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Took the kayak out to VFW Lake. Used my HB 899 si to find fish. Thought it was probably Gills....and it was, but got more shell cracker than I did Gills. I had 19 shell cracker and 11 Gills. The pics are my best and my smallest. Made for a great day. All caught on 2# test line using a Bison colored Trout Magnet.
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Only in Tenn. would your VFW have their own lake. Cool!! Those fish would make for some fine eating.
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Originally Posted by Illinoisgiller
LOL....that's true. The VFW gave it to the state many years ago. The place was built in oder for VFW members to have a place to go drink and party....is my understanding. As more and more places went "wet" and alcohol became more available there was no need to maintain the expense of keeping the place so they gave it to the state. I keep shell cracker and Gills......just not from that lake. The beds are very easy to fish in the spring as the bedding areas are all close to the bank....which is very well kept.....and far too many people haul way too many fish out of there. So I just catch and release in that lake. Up until about 2 years ago it was quite common to catch many shell cracker at the 13 inch mark from there.
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Hey Alphahawk, is that the VFW Lake in Lawrence County?
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Originally Posted by StrykerTN
Yep...thats the one.
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I'm from Lawrence County. Currently live in north Louisiana. are you a local?
Always wanted to fish there. There is supposed to be a spring there that makes that area good year round. Nice fish.
No not a local. Born in Columbia, TN. Spent about 25 years living out of the country and when I came back home for good moved back to Columbia.Quote:
Originally Posted by StrykerTN
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It's a nice little lake that only seems to get pressure at spawning time. There is a creek that runs into the lake but in heat of summer the black moss can get bad. I could always count on this lake to give me decent Gill action...but not this year. But then again this has been the worst summer of fishing I have ever had. I caught lots of fish up until about mid July then my spots....lakes.....quit producing.Quote:
Originally Posted by dallman
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Be interested in a pic of how you got the DF set up with SI. Did you see beds or were they suspended fish?
Spent a lot of time in Columbia, aka Mule Town, I never fished VFW but did fish Laural Hill lake a bit. You should get down this way and get in on the white perch fishing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
They were suspended. I haven't found any on bed in a couple of months. The si unit will allow you to find literally every bed in a body of water. This past spring was almost too easy catching shell crackers, Gills, and crappie. It is an amazing tool for a pan fisherman. I did a very costly research project this spring, summer. I fished 5 lakes for weeks at a time at or around the new and full moon up through August. I had read so many articles over the years about how bluegill will bed every full moon all through the summer. My findings from Center Hill Lake, VFW Lake, Laurel Hill Lake, Blue Cat Lake, and Shell Cracker Lake prove that theory wrong. I had 100's of beds marked that I had found and caught plenty of fish off of April-May. Caught a few off those same beds in June...July and August full moons nothing on over 100 beds I fished. I burned a lot of gas doing this but I wanted to find out for myself. I am sure someone will respond saying they caught Gills on bed all summer long. All I am saying is my tests for 2014 in 5 lakes this did not happen. Were you wanting to see pics of how I have my unit set up on my kayak, or were you asking about a pic of the beds themselves?Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaRay
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Thanks for the invite. Laurel Hill has been my goto spot for trophy Gills for the past 5 years or more. It is still a great fishery but way too many Gills are removed in the spring. Everyone seems to know this but no one wants to do anything about it. In spring there are many days where 2000 8-10 inch Gills are taken home. This goes on for 6 weeks or so. Puts a huge dent in the big Gill population.Quote:
Originally Posted by StrykerTN
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Alphahawk, I did the same test that you did. Checked almost all my spots where they spawned earlier and none were there the last couple moons. Got the bigger gills off blowdowns during that time frame.
Nice fish!!!!!! That's the type of place to take kids and get em hooked.
Yep, great place in the spring for kids to bank fish. The place is maintained like a park...very clean and neat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fatman
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I too want to run this test you spoke of. I am going to start out in early April looking for Shellcrackers and then roll into the Gills.