Watts Bar stripe breaks 7-27-2006

[jon the fisherman]

I went out for a few hours this evening around Ladd's Landing. Minnows are everywhere and so are the stripe. I threw a clear spook jr at them for at least 3 hours and caught a couple dozen or more. None were very big, but a tug on the line every few casts aint to bad. I have found that they will do this through October, so if anyone just wants to catch fish, this is a good place to do it. I also caught 9 or 10 bass in the mix.

 

[craazyboutbass]

RE: Watts Bar stripe breaks 7-27-2006

That's sounds nice!

 

[polo-dog]

Jon, I don't know anything about Watts Bar. What type of structure/current concentrates those fish in that particular area?

 

[jon the fisherman]

Polo, it is a ridge that runs along the river channel. As the current goes down river, the shad are pushed up shallow and ambushed. I attached a map of the area. The blue line marks the ridge which is only 3' deep on top. The yellow marks a hole that is about 10' deep. All other areas outside the channel are less than 10'. The channel is about 30' deep.

 

[polo-dog]

Thanks for the info Jon. Do the fish tend to be all over that area or do they seem to be in certain spots? When I look at that portion of the river and the area that you circled I would expect an eddie current on the upriver edge that would position the fish near the top end of that hump or ridge. There are many similar areas in the part of Chichamauga that I fish but the depths are just much deeper. The areas that I'm speaking of really concentrate fish, there is no doubt about it. Is there an eddie current in that area?

 

[jon the fisherman]

At times there is a current through there, but alot of times it is an ebb and flow...If Melton Hill and Ft. Loudon are generating, then the current backs up in there and then flows out. I have seen the flow change directions three or four times in an afternoon of fishing. They do tend to stack up on the upriver side more than down, but they could push the minnows up anywhere on that ridge.

 

[polo-dog]

Thanks Jon, unless you know what the flow is doing it's hard to figure where they will stack up.