tnstratos283

How did your Watts Bar trip turn out?

Hey charlie 1: Thanks for the shout. We had a good time, but no cigar as far as placing in the money. I threw top water spooks and buzz baits early with nothing on them. Fished the laydowns and bridge pilings in the second slough that you told me about early on the left coming out of king creek with a few bites and moved out to the main channel. Caught several fish on the main channel points, but all would like a inch or less in measuring. Spots and largeheads were all we caught, no smallies. Most fish we seen on the graph were suspened up off the bottom a good ways up which made it tough. I threw a dd22 crankbait till my arm couldn't take it and would switch off to swimming a slow moving spinnerbait to try to stay in the strike zone where the fish were at. Water temps were pretty constiant everywhere we went with good color, but there was a good breeze blowing and the boat traffic was terrible as far as trying to stay on points on the main channel. The worm bite in watermellon was the most productive for us working it off the points and letting it fall off into deeper water, but you had to work it extremely sloooooow like in dead sticking it which seem like forever and raise you rod up and drag it again and never feel that tap tap tap about like being hung up. Ten boats in the tourney with seven of them (including us) coming in with the same story of short fish on the golden rule. First place team had 3 good fish just alittle over ten pounds, with second and third place one fish each neck-neck just over a pound each. I heard the winners were on fish early on the top water bite with sammies. Looking back on it now, I wish I had thought of swimming a grub, something small that would have got down there in the area where they were at with the tough bite might have made a difference. I have seen this work on center hill before to aleast catch a keeper spot, but I always think of things I should have done after it is over with... LOL. I would like to get back up there again in about a month or two when the water cools down some, I bet the bite would be awsome then. Again, I appreciate the help. Good fishing to you and be safe on the water...283

Wow. Five keepers total out of ten boats? That's some tough fishing. At least you know "it wasn't you". The bite was tough Saturday. I went out Saturday morning and got one bite on topwater and caught a pounder on a ledge in 17 feet in three hours. I gave up until about 7:00 and fished until about 9:30. I got several dinks, both LM and SM, a 16" LM and a 18" SM, all on a 300 series Bandit, pearl with chartreuse back. No luck on the worm at all. Too bad you guys have to weigh in before dusk, because the bite has really been picking up just before and after twilight. Come back and see us!