what I missed.JmaxemoSmile

 

[polo-dog]

Too bad we can't fish Fri. or Sat. AM. I hope to be out there if I can get up for it. I wish you well in thinning the herd. Lots of Bambi's out back of my place but it isn't my property and they don't want anybody shooting any of us out on our road. I hope that TVA doesn't drop the bottom out of the lake come Sat. I would expect that the fish will be active with the stable weather. I guess we'll see.

 

[Jmax]

Hey polo-dog even if they do you know those fish will be near by. Try the deep cut first where there is that heavy thick grass. Start with your chug bug you like so well. Than if they are not there hit the points on the back side away from the river and I don't know if I would not use a rooster white in that medium size. It was all I could do to keep CCSM from kicking my arse in my own boat. I will have one tied on next time myself. Pretty bad to be beat out of the back of my boat, on my spots, in my areas that I was showing him. That back side has the boat lane down it and they may go there to the first drop in the bottom contour of the lake. Good luck, JmaxemoSmile

 

[RangerRob]

Alright, you two are speaking in code emoSmile !!

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

Yes Code, and I can understand it!!!!! You know I was thinking (scary I know!) and while I did catch a lot of fish on the trip on 10/8 with Jmax with the white rooster tail, I don't know why I didn't try a small willow leaf spinner bait in white. I think it would have been just as good and I wouldn't have had to fight the line twist you get with the inline spinner! I don't know if I'll be able to get out this weekend, but if so I'll post the results -- good, bad, or ugly.

ChooChooSnakeMan
2000 Viper Coral 202 / Merc 225 EFI

 

[polo-dog]

Jmax, Rub a dub dub two men in a tub. I'll be in my tub. 10/14/05 ru @ 85.13287 35.14034 or 85.13892 35.16387?
I lt u no.

 

[Jmax]

C M ducks. M R not Ducks. M R 2. C M wings. U R right M R 2 ducks. I C M wings.emoEnforce

Couldn't help myself, I had to. JmaxemoToast

 

[drc]

Yesterday on 10/12 I got out on the river in the frist time in months and was very pleased. Launched the boat from Blyth-ferry on the upper end of the Chick about 7:15 am. Headed down river and stopped in the first cove on the left (don't know what it's called) and caught about 5 bass with only one of them a keeper, caught several small stripes and one small crappie around a boat dock. Water temp was about 73 degrees and all bass were caught on a shallow running crankbait in chartruce. Most fish were caught in the very back of the cove in water less that 4ft deep although I tried some places that were 7-10ft deep with no luck.

About 10:00am we headed down to grasshopper and caught several more small fish, my buddy did catch one nice largemouth about 4-4.5lbs on a t-rigged lizzard. I caught a couple more small bass and stripes. The fish here were slaughtering the large schools of shad, again in water less than 4ft deep. It was almost like sight fishing without looking for beds. Just about any open pocket in the grass would hold a fish.

Next we headed across to sale creek and fished along some of the deeper bluffs that were in the 25-30ft range. I caught 2 that were around 12inches on a june bug finess worm and also tried live minnows on a jig head with no success. I was marking fish like crazy but we just couldn't get them to bite.

On the way back to the ramp we stopped at the barge tie offs and fished minnows on jigheads again. I ended up catching two 5lb channel cats and 3 small bass.

Ended up fishing from about 7:30am to 2:30pm mostly fishing very shallow water in the back of coves. There was a lot of action in the first two we tried with big bass blowing up on the large, numerous schools of shad. All of my fish were caught in shallow water with shallow running crankbaits, weightless t-rigged pumpkinseed 4in senkos, or live minnows. Does anyone have any suggestions to help improve my gameplan (lures, color,size), keep with the shallows or try more deep water? Or just castnet some of the shad and live bait? I'm not a tourney fisherman so livebaiting doesn't bother me.lol.

 

[Jmax]

Good post thanks for the imput. I like the Natural zara puppy and when you see a blow up pitch that right in on top of it and they usually will hit it. A silver buddy run over the grass is also a good one to try. Very good search bait. Polo-dog loves the chug bug and you can do the same with it as the puppy. CCSM but me on that rooster tail and it must look like a shad to those bass and they were nailing that thing. Maybe those baits will help. Jmax

 

[jason]

If you just want quantity, try Strike King's Rocket Shad. Similar to the rooster tail, it is an in-line spinner, but it gives off more vibration. For quality, try some big and bulky soft plastics or jigs...shad are all the "rage" right now, but big bertha will expend less energy munching a brushhog or a jig-n-craw.

 

[drc]

I did try other lures with no success. A Zara Puppy, white 3/8 jig, flukes in three diffrent colors and sizes and few others I can't think of right now, but didn't get bit. A rooster tail would have probably done it but it never even entered my mind. How would you keep it from getting fouled in the grass?

Heading to Chick dam to do a little bank fishing, I'll let you guy's know how I do.

 

[jason]

Burn it just over the edge of the grass or through the surface action. If you stall it right in the middle of the bait ball, the bigger bass sit below waiting for injured shad to spiral down to them.