RSimms Cat Report & Pics (It's time to go!) 8-13-2006

[rsimms]

From all the reports today, and based on our day, cats are HOT on Chickamauga Lake right now. I did two trips today... clients, John Sloan and Dave Durham from Lebanon, until about 2 pm and then took my daughter Priscilla and her boyfriend Chad out this evening. Between two trips there was about 250-300 lbs. of catfish that came in my boat today. Talk about slime! All the fish we caught were main channel, between 35 and 55 feet. Fish seemed more "structure" oriented than depth. Basically fished three spots all day... holes and humps in main river channel. Chicken breast was the preferred bait, but caught a few on shad. Our biggest fish was 30 pounds... had two others over 25 and three others over 20. It was strange in the AM. We hit the water at first light and went straight to my hotspot near Dam where I nailed a bunch Friday AM. Fished for 45 minutes without the first bump. I was worried. emoBang But all of a sudden they turned on... exact same spot, same bait, same presentation... and they just all of sudden lit us up and it was party time. emoParty After an hour or hour-and-half of a hot bite we had to start slugging it out, but the bite still stayed pretty consistent. First picture I'm proud of... Priscilla hauling in a 25 lber. for boyfriend Chad. He also caught a 27... both were his personal best... by a long shot. Also like next-to-last picture of John Sloan crankin' on a big cat. We thought sure he had a 40-plus because that fish was kickin' his butt. Turned out to only be a 23 that was just a mean machine. Thanks for reading and it's time to go catfishing!

 

[Guest]

Great job Richard. Lotta smiles on your boat today. Wish I was there.

Cheez

 

[Tileman]

way to go Richard those cats follow you around like you got a bowl of milk!!!!!

 

[Guest]

Great job!!! All around great cat weekend. We went out Sun. evening but we were just riding by downtown to enjoy the music. I knew I should have took my equiptment. emoBang

 

[drumking]

Richard, one of the major movements ended just before daylight on the 13th. It doesn't surprise me that you had to wait for a spell before the cats started feeding again. It has happened to me so many times that I can't count it. What a wonderful catch you had though. Great job.emoThumbsup emoGeezer

 

[minner]

Good job Richard. It's always a good day when some catches their personal best.
Lookin' forward to our trip!
Allen

 

[DHaun]

Great report RSimms! That's a great pic of a mean catfish being landed! I bet that umbrella comes in handy...I sometimes take a cheap beach umbrella on occasion and put it in the rod holder so my sweetie can read in the shade while I fish.

 

[rsimms]

drumking - 8/14/2006 9:04 AM
Richard, one of the major movements ended just before daylight on the 13th. It doesn't surprise me that you had to wait for a spell before the cats started feeding again. It has happened to me so many times that I can't count it. What a wonderful catch you had though. Great job.emoThumbsup emoGeezer

You're gonna talk me into paying attention to that major/minor solunar table almanac foolishness yet! emoBigsmile If possible, go back and tell me "Major" times for Friday, August 11.

 

[Bprice]

Great job! I might have to bust out some chicken breasts. Do you land all your fish with the boga grips?

 

[TennesseeTalker]

Indeed nice!!! I like them all. Good job .. great fish and better company. Doesn't get nicer than that!!!

TT

 

[drumking]

rsimms - 8/14/2006 10:06 AM

drumking - 8/14/2006 9:04 AM
Richard, one of the major movements ended just before daylight on the 13th. It doesn't surprise me that you had to wait for a spell before the cats started feeding again. It has happened to me so many times that I can't count it. What a wonderful catch you had though. Great job.emoThumbsup emoGeezer

You're gonna talk me into paying attention to that major/minor solunar table almanac foolishness yet! emoBigsmile If possible, go back and tell me "Major" times for Friday, August 11.

On Friday the 11th the major periods were 2:04 AM - 3:54 AM and 2:29 PM - 4:19 PM. There were minor periods that peaked at 8:56 AM and 9:42 PM. The times in between these movements should have been like fishing in the dead sea unless, local weather affected the movements which it can very well do with an approaching front. There is a 20 minute offset for Watts Bar lake and I have never done the same for Chickamauga, but I think that they would be the same offset. It would take about 1 month of "hole" sitting to calibrate the feeding times for Chick. Like MadBomber says, the best time to go fishing is when you have time.emoSmile emoGeezer

 

[rsimms]

drumking - 8/14/2006 10:40 AM

rsimms - 8/14/2006 10:06 AM

drumking - 8/14/2006 9:04 AM
Richard, one of the major movements ended just before daylight on the 13th. It doesn't surprise me that you had to wait for a spell before the cats started feeding again. It has happened to me so many times that I can't count it. What a wonderful catch you had though. Great job.emoThumbsup emoGeezer

You're gonna talk me into paying attention to that major/minor solunar table almanac foolishness yet! emoBigsmile If possible, go back and tell me "Major" times for Friday, August 11.

On Friday the 11th the major periods were 2:04 AM - 3:54 AM and 2:29 PM - 4:19 PM. There were minor periods that peaked at 8:56 AM and 9:42 PM. The times in between these movements should have been like fishing in the dead sea unless, local weather affected the movements which it can very well do with an approaching front. There is a 20 minute offset for Watts Bar lake and I have never done the same for Chickamauga, but I think that they would be the same offset. It would take about 1 month of "hole" sitting to calibrate the feeding times for Chick. Like MadBomber says, the best time to go fishing is when you have time.emoSmile emoGeezer

Thanks... this was a "test." emoBigsmile I hit the water Friday AM just for a quick "scouting" trip. I put my line in the water just before 7 AM and absolutely ripped 'em for 30 minutes... 8 fish in that time period. I knew the fish were "there," so I left 'em bitin'. That was dead in between "major," and prior to "minor." Definitely NOT the Dead Sea... of course it was yucky, drizzlin' rain so I'm sure you'll attribute to that "local weather" situation. emoPoke Sorry, still not convinced. emoSmile

 

[rsimms]

Bprice - 8/14/2006 10:16 AM
Great job! I might have to bust out some chicken breasts. Do you land all your fish with the boga grips?

Yes, I never carry a net. LOTS of reasons:
1)As you know, for trophy cats you need a HUGE net. I just don't like fooling with a big huge net in my boat. I try hard to consolidate gear and provide more comfort space (since I don't have much to start with).
2)In my experience, once well-hooked with circle hooks, you don't have to worry about fish coming off. I've yet to have ever had a circle-hooked fish flop free at the boat. All year I have broken off three good fish at the boat that could have easily been netted, due to poor grabs with the grips.... that is out of hundreds of fished landed, and dozens of fish 15 or 20 pound up. Plus I hate untangling fish, hooks and leaders out of nets.
3) I hate bringing a big fish in to the boat "green," which you are prone to do with a net. They go crazy and tear stuff up. I broke one spinning rod this year when a big fished thrashed on top of it.
4) It makes them nervous, and they probably wouldn't admit it, but I am certain that clients get far more enjoyment out of fighting a fish all the way down to the point they can bring them boatside. I may regret that statement someday when I lose a real trophy for a client ... but all-in-all, I think fighting them boatside adds a great deal to the experience.
If you haven't figured it out by now... I don't like nets. emoBigsmile

 

[polo-dog]

I'm with you rsimms, I don't like to waste my space with a net, always tripping over it and it wanting to go swimming when I'm on plane. I really seem to do better with a pair of gloves lipping the fish even more so than with grippers. I'm just not that good with them yet and I can horse a fish into the boat better with them in my hand it seems.

 

[fisherpal2k]

Good job as always Rsimms. Thanks for the post and pics.emoThumbsup