Nickajack Stripers Heating Up 4-4-2005

[DHaun]

My friend Neal and I took his boat below Nickajack Dam armed with 3 dozen shiners and a 1 oz glow shad (which did just as well if not better than the shiners). Fish were suspended at 12-15 feet downstream from the generators just before where the restroom building is. Caught 4 decent stripers and 2 huge drum. Tried the cast net against the wall for some shad to use as bait with no luck, although I saw others using them. They were not really necessary since 2 stripers and 1 drum were caught on artifical glow shad. Had the camera this time! ALL fish returned safely to the water.

 

[polo-dog]

RE: Nickajack Stripers Heating Up

David, I see that most of your posts relate to fishing in Nickajack tailwaters. Do you ever work the Chickamauga tailwaters, and if so, where do you have the most success. I tend to fish next to or out from the wing wall and stay in the eddies. I throw small roostertails and rig them "carolina style" with a sinker in front of a swivel so I can get some distance. Usually I catch lots of small stripe. I would expect that fishing with threadfin shad would catch fish deeper like you normally do but I usually have to lock through as my boat is on Chick. Sometimes in the summer/fall the threads are in the gate areas but usually they are hard to find. I usually throw a cast net for them.

 

[rsimms]

RE: Nickajack Stripers Heating Up

Chickamauga Tailwaters are significantly shallower than Nickajack. The swift water immediately below Chickamauga turbines is only 7-10 feet deep. Water is warmer and stripers are spookier, especially if you've got several boats running up and down to drift the boils. You can catch a few stripers, especially on the early sunrise bite (we got two Sat.)... but this time of year Nickajack is going to be far more productive for stripers overall.

 

[polo-dog]

RE: Nickajack Stripers Heating Up

I was wondering if anyone targets stripers in Chickamauga on the main lake. In the early 90's there was an article in the paper that showed a little girl that had caught a 50+ lb striper in the lower end of the lake, I think that it was with a guide and on downriggers if I'm not mistaken. I was wondering if there is an untapped fishery that we could take advantage of.

 

[DHaun]

RE: Nickajack Stripers Heating Up

I would prefer to fish Chickamauga tailwaters since a decent ramp is just 3 miles from my house and will definitly be back when I score a new boat. Nickajack has just been better to bank fish from, although now I figure it may be pretty crowded as it was a starting to get a while back (I need to go back and see since it has been a couple weeks)... I have heard that one can target stripers on Chickamauga on live bait. I hope to go myself this winter.