Nickajack Dam 9-27 Bank Fishing

[DHaun]

I had every intention of going smallmouth hunting tonight after Jerdog's post but the friend who was going with me had to work late and couldn't make it so I decided to go below Nickajack.

I got there about 6:00 pm and I saw that my favorite spot was open and the stripers were killing bait boiling on the surface! They had all the generators going and the flood gates were spilling a bit. I took my 6500C and a Spook down to the rocks and had a blast!

I caught 7 between 4-10 lbs (most were around 5-6) and lost one big drag-peeler after it pulled the hooks. Eventually 2 other guys started fishing with me and had similar success and one even dragged in what looked to be about a 5lb bass. We even had a couple doubles out of it. emoBigsmile They would turn on feeding on top and then it would stop...then they would crank up again...this went on for about 5-6 rounds. I need some heavier spooks to sling out there a bit further though...I had a couple backlashes in all the excitement or I would have done better.

All the fish I caught were healthy (no red marks) and safely released. I hated to see one boat out there exceeding the limit of 2 per person - keeping way more than they needed - I have seen bank fisherman doing the same in past trips. emoRedface I caught my last one right as it turned dark and left right before 8:00 pm. Too bad I can't get out to fish again until next week...

 

[polo-dog]

Great to hear about the turnon below Nickajack. I wonder why it never gets that good below Chickamauga, or at least I've never heard about it being like that below the Chick. That size fish in that current must have been a battle. Great job!!!!!

 

[flip1up]

How far from the dam if you dont mind saying? Sounds like fun, I have not been there since last winters sauger run.

 

[DHaun]

It depends on the current and where they are feeding (could be anywhere from the bank) but when they are in there the most reliable top water bite is as close to the Dam as you can get behind the boils. Normally it's pretty crowded there so I figure I'm not giving up anyone's secret spot...anyone can see where folks are concentrated just by parking and looking. It's a pretty tricky walk across some big rocks just next to some treacherous water - Be careful - Don't fall in. You need to be able to sling a spook or redfin way on out there to get to where they are, but we had several hook-ups last night right in front of our feet too.

I think I would rather be in a boat myself - I have seen boats tie up with a stake in the wall right in the middle of the generators or at the wingwall and be right on top of them. I have also seen them busting in the slack water from the wingwall to the lock discharge so a nice quiet boat might be better for following them around when they are feeding like this.

I am not sure if they feed like this below Chickamauga or not but I have heard of similar striper behavior in many other lakes so I would assume somewhere sometime they have done it. It's just about being lucky enough to be there when it happens!

What's the best way to target sauger down there? I definitely would like to try this Winter. Are they in the bay or next to the bank in the current? Any info you can provide will be appreciated.

 

[polo-dog]

Great info DHaun. I have caught some stripers below the Chick dam but never have seen big time schooling activity from 4+lb stripers there. One here, one there and that's about it but no consistent topwater action. Sometimes I just go down and watch below the dam just to get an idea what's going on. Usually when I have a half hour or less while waiting for a meeting or waiting for a soccer practice to end. I have never seen ongoing activity from other than what looked like skipjacks or white bass below the Chick. I hope to see it however because usually I fish below the dam out of convenience and Nickajack dam is less convenient.

 

[CouchTater]

Sounds like ya'll had a blast!!!!

 

[flip1up]

I usually wait till it gets REAL cold to go after the sauger. Last year I only went a few times, the best area for me then was what appears to be a barge holding area, just on the other side of the wing wall. Its pretty deep in there. I just trolled around with minnows. In the back up against the dam is where I caught most of them. You dont get alot of keepers, but you can catch alot of fish. Along with the sauger you get a few crappie and bass here and there. A fella I met down there 2 years ago showed me something I had never seen before. He uses a very small treble hook with a tiny piece of worm on it and catches a 3-4 inch baitfish off of the walls. I dont have a clue what they are but he calls them "crawlers". They look like a snaildarter or something like that. All I know is that the smallmouth and sauger tear them up. I went out in his boat one day with him, it was about 20 degrees and we caught alot of fish, smallies, largemouth, spots, sauger etc. I also like the backside of the two barge tie offs on the ramp side, in the slack water behind them.

 

[DHaun]

Great info - Thanks!

 

[jason]

Hey DHaun, watch the Spook around the herons and cranes. I had several eyeing it last night and one actually swooped down to snatch it and missed. I watched a peregrine falcon diving on shad near the RR bridge below the dam and cringed at the thought of lipping and unhooking him.

The original Spook will cast the farthest and catch a lot of fish but the Super Spook, which is slightly smaller, seems to catch more quality bass. I don't know if it is a match-the-hatch issue or something about the way it walks that draws larger fish.

 

[DHaun]

Thanks for the info Jason - I ordered some 7/8 oz spooks with 3 trebles from bass pro today - I think they are the heaviest I have seen. I know what you mean about hooking birds and I have heard that herons can be dangerous if cornered. I was in FL once fishing from shore into a frenzy of feeding bluefish and a swarm of birds. I entangled a flying pelican in my line as I cast a big spoon out by accident. I saw it fly into the line and I cut it immediately with my teeth and then saw that it was tangled as it descended struggling into the water. I had to follow it for a half hour until it came close enough to shore where I could go out to help. I finally got to it and untangled it. It was not happy to see me...luckily I only had to jiggle the line few times to free it. Ruined a good day fishing...

 

[polo-dog]

I too have had a tangle with a pelican. I was fishing with a live pinfish, or at least freshly dead, and the pelican latched onto the bait as it was floating on top over a patch reef that I was chumming. I was watching another line that I was fishing for yellowtail snapper and had to reel the pelican in. It had the hook in the fleshy part of it's mouth. It was strange 'cause the bird seemed to know that I was going to help it get unhooked as it didn't struggle much. Maybe getting caught on baits is common for those dummies, but I got him off and he flew away unhurt and I put another pinfish on. It was a strange encounter.

 

[JC1]

I never "caught" a pelican before, but once while flyfishing for bluegill and bass at Sequoyah during a mayfly hatch I hooked a mallard hen that decided it just had to have my popping bug! It was quite a battle for a minute till it broke my tippet and skedaddled out of there. The only airborn fight I've ever had on a fishing rod!JC1

 

[ranman]

I almost caught a racoon last year with a bad cast of a spinnerbait. It Landed on the bank in front of where he was walking and as soon as he saw it he made a mad dash for it!Just barely got it back into the water before he got a hold of it.

 

[polo-dog]

Have any of you fished around any gators? Not gator fans but real live gators? I had a bunch of fun playing with some of them with a Z-spook one year when I was fishing on the S. Carolina coast. In fact I think it was at Hilton Head. Anyway, every time I would throw the spook you could see the gator in the pond respond to it. If you threw it close enough he would swim right behind it closing in for the kill. I never let him quite get it. I would always pull it away right before he got there. The fish weren't biting, in fact I don't know if there were any bass in the pond I was fishing but it was fun "not catching" the gator and to see how close I could get to catching him without getting him hooked. Try it sometime when you are fishing an area where you can see a gator. Anything that looks like an injured animal, they will try to eat.

 

[JerDog]

What color Zara spook were you using? Did it have a propeller? I have some with them and some without. The ones with a propeller do not have the "walk the dog" action but are still effective.

 

[DHaun]

Red and White...It had 3 trebles and was the heavier version. I have 2 smaller ones but they were too light for me to get out there. I also have 3 with propellers that I had forgotten but have since put in my gear to take with me next time.