Where did all the big ones go?

[jason]

OK, we all know the Chick is packed with 6 and 7lb largemouth. However,nightly tournaments are won with sacks of 3s with the occasional 4 to 5lb big fish. Last year I caught so many 5s that I quit taking pics and tossed them back as if they were the usual catch.</p>

Where are they now?</p>

 

[fishinvol]

They are all dead, because of the tournament fisherman can't take care of them. j/k......the turtles ate them.

 

[fischnrod]

TNDOE has them hid away somewhere on the lake,she pulled one out and used it at the Harrison dogfight tonight. emoGeezer

 

[rsimms]

Actually TWRA biologists predicted this. They said last year that the "glut" of big bass was likely due to exceptionally strong spawn that occurred during the Spring floodwaters of 2003.

Their studies showed that especially strong "year class" of fish only lasted for a year... and that subsequent lesser spawning would likely mean fewer "big bass" on Chickamauga in the coming years.

I hate it when they're right.

 

[shortfish]

I knew it wasn't me. there had to be something else. I have been blaming it on bad fishing partners all year ha ha

 

[churly]

What Richard said holds water with me, But have we not had several other years with good spawn and good recruitment numbers? I would think this Spring was a good one.

The amount of pressure this lake gets is unreal and cant help either. These fish need vegetation. Thats the reason The Gunny hole can keep producing under pressure.

 

[Jmax]

That may be true but what about the ones that were already there? I personally think that the big ones are still there. If you go to some of these rock drops along the river and use live big shad you will be amazed what you will catch. 4s are common and with lures you seem to not get a bite. I feel the fish are more agressive in the spring and fall, but summer they slow way down and seem to smarten up. Jmax

 

[dragfish]

They lock through to get away from the jet skis and spend the summer in Alabama!

 

[Auburnwes]

emoUpsmile Thats the truth, sometimes I wish I could got to Alabama to get away from em....

 

[MrWiskers]

I would bet the larger fish are deeper than most people think and they suspend more in the summer making them harder to catch. They are still there. I agree with Jmax, get some live threadfins and hold on.

 

[rsimms]

churly - 8/7/2009 9:13 AM

What Richard said holds water with me, But have we not had several other years with good spawn and good recruitment numbers? I would think this Spring was a good one.

The amount of pressure this lake gets is unreal and cant help either. These fish need vegetation. Thats the reason The Gunny hole can keep producing under pressure.

No, from what I'm told spawn/recruitment in years following 2003 has been weak.

However it's too early to know about this year's spawn. One would think heavy rain and high water flow would help, but there is still the "TVA" factor which is a key variable on the Tennessee River. Biologists usually can't determine recruitment info until the following year. The downside of fisheries biology is that there is always a significant "delay factor" in accurately assessing the situation. The fact is... fishermen usually know more about what's going on in a given body of water before biologists.

But it's "anecdotal" info versus "scientific."

TWRA biologists have always said however that the singlemost thing that could/would improve our game fish fishery is if TVA could/would bring lake levels up higher, faster, and maintain them. Of course then they lose some (or much) of their "flood control" ability. And that's the rub.

 

[sprestwood]

They seem to have got smart all of a sudden. Guess they realized that hard plastic bait fish with rattles inside and 10 inch long, 3/8 inch thich worms aren't real. I've caught 4 this summer with live shiners and shad while cat fishing but nothing for the few times that I was pulling hard plastic lures.

 

[whenwegoin]

I think they got drug out into the channel.

 

[dragfish]

I have to ask what this year's or last year's spawn has to do with catching 6-7 lb bass this year?
How many of the good fish that were caught ,cared for and released this spring would you think would have survived and still be alive? emoScratch

 

[Guest]

dragfish - 8/7/2009 2:51 PM
How many of the good fish that were caught ,cared for and released this spring would you think would have survived and still be alive? emoScratch

Delayed mortality for tournament caught largemouth bass is in the 10-20% range, while smallmouth is nearly twice that.

 

[BassERT]

I appreciate all this info, but I, and some others on here have noticed the fry and minnows seem to be at very large levels for this year.

We were looking at crappie, bass and bream fry in the water and noticed they had to be from a recent spawn.

I wonder about the high spawning fish rates for these and other species as well, if they aren't increasing forage thereby increasing growth for the predator fish.
Wish I used better english. but I am trying to see if there is a correlation that gives us a better size and number rate for X years in the future that is being discussed. emoScratch

If it is a factor then I can only say 5 to 6 years down the line the Chick and the Nick should be premier sites in the next few years based on what I have observed. I think this cup will most certainly be half full. emoCool

 

[jason]

Yes, the big ones are still here and this years spawn has no effect on their existence or location.I'm just curious as to where they are hiding out this summer. Whiskers may be right...might be time to begin scouring the abyssemoLaugh.

 

[hl&s]

It's all the herbicide, big fish go deep and get lockjaw till fall. You will catch plenty of em soon. </p>

</p>