Huge Striper Caught at Ft. Loudon Dam

#27
#27
golfballs said:
They're all stocked?

What technique do you use beneath the dams?

I've only fished for them when I lived in Annapolis.
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We used live bait - small bluegill or shad about the size of the palm of your hand.

We would drive up close to the dam and throw the bait beyond the boil and let it run along the wall and if we didn't get a bite within a minute, we would drift down stream.

This is obviously dangerous and if anyone tries it, please make sure you know what you are doing and wear a life jacket.
 
#29
#29
golfballs said:
They're all stocked?

What technique do you use beneath the dams?

I've only fished for them when I lived in Annapolis.
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I've heard two stories about Norris. One, the fish are hybrids and do not reproduce. Two, the fish are capable of reproducing but can't given the conditions in Norris.

There are two or three species. Some have continuous stripes down their sides, while some have broken stripes.
 
#30
#30
larjoranj said:
Nice fish jps2194. I don't own a boat so I fish from the bank below Percy Priest when there is water. Here are a 18# and 15# I caught. I normally use 5" swim baits with 1 or 2 ounce jig heads.

View attachment 138607
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Do you fish when they're generating? I've been tempted numerous times to stop and try for stripers when driving down 40
 
#33
#33
Carl Pickens said:
Do you fish when they're generating? I've been tempted numerous times to stop and try for stripers when driving down 40
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Fishing is best when they are generating, but they don't generate much. They open the spillways when there are heavy rains throughout the year but the spillways by themselves usually don't coax the bigger rockfish up from the Cumberland. You can see the generation schedule and water depth for each dam at the TVA website.

https://www.tva.gov/Environment/Lake-Levels/J-Percy-Priest

They'll start drawing the lake down later in the fall for the winter and fishing will be good then. During the spring rains the fishing is good. During the summer months it's rare to have enough water to fish in. There are weeds 3 feet tall below the dam during a lot of the summer and you can walk right across the Stones river.

Check the TVA site for the generation schedule when there are heavy rains forecast. The big fish come up when the water is at 394 ft or higher (the bottom on the tailwater side is about 388 ft above sea level so 394 ft means the water is about 6 ft deep). The discharge rate is also listed. Fishing will be best when it's high, 3,000 cubic ft per second or more. And it's always better if they are running 1 of the generators. They rarely run both.

Anytime you drive by and there is enough water to whitecap and churn you have a chance to catch them. I have better luck on the Nashville side because the 2 generators are on that side but a lot of people fish the Hermitage side too.

Be careful if you go down there. When the water level is rising and falling those rocks get slick. The brace I'm wearing in the earlier pic is from a torn meniscus and broken knee I got slipping on one of those slick rocks while fighting a big striper. I did get up and land him though:) Good luck!
 
#34
#34
larjoranj said:
Be careful if you go down there. When the water level is rising and falling those rocks get slick. The brace I'm wearing in the earlier pic is from a torn meniscus and broken knee I got slipping on one of those slick rocks while fighting a big striper. I did get up and land him though:) Good luck!
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I like your dedication! :p
 
#36
#36
I caught a huge striper once too.
She was giving me a lap dance and crushed a testicle.
My insurance wouldnÂ’t pay because I had given her an oral command to assume that position. My bad.
 
#39
#39
larjoranj said:
Fishing is best when they are generating, but they don't generate much. They open the spillways when there are heavy rains throughout the year but the spillways by themselves usually don't coax the bigger rockfish up from the Cumberland. You can see the generation schedule and water depth for each dam at the TVA website.

https://www.tva.gov/Environment/Lake-Levels/J-Percy-Priest

They'll start drawing the lake down later in the fall for the winter and fishing will be good then. During the spring rains the fishing is good. During the summer months it's rare to have enough water to fish in. There are weeds 3 feet tall below the dam during a lot of the summer and you can walk right across the Stones river.

Check the TVA site for the generation schedule when there are heavy rains forecast. The big fish come up when the water is at 394 ft or higher (the bottom on the tailwater side is about 388 ft above sea level so 394 ft means the water is about 6 ft deep). The discharge rate is also listed. Fishing will be best when it's high, 3,000 cubic ft per second or more. And it's always better if they are running 1 of the generators. They rarely run both.

Anytime you drive by and there is enough water to whitecap and churn you have a chance to catch them. I have better luck on the Nashville side because the 2 generators are on that side but a lot of people fish the Hermitage side too.

Be careful if you go down there. When the water level is rising and falling those rocks get slick. The brace I'm wearing in the earlier pic is from a torn meniscus and broken knee I got slipping on one of those slick rocks while fighting a big striper. I did get up and land him though:) Good luck!
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Why would one to fight a stripper?
 
#42
#42
What kind of setup are you fishing w? The only freshwater fishing I've ever done is w a fly rod.
 
#46
#46
golfballs said:
What kind of setup are you fishing w? The only freshwater fishing I've ever done is w a fly rod.
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I use a 9 ft medium action Ugly Stick spinning rod for longer casting. I can get around 80 yards. I use a Daiwa SS2600 spinning reel. I like to use a wire leader tied to about 12 feet of 50 pound braid, which in turn is tied to 20 lb. braid. The 20 lb braid is thin enough to cast a long way and it's plenty strong enough to land stripers up to 25 lb, even against the strong current below the dam. 25 lbs is about as big as they get below Priest. Below the bigger dams you could catch up to a 50 pounder so you might want to use stronger line. The wire leader is for protection from the rocks on the bottom and the fishes' teeth and the 12 feet of 50 lb braid is to protect the line from the continuous shock of casting a 2 ounce bait. If I don't splice in that 50 lb braid between the wire leader and the 20 lb braid the bait will eventually just snap off on a cast. It you are fishing from a boat and don't need to cast so far a 7 ft rod should be fine
 
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#47
#47
golfballs said:
What kind of setup are you fishing w? The only freshwater fishing I've ever done is w a fly rod.
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We used a 7.5' ugly stick with 20 lb mono and a 1.0 hook Kamikaze octopus hook. Had 1 large weight and some yummy bait.

With this setup you can't muscle them, but it's effective for getting bites.
 
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