Nickajack 11-20-06

[JerDog]

Fished from 6-10am. Water temp was 55F. Went and got some live bait and worked the boils and spillgates with no action. They are really pumping some water in the turbinines and all the flood gates were open. Anyone got ideas on how to fish the flood gates. I keep hearing how great it is when they are spilling but have yet to produce large numbers of fish. I was using 3/4 oz and 1oz jigs in adddition to the live bait. Where are the stripers?

Even had a nice snow shower move in on us which was nice.

 

[DHaun]

Thanks for the report Jerdog - I was thinking of going below Nickajack in the morning but if the bite is slow I may just stay up here...

 

[drumking]

JerDog - 11/21/2006 10:17 AM

Fished from 6-10am. Water temp was 55F. Went and got some live bait and worked the boils and spillgates with no action. They are really pumping some water in the turbinines and all the flood gates were open. Anyone got ideas on how to fish the flood gates. I keep hearing how great it is when they are spilling but have yet to produce large numbers of fish. I was using 3/4 oz and 1oz jigs in adddition to the live bait. Where are the stripers?

Even had a nice snow shower move in on us which was nice.

The stripers will be under and around the boils from the floodgate water. Run near enough to get a rapid cast in and please, Jer-dog, don't ever get in any eddy water while fishing floodgates. If you can get the cast into the boil before the water pushes you back downstream, the strike will occur sometimes almost instantly. In 2003 when we had that great year below WB while the turbines were being repaired after the fire, 90% of our strikes would come before my buddy could even put the trolling motor down. We caught 1570 stripers from my boat and almost 2600 stripers from his boat that summer. But be careful. Your life is worth more than all the stripers in the entire river system.

 

[fishinvol]

drumking - 11/21/2006 7:47 AM

JerDog - 11/21/2006 10:17 AM

Fished from 6-10am. Water temp was 55F. Went and got some live bait and worked the boils and spillgates with no action. They are really pumping some water in the turbinines and all the flood gates were open. Anyone got ideas on how to fish the flood gates. I keep hearing how great it is when they are spilling but have yet to produce large numbers of fish. I was using 3/4 oz and 1oz jigs in adddition to the live bait. Where are the stripers?

Even had a nice snow shower move in on us which was nice.

The stripers will be under and around the boils from the floodgate water. Run near enough to get a rapid cast in and please, Jer-dog, don't ever get in any eddy water while fishing floodgates. If you can get the cast into the boil before the water pushes you back downstream, the strike will occur sometimes almost instantly. In 2003 when we had that great year below WB while the turbines were being repaired after the fire, 90% of our strikes would come before my buddy could even put the trolling motor down. We caught 1570 stripers from my boat and almost 2600 stripers from his boat that summer. But be careful. Your life is worth more than all the stripers in the entire river system.

Do you think they will be spilling water Friday morning?? I am wanting to go striper fishing this Friday and have never tried behind flood gates. They make me real nervous!!! When they are spilling below Chick. I get even more antsy because of the stinkin train bridge being in the way. The boat I fish out of is not very big at all. 17 foot and not very wide,is it a good idea to even try behing spilling water in that size boat??

 

[BigFishGuide]

The striper numbers are down. It's been hit or miss with me and I have stayed with them all year from December through to the present. You may catch 1 or 2 fish and then nothing. And then you may go down there the very next day and just catch them right and catch 30 or 40 fish. I don't understand it myself. Maybe the fish are traveling more than what we think. But I have seen more of the 1 and 2 fish days this year than I care to remember. Lot's of times the very first or second drift hang a fish and thinking that today is the day and that one fish would be all that you catch. Live Bait, artificial it does not matter. It's like the fish disappear after the first hook-up. Hopefully it will get better. I did see about 1,000 (that's right one thousand) fish up in the Sequatchee back in the late summer 30 and 40 lb fish cruising in 3 and 4 feet of water. I was in disbelief and at the same time excited about all the fish. But I could not get them to bite anything that I had other than a few flashes at a bream that I had caught and hooked up. But those fish really didn't want that even.

 

[BigFishGuide]

I just read fishinvol's post.

DO NOT GO BEHIND OR UP IN THE SPILL GATES....WAY TO DANGEROUS INLESS YOU HAVE A DATE WITH THE FUNERAL HOME........YOU WILL DROWN AT NICK-A-JACK......STAY OUT OF THE GATES.......THE UNDER TOW IS TO GREAT EVEN FOR A BIG BOAT. Turbins Okay (STILL NEED TO BE RESPECTED) but flood gates NO!

ADVICE:

If you decide to drift "IN FRONT OF THE FLOOD GATES" dont cut your engine off let it idle. Like DK said dont get into the slack water or it will pull you up into the gates. Always KEEP THE NOSE OF THE BOAT in the current and let it push you back down river away from the gates. You should be antsey and always pay attention to your position. Landmark yourself against something on the bank so that you know that your not going up stream or being pulled into the flood gates. No stripe is worth dying over. If you have never fished water like that I would suggest you find someone who has and go a couple of times with them before you try it youself. I'm not saying that you don't know what you are doing but it would give you a feel as to what is allowable and where you need to be. I'm off my soap box now. BE CAREFUL

 

[DHaun]

BFG is right on. Do not EVER even get near spilling flood gates. Your boat can be sucked into them before you know it and the spilling water will fold your boat up like a wad of aluminum foil and push you straight to the bottom. I always stay real far away from spilling floodgates, leave my engine running at all times, and also never run my boat on top of any turbine boils either. The boils have less buoyancy, are filled with bubbles in most cases and can cavitate your prop or even sink a boat.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_45076.asp

 

[Guest]

emoThumbsup for those words of advice Captain Berry. Those floodgates produce somewhat of a roller action of the water. They are a WHOLE different animal than the boils. They will pull a boat -large or small- into the face of the gate if you get up past the point of downstream motion. The water rolls up from just under the surface at the gate and there is a space or distance out from that before it will actually flow downstream. BE VERY VERY CAREFUL THERE. My boat is 20ft long and 7 1/2 wide and we fish the floodgates in the spring (when they run them) but we don't run up very close to them. The wave action that can happen while you are drifting back down can be rough also. Especially when you throttle back down to neutral and begin the drift. Be wary of the rocking motion. One last thing ... With the nose pointed forward look behind you often to make sure where you are going is clear. In the spring there can be ALOT of other boats out there. Just my .02 hope everyone stays safe. STEVE

 

[flip1up]

I fished Sunday below Nick. I caught a Striper on my first cast, hooked another on my next cast and lost it. That was it. Only a big Drum after that. I talked to BFG a little bit later, he told me the same as a few others that day, hit and miss.

I did manage 1 nice keeper Sauger and several Spots up to 1.5 pounds. This colder weather could help, we will see.

 

[JerDog]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the input and advice. I live by SAFETY FIRST. I always make sure the boat is headed back downstream before I begin to fish the flood gates. I will not risk my life for a fish, rod, reel, or anything. It is interesting that the fishing has been hit or miss. Seems like there was a 2 week window where the striper activity was good and then died off. Chickamauga has actually produced better for me this fall with most of my fish coming down there below the dam. Maybe things will pick back up soon.

Drumking, are your numbers of stripers caught from Watts Bar? Is Watts Bar the last Dam that they stock stripers? Anyone know why Chickamauga and Nickajack don't get stocked?