Shellcracker - Chickamauga- Tuesday 4-25

[drumking]

I had a blast for a couple of hours this morning with shellcrackers. Kept 15 to eat and released several large bluegills, and 1 buck bass. Water temp this morning began at 73 and warmed to 74 in the two hours that I fished. All fish were caught on squirming squirt white grubs fished on a 1/32 oz bleeding hook jig. I tried a topwater grasshopper and managed to catch 1 large gill and had a huge shellcracker knock the thing out of the water a couple of times, but missed the hooks. What fun on light tackle.

 

[churly]

What area of the lake?

 

[drumking]

churly - 4/25/2006 4:37 PM

What area of the lake?

I was fishing in the Island Cove area in 4-5 feet of water. The fish were not on the banks, but off about 20-30 yards away from the bank.

 

[Fshnman]

Congrats on a great day of "fishin". Any size to any of them?

 

[rsimms]

drumking - 4/25/2006 5:03 PM

churly - 4/25/2006 4:37 PM

What area of the lake?

I was fishing in the Island Cove area in 4-5 feet of water. The fish were not on the banks, but off about 20-30 yards away from the bank.

You're death on Island Cove aren't ya! Kinda like me and Wolftever. I'm dying to chase some bream and shellcracker... schedule just isn't working out. Got to go out-of-town to writer's conference this weekend. It's on Dale Hollow, which wouldn't be bad if I got a chance to fish... but not looking good. emoMad

 

[drumking]

rsimms - 4/26/2006 11:38 AM

drumking - 4/25/2006 5:03 PM

churly - 4/25/2006 4:37 PM

What area of the lake?

I was fishing in the Island Cove area in 4-5 feet of water. The fish were not on the banks, but off about 20-30 yards away from the bank.

You're death on Island Cove aren't ya! Kinda like me and Wolftever. I'm dying to chase some bream and shellcracker... schedule just isn't working out. Got to go out-of-town to writer's conference this weekend. It's on Dale Hollow, which wouldn't be bad if I got a chance to fish... but not looking good. emoMad

I have fished Island Cove area for years. Before they constructed all those docks to house the boats and stuff, that north bank was the best spawning bank on the lake just about. It made me sick when the owners came in, cleaned out all the blowdowns and built those nice rental houses. It is still a good spawning bank, but not like it once was. I have fished Wolftever a lot as well. I like it too, but it gets really popular when the fish are up. Too bad you can't fish Dale Hollow while you're up there. It is the clearest lake that I have seen. Beautiful.

 

[drumking]

Fshnman - 4/26/2006 10:49 AM

Congrats on a great day of "fishin". Any size to any of them?

I had 4 or 5 of them that were braggin size. The rest were good size, but not the 2 pounders that I have caught in years past. I hope to be able to go again next week. Going out of town tomorrow for a couple of days.

 

[Gator]

Sure sounds like a great day. I can remember in the late 1970's fishing the Island Cove area (then called Loret Villa) and loading the boat with crappie. I can remember 2 red cabins sitting just about where the new houses are now. We seem to do very well all along that bank back then before all the changes.

 

[drumking]

Gator - 4/26/2006 4:52 PM

Sure sounds like a great day. I can remember in the late 1970's fishing the Island Cove area (then called Loret Villa) and loading the boat with crappie. I can remember 2 red cabins sitting just about where the new houses are now. We seem to do very well all along that bank back then before all the changes.

Gator, after the new owners cleaned out that bank and started construction on the new houses, we put in a stake bed along that bank and it still produces some good catches. The day that I caught 50 crappie by 1:15 I was fishing along that bank and all the other crappie fishermen were fishing the south bank along the riprap and I'm sure that they were catching some fish. I had the north bank all day by myself and wore the crappie out. Boats and docks sit over some prime spawning spots and I'm sure that the crappie still use them, but we just can't get to them properly.