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I'm looking to try out Watts Bar for the first time, likely next week. Thus far I've only ever fished Douglas and am looking to branch out a bit. I'm not asking for any honey holes, but I didn't know if anybody could point me in the right direction for some general areas to start out in. Also, where would be the best place(s) to put in? Thanks for all of your help.
You may not get a whole lot of replies, and I don't know if it's just because not that many members fish WB or they're just tight lipped about it :Rofl :dono
It can be a hard lake to fish, until you find the downed trees & brush piles, but it can be a very good dock shooting lake.
Best mid lake ramp I know of would be at Arrowhead Marina/Resort or Blue Springs Marina, depending on which side of the lake you're closest to. But, I'd call ahead to wherever you decide to launch, just to make sure the ramp has deep enough water to launch ... since the water is currently at Winter Pool, which is 4ft down from Summer Pool.
I couldn't even tell you where to start, as I've never been there this early in the year. If you go by the TWRA report ... minnows & jigs in the larger creeks, on the bottom along the channel edges, with some suspended fish being caught by drifting. Water temps ~46deg. (but, bare in mind this report is from 2/8/16 and the water was 2ft higher and falling).
... cp :kewl
Thanks CrappiePappy. I understand people being tight-lipped, which is why I was trying to specify that I'm not looking for honey holes or even specific locations but rather just general areas/creeks. It's a big lake, and I was just hoping to get pointed in the right general direction with a few suggestions of places to start so I can narrow it down a little more than the entire lake. I'm typically trolling right now, so I'm looking for those areas as opposed to docks or jigging spots. I know a bit of the general patterns of crappie, but I just don't know much about this lake or the crappie patterns in it, and with two young boys, unfortunately my time is limited so i don't have as much time to scout as I'd like. As to the tight-lipping, PM's are gladly accepted if anyone isn't wanting to give out general knowledge for all. I have a conveniently short memory on these sorts of things, so confidentiality is no issue. Again, thanks for the advice and all the help.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
I wish there was a normal "pattern" on WB :Rofl
Seems like every trip I've made there since 2010, I've had to adjust to something new, since the fish just haven't been where they "used to be" at those times. From 2006-2010 I could almost always depend on them being around brush, under docks, or on pea gravel banks ... anywhere from mid to late April. Over the last several years, they've been much more elusive than in years past. Case in point ... last year (mid Apr) conditions were right for them to be ready to be bedding. Three days of fishing and we found NO males around any of the spawning banks, and all the fish we caught were females out wandering around in 20-30ft of water, about 15-25ft deep, full of eggs and ready to go. Here's my report from that trip : http://www.crappie.com/crappie/kentu...t-trip-2015-a/
And here's my report from the year before, for comparison : http://www.crappie.com/crappie/tenne...s-bar-crappie/
We usually lodge at Arrowhead, and fish the Whites Creek/Rector Branch/Phillips Branch area, but occasionally run as far as the Piney Point area or up around Thiefneck Island.
You "can" do some searching in this forum and look for reports from years past, but I don't know as you will find many from the Feb time frame. Just above the "OFF TOPIC" sub forum, in the lightly highlighted banner, there's a "Search Forum" button. Click on it and enter "Watts Bar" into the search line, then click on the "Search" button. That will bring up a couple of pages of threads that mention Watts Bar somewhere in the discussion. Those reports and discussions may be of some benefit to you, if you do find that you like fishing the lake & are wanting to add it to your options to "branch out" to new waters.
... cp :kewl
Thanks so much for the info. I had read some about the lake, but I had also run into some of the same info as you mentioned of the patterning being sporadic. I'll definitely try some of the areas you referenced. Some of them were the areas I was thinking, but this lake seems a bit harder to get as much "reliable" info than others, so I was hoping to confirm.
I've recently met several of the East TN Crappie Club guys and they have all been really helpful. Seem to be a really good bunch of guys, and I'll likely join soon. I don't know if many of them fish WB much, but I probably just need to get more involved there.
I appreciate the feedback, CrappiePappy
How did your trip go? Did you get on some fish? I hope you had a good time no matter the outcome.
Sorry, forgot to follow up...especially since there wasn't much to report. Tough day of fishing. Bad case of lockjaw. I did get one real nice 14" slab, but other than that, all I seemed to find was a bunch of catfish to mess all my lines up. No one that I talked to was catching anything. Either way, it was definitely much better than being at work, but just not much to brag about. That's the way it goes some days, though.
If you don't mind me asking where did you put in at? I've been thinking about trying out the lake but am torn about going there or Douglas. I live close to Norris Lake and do fish it, but it's not the crappie lake that I'm used to fishing from growing up on Ky Lake and then living in Chatt for over 12 and fishing the Chick.Quote:
Originally Posted by knox_frog
I'm sure there are crappie here on Norris, but they have been challenging for me to really get on them. This lake is deeeeep.
I know how you feel. I few years ago my friend and I went there for two days and got skunked. Nobody was catching anything other than the guys going for catfish.
See my first reply post for the best ramps in the mid lake area (that I know of). Lake is only 2ft below Summer Pool right now, (after the 4ft rise) so they shouldn't be too hard to launch from.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Ridge Brewer
... cp :kewl
I ended up putting in at Rowden Branch. I think they have named the ramp Big Springs, but is used to be known as the Hog Pen, as I've been told.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Ridge Brewer
Ive fished Douglas a fair amount of times. Douglas probably has a lot more crappie, but it doesn't have near the size - most "keepers" end up in the 10-12" range.
As to Norris, good luck. Very hard lake to fish if you don't know it. Very deep. Most people I know crappie fishing on Norris are fishing over brush piles or attractors they know about. There are crappie there, and I hear lots of people catching them, but I haven't found many that will say where.
I can get to Kingston in about an hour, but wasn't sure if people prefer fishing a little further south.
As to Norris I've had sporadic luck, still learning the lake for sure. I think I'm a tad spoiled from fishing Ky Lake and the Chick. I will have to lower my expectations and work harder at finding them, they're here just not going to be huge numbers. Plus the limit is 10 which I just recently found out....I had always assumed it was 15.
From the TWRA website:
Quote:
Norris is relatively infertile and does not, and never will, support as many fish as more fertile reservoirs like Boone, Douglas, and Cherokee.