All things fishing thread

[Jackcrevol]

I fish Hiwassee and if you’re not right beside the powerhouse you can’t hear the alarm. There are maps online that show how long it takes one or two generators to reach certain points on the river so I set my watch to give myself time to get back across. Some parts are close to 300 yards wide and if you get caught on the far bank it’s a long walk down the train tracks to get back to the road. Two generators goes from mid calf to mid thigh in a couple minutes, that and not being able to see holes would make wading back incredibly dangerous.

south holston is just a creek with generators

 

[Go aeiou]

I fish Hiwassee and if you’re not right beside the powerhouse you can’t hear the alarm. There are maps online that show how long it takes one or two generators to reach certain points on the river so I set my watch to give myself time to get back across. Some parts are close to 300 yards wide and if you get caught on the far bank it’s a long walk down the train tracks to get back to the road. Two generators goes from mid calf to mid thigh in a couple minutes, that and not being able to see holes would make wading back incredibly dangerous.

Hiwassee is as scenic as it gets. I have enjoyed many of the streams in that area along with Coker Creek, Tellico etc. Lived in Ooltewah and Cleveland.

Now I fish the Caney Fork. A similar situation with the generators, but it's not a very wide river. The water does come up fairly quickly.

 

[GordonC]

**** me. south carolina.

I like it, but it aint Florida. Hearing that, backwoods accent saying 'puppah drum'. First State to secede. Crazy.

Had a fly shop worker tell me there's fishable water in HHI at a trail. People lookin' at me like im nuts. Flip flops, 6 wt., Shrimp imitation. 3 mi in. No water.

Dont care for SC. Higher elevation.

NSB is great. Would love to live there. close enough to Sebastian, Keys, Everglades, and Tarpon Pass.

As long as there is brackish water there's resident tarpon. they follow the green mullet run annually from keys. some stay.

Permit is the prize for some folks on a fly. i'm just happy with a big red, black, or even jack. i dont care. its all about the fight. my bucket list is cobia or blue fin on fly.

when you say spot you mean croaker or weakfish?

some people thumb their noses at surf fishing. man it can be fun. hooked some big fish. some folks have it to an art. theyll row the bait out passed the breakers then fish

"Spottails": red drum, redfish....but they're all technically all croakers (even "speckled trout" aka "specks" and "gray trout" aka "weakfish" are in the croaker family technically).

When I hear "spot," I think "spot head" = drum bait chunked out past the first bar. HA

I've sightcasted cobia from a pier with a bucktail only once on Bogue Pier at Emerald Isle. I've only caught two small cobia in my life, though.

Edit: I have always wanted to go to Sebastian Inlet park and just bank fish. Maybe someday.

 

[GordonC]

Do you know Greg at Greg's Bait Shack in Portsmouth, and is he still open?
@0nelilreb

 

[TheBigOne10]

Been hammering some nice pre-spawn Smallies on the fly the last few weeks. A nice change of pace from the competition scene for trout, and honestly my favorite species to target in freshwater. Gotta get in a couple more trips before our firstborn (son) comes in a few weeks!! Very thankful and blessed to have such good water in the Volunteer state!!

 

[joevol33]

Been hammering some nice pre-spawn Smallies on the fly the last few weeks. A nice change of pace from the competition scene for trout, and honestly my favorite species to target in freshwater. Gotta get in a couple more trips before our firstborn (son) comes in a few weeks!! Very thankful and blessed to have such good water in the Volunteer state!!

Nice!

 

[TheBigOne10]

Nice!

Thank you brother

 

[chatsworth_vol]

Been hammering some nice pre-spawn Smallies on the fly the last few weeks. A nice change of pace from the competition scene for trout, and honestly my favorite species to target in freshwater. Gotta get in a couple more trips before our firstborn (son) comes in a few weeks!! Very thankful and blessed to have such good water in the Volunteer state!!

Amazing fish. I've only ever caught 1 smallie below Chickamauga dam, and it was nothing like those.

 

[TheBigOne10]

Amazing fish. I've only ever caught 1 smallie below Chickamauga dam, and it was nothing like those.

There are some really good fish behind Chattanooga State....I’ve caught Smallies up to 4 LBs wading in there. My personal favorites are on the Cumberland Plateau and the Little Pigeon up in Sevierville though.

 

[joevol33]

Amazing fish. I've only ever caught 1 smallie below Chickamauga dam, and it was nothing like those.

I can't even find them around where I live in Georgia!

