Nickajack Rockfish 4/1/2005

[DHaun]

Caught a 20lb rockfish from the bank just above the nickajack tailwater pier. Caught using a 6" glow shad and 14lb line on a garcia 6500c. Also caught a 20lb drum on the same lure first and thought the rockfish was a drum too until I got him close. I saw a couple of boats laniding some smaller stripers or hybrids. I was fishing alone so no pics. ALL fish returned safely to the water.

 

[sharphook]

RE: Nickajack Rockfish

what's the largest striper you have ever caught.

 

[DHaun]

My largest striper is not that big...25lbs on Watts Bar when I was in college, but it was fun enough to get me hooked on chasing them. I lost one about that size below Chickamauga Dam last Fall after a 10 minute fight on a redfin it surfaced and pulled free when I turned it...I'm hoping for one bigger someday, but right now I'm focusing on crappie in my spare time. I just noticed this original post is nearly 2 years old...time flys.

 

[Liveliner]

Question! Nickajack Tailwaters!!! Is that the tail waters out of Nickajack Dam or the tailwaters out of Chickamauga Dam dumping into Nickajack??? Please Sir?

 

[rsimms]

Nickajack tailwaters is water immediately below Nickajack Dam. Headwaters are upstream, tailwaters downstream... in other words, Chickamauga tailwaters are the exact same spot as Nickajack headwaters.
It is very confusing because some people for instance, fishing in downtown Chattanoga say they were fishing on Nickajack Lake. Other people fishing the exact same spot say they were fishing "below Chickamauga" or "Chickamauga tailwaters," and nobody is lying ... all answers are technically correct. What I don't know is "where do tailwaters actually end?"
It's sort of like the names of mountains around here.... Flat Top Mountain, Mowbry Mountai, Dayton Mountain, Signal Mountain, etc. All are technically on "Walden's Ridge." But different areas of the ridge go by different local names. However there is no distinct border or geographic feature which seperates Flat Top Mountain from Mowbry Mountain. The only real identifying feature is which road you drive up to reach that part of the mountain. emoScratch

 

[fishinvol]

Richard,have you tried the top water for the stripes yet? I saw quite a few busting on shad below Chick. dam saturday morning. They were over near the wing wall. Shad are thick back there right now and about 6-8" long. Good size!!

 

[rsimms]

fishinvol - 3/20/2007 7:39 AM

Richard,have you tried the top water for the stripes yet? I saw quite a few busting on shad below Chick. dam saturday morning. They were over near the wing wall. Shad are thick back there right now and about 6-8" long. Good size!!

Funny you should ask. Just so happens I went down yesterday evening for my first "striper check." I had one small fish hit a Zara Spook but he pulled off after about 30 secs. I'm really not sure if it was a tiny striper, a big white bass or a huge skipjack. No big blowups however... the earliest I've ever caught topwater striper is March 15, but that was one unusual year/day. Typically (as is noted in the Subject Line of this thread) April 1 is when I expect them be there.

 

[fishinvol]

You just let me know if you need someone to help catch some stripe with ya.

 

[Davo]

Wow, talk about digging up the past. That original post was post #7.

You guys are right though, stripers have to be the toughest fish that swims.