DHaun
Well-known member
Went below Nickajack bank fishing about halfway from the pier to the turbines. Caught 3 smaller stripers (2-3 lbs) and a skipjack in the rocks slowly reeling a rattletrap through the downstream rocks with my spinning reel that I had just fixed (I thought). I put it down after the anti-reverse spring quit working (I'm pretty sure I fixed it when I got home so its ready to try again).
I moved up closer to the turbines and started throwing a 5" glow shad on a 1oz jig and Wham! - 15 lb rockfish on the first cast. The water was fast so I had to go downstream a bit to land him in slower current. He was quickly landed with 17lb line on a garcia 6500c with a 7.5' rod and quickly released so as not to stress the fish. I was alone again so no pictures. Someday I will get a shot of one of these larger fish.
I saw several boats doing okay with live threadfin shad (I assume) via dipnets. The would drift just to the left of the turbines and were catching some smaller fish.
As I was leaving a saw an older man catch one from the bank about the same size as mine, except he pulled it right out of the water and took it with him...walking down the sidewalk rather than releasing it. I left so I do not know if he put it in a cooler or not.
I had also been about 2 weeks ago and hundreds of Gar were surfacing everywhere near the bank from the pier up to about 100 yards from the turbines - I assume they were spawning. I fished the glow shad around them and cought nothing. There was also a large school of gizzard shad pushed up against the rocks next to the turbines.
I hear that the topwater bite might be heating up in May. I can't wait to catch one in a feeding frenzy like that.
I moved up closer to the turbines and started throwing a 5" glow shad on a 1oz jig and Wham! - 15 lb rockfish on the first cast. The water was fast so I had to go downstream a bit to land him in slower current. He was quickly landed with 17lb line on a garcia 6500c with a 7.5' rod and quickly released so as not to stress the fish. I was alone again so no pictures. Someday I will get a shot of one of these larger fish.
I saw several boats doing okay with live threadfin shad (I assume) via dipnets. The would drift just to the left of the turbines and were catching some smaller fish.
As I was leaving a saw an older man catch one from the bank about the same size as mine, except he pulled it right out of the water and took it with him...walking down the sidewalk rather than releasing it. I left so I do not know if he put it in a cooler or not.
I had also been about 2 weeks ago and hundreds of Gar were surfacing everywhere near the bank from the pier up to about 100 yards from the turbines - I assume they were spawning. I fished the glow shad around them and cought nothing. There was also a large school of gizzard shad pushed up against the rocks next to the turbines.
I hear that the topwater bite might be heating up in May. I can't wait to catch one in a feeding frenzy like that.