 

[TheBigOne10]

I can't even find them around where I live in Georgia!

How far North are you Joe? I live in the Chattanooga area. Carters Lake around Chatsworth has some. Blue Ridge Lake is probably the best in Georgia for them.

 

[chatsworth_vol]

I can't even find them around where I live in Georgia!

Only place in Ga with a reliable population I know if is blue ridge lake, but the invasive spots has caused them to crash there as well. Last 10 years or so has gone way down hill or so I've heard.

 

[TheBigOne10]

A couple more recent ones. This year is shaping up to be a pretty good one I think.

 

[chatsworth_vol]

How far North are you Joe? I live in the Chattanooga area. Carters Lake around Chatsworth has some. Blue Ridge Lake is probably the best in Georgia for them.

Carter's has monster spots now, but I don't think they've had a documented smallie in this century.

 

[TheBigOne10]

Carter's has monster spots now, but I don't think they've had a documented smallie in this century.

Interesting....I could have swore a friend of mine has caught a couple there. I know it’s a great Spotted Bass and walleye fishery....Blue Ridge definitely has a good population of bronzebacks I know.

 

[chatsworth_vol]

There are some really good fish behind Chattanooga State....I’ve caught Smallies up to 4 LBs wading in there. My personal favorites are on the Cumberland Plateau and the Little Pigeon up in Sevierville though.

I used to fish there below the RR bridge below the dam a good bit. Mostly for skips for bait, but also for anything fun to catch. I even started learning myself to streamer fly fish there, but ain't been back in years. With the crazy rain last several years the flow there has been impossible to predict.

 

[TheBigOne10]

I used to fish there below the RR bridge below the dam a good bit. Mostly for skips for bait, but also for anything fun to catch. I even started learning myself to streamer fly fish there, but ain't been back in years. With the crazy rain last several years the flow there has been impossible to predict.

Man, Tennessee Tarpon are so fun. The winter of 2017 was off the charts good for them! But it’s been awful the last 3 years. I remember that being a drier, more mild winter. Way too much rainfall and subsequent generation the last couple of years.

 

[NEVolFan]

I can't even find them around where I live in Georgia!

Pet Smart will hook you up Joe...

 

[Carl Pickens]

Helgrammites aren't that bad, just get them behind the head. They're so tough you can fish the same one for a while and not lose it. I thought this quarantine would mean more fishing but it's rained so much every piece of water around here is running generators or spilling.

When I hit the creeks I take my cast net and catch some stone rollers. They’re hearty and the smallmouth love them.

 

[Carl Pickens]

I fish Hiwassee and if you’re not right beside the powerhouse you can’t hear the alarm. There are maps online that show how long it takes one or two generators to reach certain points on the river so I set my watch to give myself time to get back across. Some parts are close to 300 yards wide and if you get caught on the far bank it’s a long walk down the train tracks to get back to the road. Two generators goes from mid calf to mid thigh in a couple minutes, that and not being able to see holes would make wading back incredibly dangerous.

I’ve never fished there, but mid thigh with decent current sounds treacherous for a short distance..... much less 50-300 yards

 

[kiddiedoc]

Took the kids to Concord to try catch a couple today. They weren't biting, but we got a bluegill and this smallie.

 

[Toujours Pret]

Been hammering some nice pre-spawn Smallies on the fly the last few weeks. A nice change of pace from the competition scene for trout, and honestly my favorite species to target in freshwater. Gotta get in a couple more trips before our firstborn (son) comes in a few weeks!! Very thankful and blessed to have such good water in the Volunteer state!!

Big streamers? Or midget fishing buddies?

 

[DancingOutlaw]

I’ve never fished there, but mid thigh with decent current sounds treacherous for a short distance..... much less 50-300 yards

I over extended one day and had to wade upstream into the two generator flow a good 200 yards. Sucked bigly.

 

[Toujours Pret]

I over extended one day and had to wade upstream into the two generator flow a good 200 yards. Sucked bigly.

I love the tailwaters but its easy to lose track of time.

That said, only time I was horrified was on the Housatonic in CT (don't tell anyone I'm from there) and popped a big brown with a streamer.

Long story short I took a few steps and went over into a hole where I couldn't tell what was bottom and what was up. Probably was about 5 seconds total but seemed like an hour. And yes, I lost the fish.

 

[TheBigOne10]

Big streamers? Or midget fishing buddies?

Streamers, but the size and imitation changes by the day. Some days it’s sculpin patterns they want, other days they want a big heavy crayfish pattern.