Ft loudon or tellico help please

Need some help catching some crappie on one of these two lakes. I've got a guy at work who wants to learn how to fish. I've taken him out three times and we've caught two fish total. We went to loudon around turkey creek today with minnows and caught one small catfish. I'm trying to keep it simple since he's new at it. We tightlined around the bridge pilings, and I saw some fish on a drop off in about 40 FOW on the depth finder. We got a lot of bites there but one small cat was all we caught.
I know crappie should be up shallower, but I don't know where any brush piles are. I was thinking about getting some slip floats and trying them about 10-12 feet deep, but I don't even know where to begin. I have a fish finder so I can find something if I had a little hint where to look. :)

From what I'm seeing looks like you need to talk to fishorhunt!!!!!!!!!!

They are also lowering the lake levels to winter pool, so it will be difficult unless you find 'em at the right time.

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Originally Posted by jimp

They are also lowering the lake levels to winter pool, so it will be difficult unless you find 'em at the right time.

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Ft loudon is already pretty much all the way down. I guess tellico is too since they are connected. Maybe we should try Watts Bar, but all the places I used to crappie fish were ruined by that ash spill.

What is the "right time" when the water is dropping? Is it when they are not releasing water at the dam?

I can't really say when the right time is regarding when they are dropping the water. Down on Chickamauga, sometimes the bite picks up when the current starts and when it stops, and the volume/cfps matters too. Suggest you try some docks, blow downs, casting to the shoreline with a bobber, and dragging it back out to deeper water, you may find 'em that way.

Sent u a pm

Green, white and pink 1/16 oz flies are hot for me right now. I have a cheap depth finder so I find fish by setting up 4 rods with 2 different color flies under a float at different depths and slow (barely moving .5 mph on my terrova) troll them until I find a school or pattern that works. Then I set back and work that school. The crappie I'm catching are schooled just off the bottom of creek channels or structure in mud flats 10-12 feet deep. I

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Originally Posted by Fishorhunt

Green, white and pink 1/16 oz flies are hot for me right now. I have a cheap depth finder so I find fish by setting up 4 rods with 2 different color flies under a float at different depths and slow (barely moving .5 mph on my terrova) troll them until I find a school or pattern that works. Then I set back and work that school. The crappie I'm catching are schooled just off the bottom of creek channels or structure in mud flats 10-12 feet deep. I

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Thank you for the response! I been using minnows only, but I have a bunch of different color flies and some chartreuse grubs I will try. Thursday is my next day off, I will get after em then. I'll post a report.