Mixed bag, Watts Bar tailwaters 9/24/21

I hope that Slab doesn’t ban me for posting something other than crappie report, but you guys asked for it so here it is. Today was the first time in 9 days to be on the water since I have been battling a serious bout with gout in the left ankle that left me virtually unable to walk. Chester on Gunsmoke would be a better description of what I have been through.

But two trips to see a doctor and a round of antibiotics and gout medicine has me back to almost normal. Some think that I am abnormal all the time. :Rofl

Phil and I hit the tail waters before daylight and fished until 10 am and didn’t have a fish less drift all morning. I caught 5 Walleye, Phil caught two Walleye including the largest 20”. Phil caught 3 Stripers and I caught 2. Phil caught my pet Drum, 3 skipjacks, and one of the 2 catfish that we landed. I had 1 Smallmouth with a worn off tail, but he was spunky.

Phil caught more of the 25 White bass that we caught but I caught my PB White bass this year. 2 lb 9 oz. We kept 9 as we are very selective on the size that we take. All fish were caught on Foley spoons in 1 5/8” size. White was a better color today than chartreuse. Phil did have a big Striper break his braided line after a 3-4 minute fight but he had to have had a bad place on the braided line as his drag was set correctly. Those things happen from time to time.

If you are interested in the technique that we were using, go check out the thread Where is DK? At the end of that thread I described in detail how we fish tailwaters.

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That looks like a fun morning. Thanks for sharing.

Great looking fish. Y'all had a good morning.
It was pretty foggy down on the water this morning when I went over the Hwy 30 bridge

Great mixed bag for sure.

Always makes me happy seeing you chasing fish! You have mastered those tail water, time now to get back to slaying those slabs. Let’s go soon.

Man looks like you all had a blast!
Congratulations


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Good outing for sure DK, your freezer must be bursting by now... :fish

I absolutely love fishing below dams. You never know what you will catch. Those Foley spoons are a great bait.

Glad you are feeling better. I love fishing tailwaters from this time of year through about april. You never know what you have until you see it. You had my favorite kind of mixed bag kind of Tennessee River day,

Watch a fella drifting for some big cats just off the dam.

Thanks DK! You described your technique for my inquiry and now you have shared with all. You may have some competition in the tailwaters soon! Still waiting on my Foley Spoons but I did get below Nickajack yesterday and caught several Smallies including a 17". I also caught your pet Drum along with a huge Spotted Gar.

NICE NICE NICE!!!! LOVE IT! Know where I’ll be trailering next trip👍

Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger with the gout-thing…deal with it several times a year and it is MISERABLE 😖

DK one last question...or maybe not...how far do you drift?

Those are some good looking fish guys. I am curious Drumking about your PB white bass. Did that 2 pound 9 oz white bass measure the required 18 inches for a TARP? I think I may have caught a TARP size white bass years ago, but it seems harder to catch that size now that I am targeting the big ones.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bwilso

DK one last question...or maybe not...how far do you drift?

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The faster the current, the longer the drift in most cases. Sometimes though, the fish are stacked more up high , so we don’t drift overly far below the area that the bites have been coming. But sometimes, the fish position more downstream. I usually don’t drift below the power lines.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarpseeker

Those are some good looking fish guys. I am curious Drumking about your PB white bass. Did that 2 pound 9 oz white bass measure the required 18 inches for a TARP? I think I may have caught a TARP size white bass years ago, but it seems harder to catch that size now that I am targeting the big ones.

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Alas, that big white bass only measured 17 5/8” long. I think that TWRA should lower the size limit on tarp white bass to 17”. I have never caught an 18” white bass since the tarp program has been initiated and a 17” white is truly a trophy. We don’t catch them that big every trip. Maybe a couple of times per season.

Thanks DK!

I tried the tailwater drift a few times Sunday but I struck out. Got snagged and lost a Foley Spoon. My fishing buddy was not interested so we went back to river fishing. I am going to try it again soon when I am by myself and can devote the time to learn. Meanwhile I have got to get more Foley's!

I think that there is an art to fishing these flutter spoons in current.

Be a good thing for a man to learn

Nice catches. I have fished that lake twice now and looking forward to going back this year. Great pics!