A reminder to my MS C.C friends
OK, friends may be a stretch. :)
Now's a good time to maintenance your motor and boat before the cold weather sets in and you don't want to get out in it unless you're fishing.
Don, you listening?
Change your LU, remove the prop and check the seals, check the water in your your battery, inspect the rope on your trolling motor, pull the prop from the TM and check the seals, pull your cowling and inspect the hoses and check for any leaks, change your fuel filter and inspect the fuel lines and bulb.
It's a lot easier now than when it's 20 degrees and raining and we both know you're not gonna do it come spring when you get the first reports of fish being caught.
Wannabe...
Who ME? This Don? I'm good to go
with the new boat. They changed out the LU oil, checked the seals, replaced the water pump and several other things. I'm good to go for 4 or 5 years.
Heading to get a spare before we drive up to Pickwick
in 3 weeks. CRAP, it's 2 WEEKS away. WB, can you front me 100 bucks?
Whats ths casting thing you speak of?
I want to troll for Crappie, Stripers and then want to get ahold to a smally. Heard they pull like crazy
figured id post it for everyone too
and if you want smalies dont forget your collections of bandit 300's around deeper rock sturcture
Well now, some of our members go the extra mile.
This is a piece put together by RoLo and sent to me
a few days ago. With his permission, I share it with you:
Sender: RoLo
To: roadwarrior
Subject: Pickwick Document
Date: Apr 21st 2010 at 18:07:07
PICKWICK LAKE, AL
Lake History
On its way through northern Alabama, the Tennessee River flows from east-to-west down the western slope of the Appalachian Mountains. Owing to a series of TVA dams, Alabama boasts four Tennessee River impoundments, namely and from east to west: Guntersville Reservoir, Wheeler Lake, Wilson Lake and Pickwick Lake. The Pickwick Landing Dam was completed in 1938, forming 53-mile long Pickwick Lake that averages 8/10 mile in width and encompasses about 45,000 acres. Mean pool elevation is 412 ft above sea level, averaging 414 ft in summer and 410 ft in winter. Defying classification, Pickwick Lake is an “upland riverine impoundment” falling somewhere between a ‘flatland’ and ‘hill-land’ reservoir.
Pickwick Lake is inhabited by all three black basses: largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and spotted bass. The sole focus of this report however is trophy smallmouth bass, which is Pickwick’s claim to fame. Lying immediately to its east (upstream) is Wilson Lake, the home of the former world-record smallmouth bass. On October 8, 1950, Owen F. Smith boated a 10lb 8oz smallmouth bass that established a new world-record. Owen’s fish was taken from the headwater of Wilson Lake, synonymously known as the tailwater of Wheeler Dam. To date, there have only been two smallmouth bass with a certified weight exceeding 10½ pounds and both came from Dale Hollow Reservoir (10lb 14oz and 11lb 15oz). Due to the natural aging process, the waters of Lake Wilson today are better suited to largemouth bass. As a matter of fact, electroshocking in Lake Wilson during 2009 produced “84” largemouth bass per hour, the highest success rate in all 31 electrofished TVA impoundments.
As Wilson’s reputation as a smallmouth fishery began waning in the 1980s, Pickwick Lake was just entering its heyday. A historic catch took place on Pickwick Lake during the 10-bass legal limit. A local fishing guide named Leon Tidwell weighed-in a 10-fish limit of smallmouth bass that tipped the scales at 52½ lbs, an average of 5lb 4oz for ten fish! In his lifetime, Bill Dance caught three smallmouth bass weighing over 8 pounds and two came from Pickwick Lake. The certified lake-record on Pickwick Lake is 9 lb 10oz taken by Mike Curry in April 1989. More recently in 1997 noted fishing guide Roger Stegall won a tournament on Pickwick Lake with a five-bass stringer weighing 27lb, 6oz.
Lake Profile
“Water clarity” in Pickwick Lake varies according to lake section, seasonal period and rainfall.
On balance, the water is moderately clear with a light greenish-brown tint, where water visibility ranges between 20 and 40 inches. The mean shoreline elevation is 412 ft, which averages 414 ft in summer and 410 ft in winter. The main river channel is maintained at a minimum depth of 11 ft but natural depths are present that exceed 100 ft.
Pickwick Lake is located at the southern range limit of smallmouth bass, and provides the longest growing season for the species. The bronzebacks of Pickwick Lake grow about twice the rate as those in Lake Erie, but the smallmouth bass in Lake Erie enjoy a significantly longer lifespan.
Largemouth bass are a valuable and growing resource in Pickwick Lake. Based on 2009 electrofishing results, seven largemouth bass were produced for every smallmouth bass. The emergence of hydrilla and milfoil have lent to the burgeoning population of largemouth bass, particularly in the quieter reaches of the reservoir’s lower end.
TIMING
The sport of angling consists of three major components: “Timing” – “Location” – “Presentation”.
It would be presumption to say that any one element is more important than another, because the lack of any one element will result in failure. Nevertheless, “location” is unquestionably the most complex and most violated component of angling. Inasmuch as “timing” alters the location and presentation, it shall be treated first.
