Thread: Clinch River?

I can't help with much, but check the Navionics web app. It looks like they have the contours for that area.

Not sure of the depths exactly, but they are plenty deep enough for a bass boat or similar. The dam has a lock, it is a navigable river for barges, so it has a minimum depth of I think 9' in the main channel, maybe someone can correct me on that. It is deeper than that of course directly below the dam and for quite a ways down stream. Are you going to be drifting in the boils below the dam for the striper? Large live shad or 5-6" skipjack are best, they can be caught below the dam with white jigs, spoons, spinners, etc. A cast net works well for the shad, but I haven't had much luck yet with mine, I think it is a little early yet. When the water temps get higher in the summer the baitfish will really congregate below the dam for the cool water. Melton Hill is fed by Norris, it is usually a few degrees cooler than some of the other lakes around. Live bluegill also work pretty well. I fish below Ft. Loudoun dam for striper some, I have been seeing guys catching them on large swimbaits for the past week or two also. under the "Tennessee Reservoir Info" tab on here you can pull up the generation schedule each day.

of course, the charts might be off from the actual water depth this time of year.

Also forgot to mention, Ft. Loudoun dam is not that far of a drive really from MH, you could start out at one and head to the other pretty easily if you weren't having any luck. Sometimes they don't generate very much at MH, or they may not start until like 2pm and only go until 6pm, so you could go to Ft. Loudoun early and move to MH after lunch or whatever. It's maybe 30 minutes or so away from one to the other. Maybe a little longer with a boat, it's been a long time since I made that drive, but it's definitely not hours or anything like that.

The Ft. Loudoun tailwater is a pretty productive striper fishery, there is a guide who comes down alomst every day from North Carolina and takes people fishing there. He was actually on an episode of Hank Parker outdoors there a year or two ago, I just happened to be there that day and got to meet him and watch them filming. It was kind of funny, the guide would drive the boat up the the boils, drop the bait down, hook the fish, hand the rod to Hank Parker, and they would film him reeling it in. Then he would talk for a minute, the guide would unhook the fish, and start the process over again. All Hank had to do was talk for the camera and reel in a fish every so often.

I was born and grew up in Oak Ridge and was there when they impounded Melton Hill (Kentucky is home now)! Sorry I can't help with current conditions, but I just had to stick my nose in and say that I've had some great days fishing below the dam especially during the white bass run! Have a great trip.