Monday night dogfight report 7/18

[ranman]

The saga continues.
I wanted to try something different last night since we have been doing so bad lately,so I went off chasing a rumor I had heard way back in March about some BIG spotted bass on a bluff bank across from bowater.
So we started out fishing a jig and a tube in a little current break on the main channel in about 8-10 ft of water, I don't know if there were alot of fish there or not but my partner got a 14and3/4 in spot right off the bat.Story of my tournaments all year 1/4 in short of a keeper(spots and largemouth must be 15 in to weigh in)well after about an hour I just wasn't feeling it so I decided to move back down river to gunnstocker creek to fish the shallow grass.I thought with the water up and stained the fish would pull up into the shallows and would be scattered so I tied on a buzz bait put the trolling motor on high and started casting like Kevin Van Dam.It worked.sort of.
I caught tons of fish but I just couldn't get the big bite that I was looking for.
nothing over 13 or 14 inches.But I don't feel like I did that bad,all of the heavy hitters that run down to the TN. and fished the deep humps zeroed last night and the team that won it did the same thing I did only they got em on spinnerbaits and a jig.11 pounds and something won it and the kicker fish they caught was with about 2 min. to go right at the mouth of the marina! But they were doing the same thing I did which tells me my instincts are getting better.
We did manage to find a sweet little school of crappie that my partner was catching on a rattle trap on the new rip rap they are dumping for the new bridge.
So the thats my report for this week,still no win but there is always next week!

 

[DHaun]

Great report Ranman! You may not have won, but it still sounds like a super night on the water! I wonder if it is common for fish hang around the release point (like the marina) for any given timeframe? Do the heavy hitters fishing the TN lock thru and fish the River below the Dam or are they fishing further upstream? Seems like a bit of a ride if they do...

 

[ranman]

It is very common for fish to hang around places where they have been released.
as a matter of fact a few weeks ago we fished specifically for released fish at 58 marina.That was one of those nights we got caught in a storm.I have heard of pros
fishing in places where local tournaments are held to catch released fish,not much sport in it and not good for the fish but when money is on the line....
The guys that fish the humps generally don't go any farther than the sale creek/grasshopper area.Just not enough time to go much farther than that.
That 58 marina has a tournament every thurs. night and one on sat. morning
so there are alot of keeper fish released there throughout the season.Also
there is a ramp on the south side of the bridge which is very close to the marina
that has a tourney every tues. night,That means there is alot of pressure for the fish in that part of the river.
I would like to see these dogfights all go to a three fish limit to decrease the stress on the fishery and help my chances of winning one of these things!

 

[jason]

The active fish in Gunstocker all seem to be 12"-14" spots...great for "fun" fishing but not for money. However, any laydown you find , and there aren't many, typically holds a good largemouth that is a sucker for anything texas-rigged in junebug.