Report from Chick 9/9/2006

[Daniel Tn]

I've been away from the computer for a while but I did get out fishing some last Saturday. After a few great trips to Chickamauga below Watts Bar, it was only a matter of time before we hit a bad day. And that was Saturday. Took my wife over there and put in at Pinhook again. It will probably be my last time putting in there. It was a disaster from the start. I handed her the rope to hold the boat with and held it she did....only unbeknowngst to me the rope wasn't tied that good from my previous trip. So when I look back to see if the boat is off the trailer I see her flailing her arms and my boat drifting away. Up the ramp I go and spun it all the way up. Thankfully for the time being they weren't running any turbines and the lake was slick as glass so my boat didn't drift far. And thanks to a boat that came down the lake, the wake from it pushed it against the shore and I was able to retrieve the boat by only getting up to my knees in the water. So it started off bad.

Started fishing and got into a few white bass on some Fat Free Shad crankbaits and jigging spoons. And surprisingly to me...that was all we caught was white bass. Fished from about 8:00 a.m. to around 12:00 noon and maybe boated 6-7 fish between the two of us. They just weren't running water. They started up something around 11 and it wasn't even enough to hardly move the boat. Lots of people fishing down there though. Saw Tommy Crowe on the water...he about ran me over. LOL. I hear tell he is suppose to be filming for his own TV show. He drives the big green Thermacell boat for those that know him or might have seen him out. Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm planning on going fishing this weekend. Hopefully I can get me a good fish and picture for my birthday. I'd sure like to catch my first bass over 5 lbs.

 

[Daniel Tn]

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Thought I'd add a picture to put a name to a face. This was taken the trip before last. Decent keeper crappie that fell to a FFS crankbait. By far my favorite crank. If ya'll see me out there...stop and say howdy. I'll be going back to Watts Bar for a little while now. My truck has a hard time pulling the boat back up the Pinhook ramp below the dam when it is slick. I prefer Hornsby Hollow ramp by a long shot....if only I could find a ramp like that somewhere close to the dam LOL.

 

[drumking]

RE: Report from Chick

Good to see you Daniel. I have a a few bad experiences like you did. The most aggravating thing that has happened to me occurred about 30 years ago. The only time that I ever rented a boat slip up on Watts Bar lake. I kept my boat at Whites Creek and went up there one day to fish. I had an anchor with about 50' of rope on it and motored up to my first spot. Anchor rope tied to the boat cleat as normal and grabbed the anchor and dropped it overboard. Letting the rope down and somewhere between 20 and 30 feet, I discovered that some low-down scoundrel had cut my rope into and I'm left holding onto about 10' of rope. Needless to say, I pulled my boat out of that slip and never stored it again.

Maybe I'll see you below the dam sometime this fall. I Striper fish a lot and if you see a ProCrappie bass tracker with a black unpainted cowling with a CFF sticker on the back, that'll be me. Yell at me. (Nicely of course) LOLemoBigsmile emoGeezer

 

[Bprice]

RE: Report from Chick

Thats a fine looking sacalait.... better luck next time... keep going and you'll get that 5 lber!

 

[Fishin Fool]

RE: Report from Chick

Hey everyone can have a bad day. Like the time several years ago we went out and were fishing close to the nuke plant bank. Scary as heck over there sometimes anyways with those big towers and the current, but I looked down to see several inches of water in the boat and more coming in fast! Left the plug in the truck!!!!!!! Nothing quite makes your stomach drop like that!!! Made it back to the ramp but that did that day in for me.

 

[tennfisher]

Here's my bad day - even though I look back and smile now. Several years ago, I took an elderly widower friend of mine with me to the ramp below Nickajack. I backed the boat down the ramp into the water, and instructed him to hold the bowline while I parked the truck. Problem was there were two very attractive young ladies in bikinis also at the ramp, and my friend, whose wife had been gone about five years, was really taking full advantage of the eye candy.

I parked the truck, locked things up, and strolled back to the ramp. There I found my friend faithfully holding the bowline as instructed, still watching the ladies. You guessed it, I had launched without the plug in place and the entire rear portion of the boat had sunk until the foot of the elevated motor was dragging on the ramp. He still hadn't noticed.emoBigsmile emoBigsmile But he was a great guy.

Tennfisher

 

[fisherpal2k]

emoUpsmile @tnfisher.. Yeah Daniel we have all had bad days. Just be thankful it wasn't worse. Even tho you didn't catch many ain't it great to just be out there? Good lookin fish too!. Thanks for the post and Happy Birthday! catch a load and bring home a Toad!emoParty

 

[Guest]

Nice speckled perch you got there Daniel! What size Fat Free Shad were you using to catch that slab?

Cheez

 

[Daniel Tn]

FFShads

I like all the Fat Free Shad models but my favorite ones are the Fingerlings in Suspending model. I think they are actually BD5s by number. I like those and the Fat Free Frys. The crappie came on one that dives just 4-6 feet. It's my stump and rock ticker. I like fishing that model on spinning tackle in no more than 8 pound test. I've caught about every kind of fish in the lake on that crankbait. Largemouth, Smallmouth, Drum, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish, Walleye/Sauger. I have three clear tackle boxes of cranks and have them from all manufacturers and several models of each. By far my favorites remain the Fat Free Shads in all except the BD7 model...in which there I actually prefer the Norman DD22s. The smaller FFS's I am just able to be more in tune with what they are doing in the water. I'm no David Fritts or any where close to like him but I sure love crankin.

On a side note...hit Watts Bar today for my birthday. North winds around 5-10 MPH put a little white cap on the water. Fished from 8 this morning til 1 or so this evening. I took my mom with me...she wanted to spend some time with me on my birthday which is today. Hit a spot or two and produced nothing and then was idling over a spot I marked on the map and found it looked really good. It's a small hump. It had some bait fish and some arches/lines when I went over it. Dropped a buoy and began fishing. I managed to find a hump with fish on it...only they were white bass and crappie. My mom was putting them in the boat and I'm standing on the front deck just watching as she reels them in. I never got the first hit. Moved to another spot or two...nothing. Then on the way to the ramp again I passed by a dock that my buddy had flipped a T-Rig worm under a few weeks ago and broke a nice fish off. I flipped under there next to a wooden piling and saw my line jump and take off. I set the hook and broke him off doing that. It was my only hit of the day. 12 pound P-Line....the same rod and line that I broke the smallmouth off on the other day. Me thinks the line may need changed.

But the bad trip whoas continue. Got back to the ramp fishless and went to back my truck in. Dead battery...left the lights on this morning. No cell phone. Nobody else at the ramp. No booster cables in my truck and my power cranker is at the house (bit of good it does me there) lol. By good fortune I was able to find someone at the nearby camp ground that came and boosted me off. They told us at work last night that we had to work this Saturday. 3 shifts on the line and they are only making 3rd shift work. Well ole Daniel boy already had plans and has plenty of call in days left for the year. I don't care if the fish didn't cooperate today...the next two days are new days and new conditions. And I'm gonna be out there trying my best. Looks like I may be doing some flipping under some docks though. Good luck ya'll and thanks for reading.

 

[Bprice]

Happy Birthday!!!emoParty

 

[rsimms]

RE: Report from Chick

Bprice - 9/13/2006 10:57 AM

Thats a fine looking sacalait.... better luck next time... keep going and you'll get that 5 lber!

I didn't know you knew French?

 

[Guest]

Happy birthday Daniel and thanks for the info about the FFS's. I am game for anything that will catch a slab.

Cheez