Kayak drifting for cats/stripers

[Gravy Jones]

Hi all,

My brother in law and I kayak fish and are looking to get into some cats and/or stripers near the dam next weekend (Chickamauga). We're typically salt water guys, so could use some tips on what's working right now as far as bait/lures/rigging goes. Any pointers y'all could offer would be super helpful. When drifting for cats, are you using some sort of bottom rig? Or something under a float? What kind of bait is working right now? Any particular parts of the channel more productive than others? Any snag hazards to watch out for? I run a fish finder on the yak, so locating structure/depth changes are no problem.

As far as the dam itself goes, I know it presents some obvious safety concerns (especially from a kayak). We are used to surf/BTB paddling, as well as pretty stout ICW tidal currents. But don't have much experience with flows around the dam when the generators are running or when the lock opens. We are planning on watching the release schedules and trying to work around them. And also would stay a pretty good minimum distance from the dam itself. But any water behavior pointers y'all could offer would also be great. Hows the current when the generators start running or when the lock opens? We wouldn't get close to either one, but I'm curious how swift things get, especially as you drift downstream from the dam and past the rail bridge? If the generators are running, and the current is too much, we may head over to the lake side.

This is my first post on this site, but I'm pretty excited about finding it. It looks like its full of good information.

Also, if there are any other kayak guys on the forum, it would be great to meet you at some point.

 

[JaSkynyrd]

I kayak fish alot and I wouldn't get within 200 feet of the dam when it's generating. The current schedule up now is unusual, They usually keep things pretty tight as far as CFS goes, so the 40k swing today is weird. I would say a average flow is around 25,000 cfs, and at that flow you probably couldn't even get close to the dam, but if you were thinking of drifting from below the railroad bridge a few times that might be possible, but I would be sucking wind after the second paddle up.

 

[foodsaver]

I wouldn't think the lock would pose any problems but I don't think you want to get very close to the dam... I would find some holes a little further down river if you want to tangle with a big cat.

 

[SethColeman]

I like to use large shiners (get from jacks bait and tackle)from the railroad bridge down. You can catch just about anything on them: stripe,smallys,spots,largemouth,gar, and big cats. When we get close to the dam we use cut chicken breast for bait. As for rig, I will use a carolina rig with 1oz weight or bigger depending on the current. I will go as small as a half oz bell sinker rigged on a 3 way swivel as well. As for snags, its gonna happen not much you can do about it. The closer to the dam the worse it gets. If you drift the banks across from the Riverpark you are gonna get a lot of gar stealing your bait. If you go just below the second bridge there is a nice deep hole next to the bank in front of downed trees that hold some pretty nice cats. Good luck and let us know how you do. I hope you get a monster blue and it drags the boat around!!!lol

 

[marc2007]

i dont think that i would ever want to try that, i go in my boat and it scares me,but i guess that would be fun if thats how you role

 

[tcb423]

not safe close in a kayak scarey in a boat lol but hope you have good luck any one know what the bass are hitting around this area .. besides the shinners like cranks /spiners ect

 

[Gravy Jones]

Thanks for the info guys. Just the kind of feedback I was looking for. If the release schedule says they are not generating early in the morning, we may give it a shot and just keep our distance. If they are releasing, we'll go further down stream or elswhere. Any other suggestion for good holes for big cats other than below the dam? How's the lake side of the dam? Would really love to hook up to something fat that will take us on a sleigh ride.

 

[Fishheadspin]

love kayak fishing. i will take surf landing over TVA crash landing any day! i am not getting near the dam in my kayak!

 

[Labman]

I have had my kayak near the dam when low generation, no big deal. Probably wouldn't enjoy it at 40k generation though. If you have experience launching in surf and tidal bores, shouldn't be a problem. Not recommending one way or another, just my past experience. It seems like the yak almost rides above the current and is not affected as much as a boat would be. I would think drifting shad or shiners would be productive. As with most tailwaters you never know what you are going to get. Can throw sm flukes, flutter spoons, spinners, etc and catch bass, white bass, stripers if they are up there, and of course occasional cat. Lots of fun in the tailwaters, even below the railroad bridge is a good drift. Just depends on the current. The lock opening is not a problem at all.

Regrds, Labman

 

[tnhooker]

Kayaks are designed to float high and ride the flow down stream. They are not designed to be paddled upstream against the current. You would be a tired puppy if you do this. If the dam is releasing 40K or better, you're going to go down stream and pretty fast. I use a boat with an engine and leave it running so I can run up, float down, and repeat. Sometimes I don't go near the generators when the flow is high. Please use caution.