Fort loudon dam

[nate2800]

Would like some advice from those who fish below the dam. My dad is coming down from ky next month to try to catch some stripe and i hear that is the place to catch the big stripe ..I thought about taking him to loudon but have never been myself. So my question is are the shad easy to get? Is it easier to get on the wing wall or the bank side? Is there anything I need to know about ? Drift fishing the same( just pick a line and drift)?? I don't want anybodys honey hole just some advice.. Thanks in advance...

 

[SNUFFY]

been a lot of people fishing below the dam...a lot of guides and regulars too. I cant `tell you anything about catchin bait or how they`re fishing..I don`t fish for `em.... just drive by about everyday. Current/generation is usually key.

 

[Etoncathunter]

Ages ago back when I was a kid we would go there for stripe. This was back in the late 80"s early 90's. Most cases we had the best luck netting bait at that small dam/spillway on the east side of the river about 1/2 mi down stream. If we couldn't get any there we would some times do ok at the main dam near the wall between the turbines and spillways. That was ~20 years ago, so dunno if anything has changed. As far as the fishing goes I don't remember much details on strategy. We'd just run up as close as we dared to the boils, drop a Carolina rigged shad to the bottom, crank up about 2-3 turns off the bottom, and drift to about the boat ramp and repeat. That's about all I remember.

 

[nate2800]

So the small dam u speak of. Is it always spilling?andthat sounds about the same way ive fished the dams below loudon.

 

[Etoncathunter]

yeah, now granted this is coming from a 20 year memory from when I was ~12. BUT I THINK there was a pipe that ran over the top of the spillway gate that was always flowing. Not the spillway itself. I may have it confused with another one though.

 

[nate2800]

Thanks

 

[buzz]

nate. I was up there a year or so ago. The guy that took us out, a friend, gave us tsunami lures. You can order these on line. Big rubber/w/leadhead and hooks in them. We literally got wore out using them. Bouncing them off the bottom. I think our smallest was in the 20 lb range...up to 35lb. Lures ranges from 5in...up to 8". The next day...our friend was fishing and Hank Parker and guide was watching him catch them. My buddy talked to Hank P and gave him some of his lures. It was suppose to be on his TV show. I have never seen it aired tho.

 

[SNUFFY]

Cathunter has it right...it is a big pipe that constantly flows water. That is the "spillover" dam of the Tellico Dam. At times of the year It is pretty good for bait from what I see driving by.

 

[Mikie]

Swim Baits and large jigs with trailer work well. They will also hit bream. Just saying, incase you can't get any shad.

 

[nate2800]

When r the stripe there the best.

 

[nate2800]

how close can u get to the turbines up there??A buddy just told me he heard you cant go all the way to the turbines ... is this true?

 

[SNUFFY]

You can go right to the tunnels it comes out of. There are a few rock piles to watch out for during winter pool.

 

[nate2800]

Rock piles??all over or a area??

 

[SNUFFY]

they are scattered and not many.....maybe half dozen in 3-500 yards below dam. Easily seen at winter pool. Not a problem right now from what I`ve seen.

 

[buzz]

And fish all around those rocks, especially behind them. I suggest heavy or braided line. YOUR gonna get hung...promise.

 

[nate2800]

thanks guys im gonna go up saturday and try it out...

 

[Shark]

I'm planning a trip up there to fish with a friend around the 1st of Sept. It will be crowded if you fish from the banks on the weekend. We will try to catch some bait as well and fight the crowds.

FYI - Hank Parker did a fishing show there. It aired about 2 months ago.

 

[foodsaver]

you are talking about bo rice I believe. We went with him last summer at watts bar.

 

[team-d]

It was awesome fishing 5-6 years ago until the NC guides started showing up. I haven't been there in a couple years because it wasn't a lot of fun any more fighting the crowds. The boils from the turbines there are pretty violent, much more than Watts Bar or Chickamauga so be careful. If you can get in a "seam" just downstream and between the boils and have someone hold the boat with the main motor throw swimbaits or livebait into the concrete "caves" on the dam. You can also catch them drifting down from the boils, live bait is definitely the best for that. Tellico dam is great for baits, if they are there you will load up right away. There is also a small creek coming in a little farther downstream on the other side of the river where I've netted shad. Don't try to get inside one of the concrete caves like they do at Chickamauga, the water is too violent. There are plenty of rockpiles out in the spillway basin that will take a bite out of your prop, especially once they start dropping the water, be careful. Watch how other boats are running up to the dam, hug the wingwall of the navigation lock all the way to the spillway basin and then cut over to the powerhouse. Of course a lot of idiots run straight up the river right over the top of the fish and put them down.

 

[nate2800]

thanks for all the advice guys.. i went saturday and caught 7 , 1 was pushing 30 lbs.. we had a great time and there were several guides up there that didnt care a bit in the world to cut u off..thanks team d we tried thee telico dam for bait and couldnt get it there.. we ended up getting it in the first cove on the left coming back down from the dam.. ill try the creek next time... anyone know if the stripe are still up there in the middle of sept.?? and thanks again guys!!