Seasonal Periods
Pre-Spawn
(March)
“Trophy” is a subjective term, and though 4-pounds is the accepted benchmark for a trophy smallmouth bass, many trophy hunters are looking for 7-lbs or more. In Pickwick Lake, the heaviest sows are typically taken in the dead of winter nevertheless the greatest number of five-pound smallies are usually taken during late winter when the activity picks up.
The most promising period for boating a trophy-class smallmouth bass is the pre-spawn period. The pre-spawn season is a prolonged period that may be subdivided into three sub-periods: ‘early’, ‘mid’ and ‘late’ pre-spawn. The ‘early’ pre-spawn is arguably the best time for a wall-hanger, a time unfortunately when bass are quite torpid and when natural bait outperforms artificial lures. In the Far North, the early prespawn may not take place until late spring, but in the Deep South it typically begins in mid winter. On Pickwick Lake, the best mid-winter fishing normally occurs during the “floodgate pattern” when warmer water is released during hydroelectric generation.
There’s usually a noticeable improvement in fishing activity during the ‘late’ pre-spawn. On the downside, buck bass dominate the action, while the cows become increasingly preoccupied with spawning and less interested in feeding. The ‘mid’ pre-spawn is the sweet spot, a brief fuzzy period separating the early pre-spawn from the late pre-spawn.
There’s a generous overlap in the three sub-periods (early, mid, late) consequently the transition is vague and undefined. In any case, when your timing is right (more easily said than done), the mid pre-spawn will offer excellent trophy potential combined with excellent fishing activity. Spawning activity is not linked exclusively to surface water temperatures, but water temperature may nonetheless be used as a coincident indicator. Below is a proprietary table delineating the crude link between the pre-spawn sub-periods and their relative water temperature ranges:
· “Early” Pre-spawn: 45 to 50 deg F
· “Mid” Pre-spawn: 50 to 55 deg F.
· “Late” Pre-spawn: 55 to 60 deg F.
The nucleus of the “mid” pre-spawn period will vary from year-to-year, but generally coincides with surface temperatures between 50 and 56 deg F (Optimum: 53-deg F.). Local fishing guide, Jim Duckworth pinpoints the top trophy season as “mid February to mid March” (Mean = March 1). Noted fishing guide Roger Stegall specifies the “last week in February and first two weeks in March” (Mean = March 4). Former pro and TV celebrity Bill Dance specifies the end of February through the end of April (Mean = March 25). The average of these three highly informed opinions is March 10, which may serve as a reasonable benchmark for the trophy peak (“mid” pre-spawn).
Spawn
(April)
Rather than a seasonal period, the actual spawn is more of an event. On any given bed, spawning per se is a one to three-day affair. On Pickwick Lake the spawning cycle usually takes place during the month of April. During the actual spawn, female fish tend to fast and are only marginally catchable. Though sight fishing is commonly practiced for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass nest in deeper water just beyond the feasible visibility for sight fishing. Despite the fact that April is the bedding month, it’s also an excellent fishing month. Thanks to the charitable overlap in seasonal periods, April usually provides a fine mix of quantity and quality fishing. For the most part, trophy bass that are reportedly caught during the bedding season were actually bass in pre-spawn mode.
Post-Spawn
(May)
Water temperatures vary from season-to-season, from day-to-day and sometimes from hour-to-hour. To help protect cold-blooded creatures from yo-yo mood swings and mixed messages, transient water temperature changes exert a lesser influence than “seasonal trends”. A seasonal uptrend in water temperatures spurs an increase in aggression, and increase in feeding and thus increased fishing activity. The post-spawn period in Pickwick Lake centers on the month of May. Due to the seasonal uptrend in water temperatures, the post-spawn provides the fastest fishing of the year for the smallmouth bass, albeit dominated by buck bass.
Summer
When surface temperatures exceed 80 deg F., smallmouth bass become highly nocturnal in their feeding and tend to suspend offshore. This is not true in the Great Lakes however where water temperatures rarely if ever exceed 80 deg. F. In Pickwick Lake, the months of July and August are characterized by inactivity and passivity, especially during a hot spell. On the contrary, “night fishing” on Pickwick and Dale Hollow can be red-hot during the summer months. This is particularly true during moonlit nights with a gibbous or full moon. As you’d expect, the best time to night fish is when the turbines are generating power.
Fall
A strong fall pattern on Pickwick Lake occurs about one-third back in the creek arms, not the least of which is Bear Creek. Focus on bends in the creek where accelerated current forms the steepest drop-offs. Thereat, pinpoint isolated features such as a change in soil content and favor lures colored silver or white.
Time-Of-Day
Even though water movement may be imperceptible, the Tennessee River is the lifeblood of Pickwick Lake. In any riverine ecosystem, “current” exerts the major influence on fishing.
To that end, feeding activity is closely linked to the “generation schedule” at the nearest dam, similar to the tidal influence in saltwater.
Great info on the lake BUT
what about Crappie and stripers? That'd be what I'd be fishing for
