A quick Watts Bar trip

The fish were hungry this morning.Thirty good ones in about 2 hours.

That's a nice mess of fish quick

Care to expound on the "how" story ?? (what method were you using)

I'm going to take a wild guess and say those fish you two are holding up were caught well before the picture was taken, and probably not at the location of the photo. :biggrin (the whited out tails is a giveaway on the first part ... not giving away a specific spot/area in the photo keeps the trolls & meathogs away from your honey holes could be a reason for the second part ... and is a very good idea )

I hoping some of whatever is causing them to bite in Watts Bar washes over the spillway in lake Chickamauga

Caught these fish over brush in 12 to 25 fow 1/16 oz jig would start out casting over the brush and then would move on top of the brush fish over it. NO minnows were used.

Certainly a nice mess of fish

Hmm I will be there in the morning.
LOL

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Originally Posted by labrador

Caught these fish over brush in 12 to 25 fow 1/16 oz jig would start out casting over the brush and then would move on top of the brush fish over it. NO minnows were used.

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Figures !! rotfl That's exactly what we used to do mid Oct. Our problem was not knowing more than 2 or 3 spots (downed trees) that were productive, all of which are quite a distance apart from each other. Then when one spot no longer exists, and another spot isn't productive, we'd be forced to "punt" (just go searching or depend on deep water docks) which used up a lot of our time there, with little productivity.

Have you noticed a lack of sub-legal fish ?? I love the fact that most of the fish we've caught down there over the years have been really nice fish, but am concerned that we haven't caught more than a handful of small fish over the last 8-10yrs. Our main area is Whites Creek to Piney (& all on that side of the lake), though we have made trips to certain areas between Caney Creek & Thiefneck Island over the years.

And just FYI .... that 2.75lb female Slab in my avatar came from Whites Creek back in 2007.

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Figures !! rotfl That's exactly what we used to do mid Oct. Our problem was not knowing more than 2 or 3 spots (downed trees) that were productive, all of which are quite a distance apart from each other. Then when one spot no longer exists, and another spot isn't productive, we'd be forced to "punt" (just go searching or depend on deep water docks) which used up a lot of our time there, with little productivity.

Have you noticed a lack of sub-legal fish ?? I love the fact that most of the fish we've caught down there over the years have been really nice fish, but am concerned that we haven't caught more than a handful of small fish over the last 8-10yrs. Our main area is Whites Creek to Piney (& all on that side of the lake), though we have made trips to certain areas between Caney Creek & Thiefneck Island over the years.

And just FYI .... that 2.75lb female Slab in my avatar came from Whites Creek back in 2007.

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You are almost convincing me to jump north a lake. :biggrin
I need to get a better handle on Chickamauga before learning a new lake.

I have been seeing some short fish but not what I would like to see that is for sure. One thing about Watts Bar it does have some really good fish I have caught 3 Over 3lb. but those have come in the last few years.

Labrador .... when have you seen spawning fish in the Spring ?? My last few trips down there in the Spring have been kinda poor, as far as productivity, and even when the trips have been productive ... they haven't been for fish close to the bank, in the wood cover. :Doh:

A couple of years there weren't any males on the spawning banks (I know of) and the egg laden females were roaming around out in 25-30fow ... in late April !! There weren't even any fish around the deep docks, like there used to be during pre-spawn/spawn periods of the past.

I don't know about you, but I've seen a decline in numbers, & spawning activity, since they changed the timing of the water level rise. ( TVA officials have few answers for Watts Bar Lake users' questions | Local News | rheaheraldnews.com )

Now, I haven't been down there in the Spring for the last several years, mainly because of the continued decline in my productivity since 2010 ... but, prior to that I always seemed to do pretty good in mid-late April & then again in mid-late Oct.

Good deal, i'll be down there on the 12th. Cant wait, ive never fished it in the fall. Oh i love being retired!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by labrador

I have been seeing some short fish but not what I would like to see that is for sure. One thing about Watts Bar it does have some really good fish I have caught 3 Over 3lb. but those have come in the last few years.

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3 over 3 pounds is mighty good

Excellent report!

:ThumbsUp

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Labrador .... when have you seen spawning fish in the Spring ?? My last few trips down there in the Spring have been kinda poor, as far as productivity, and even when the trips have been productive ... they haven't been for fish close to the bank, in the wood cover. :Doh:

A couple of years there weren't any males on the spawning banks (I know of) and the egg laden females were roaming around out in 25-30fow ... in late April !! There weren't even any fish around the deep docks, like there used to be during pre-spawn/spawn periods of the past.

I don't know about you, but I've seen a decline in numbers, & spawning activity, since they changed the timing of the water level rise. ( TVA officials have few answers for Watts Bar Lake users' questions | Local News | rheaheraldnews.com )

Now, I haven't been down there in the Spring for the last several years, mainly because of the continued decline in my productivity since 2010 ... but, prior to that I always seemed to do pretty good in mid-late April & then again in mid-late Oct.

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I would hope those expensive biologist employed by TVA would have all that figured out

Good job.