I see that it has stripers and walleye. Thinking about lakefront living and Norris seems to be well located. Thanks
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I see that it has stripers and walleye. Thinking about lakefront living and Norris seems to be well located. Thanks
Stripers eat all the crappie.
Interesting. Any crappie lakes nearby?
I have never fished Norris, but according to this week's fishing report, crappie fishing has been good on the lake? In East TN you have Watts Bar, Douglas, Fort Loudoun, Melton Hill, Tellico, and near Chattanooga is Chickamauga. For what it's worth, the Norris tail water (Clinch River) is a very good trout fishery. I have in fact fished it a few times. I left outa Cherokee, just because it has not been good to me, but our ETCC tourneys have produced bags of big fish from there. Hope this helps.
Also Watuga, South Holston and Boone Lakes.
Yeah, helps a lot. Going to take a run down that way in May to check it out. Rainbows? Is the Clinch a boat fishing river? Thanks
Man, so much water. So many choices!
Rainbows and Browns. It can be fished in a boat, depending on how much generation. I have wade fished and also used a kayak. When generators are running, my kayak goes downstream only!!Quote:
Originally Posted by dwaw
My wife And I are going to drive down to get a closer look at Norris Lake is the near future but I'm curious, If you all were going to locate on or near one of the above mentioned lakes, with crappie in mind, which would you choose?
All are reasonably close, and distinctly different in my opinion. If living on the lake, I would want to see the property during the winter drawdown. Do you want to be nearer to the bigger cities, i.e., Knoxville or Chattanooga? Near the Smoky's? The East TN Crappie Club fished 6 lakes this season. I live 10 miles from Knox, and the longest drive was 2 hrs. Of those 6, Melton Hill and Norris were not included (fished). I say all that to say, you are never far from several bodies of water in East TN. I love crappie fishing, but fishing the creeks and rivers in the Smoky's for wild trout is all kinds of fun. Take a few days to look around. After all, this is God's country!Quote:
Originally Posted by dwaw
Thanks for the insight ET. I appreciate it.
Douglas is probably the best? I fish South Holston tho but that's just cause it's the closest... It's a good lake tho!
It depends alot on what type of crappie water you like to fish. Douglas is a great lake but is a desert beneath the surface of the water, meaning you are fishing spawning and suspended fish primarily. But the price for land on Douglas is still "reasonable". Loudoun/Tellico are my favorites because there is so much structure to fish, water levels are fluctuate less than douglas, cherokee, norris, but the prices are $$$$$$$$$ crazy.
The crappie fishing is not as good as some of the other local lakes but TWRA has been making an effort to improve the crappie population. I was told by a TWRA officer that they put out 800 brush piles last year and have been stocking yearly. Norris is a very deep lake and with the winter draw down structure is hard to find in the spring.
on a side note Norris is becoming a very good lake for shellcrackers.
I, almost exclusively, spider rig so suspended fish and spawning fish are typically what I catch. Looks like Douglas made the "must see" on this first trip! Thanks rcp
Thanks for all the great info. Makes me wonder if any of these lakes have good yellow perch populations too.?
Douglas also has some "hidden" gems. I used to bass fish and my partner knew the lake really well. There is one area in particular with flooded timber and grass.The crappie load up in there in the Spring. As stated earlier, there is also Watts Bar and Chicamauga close by. Both are great Crappie fisheries. also Tellioo/Loudon is great also. All within a few hours of each other.
How severe is the draw down on Douglas? It apparently doesn't hurt the fishery.