Spring is just around the corner and we all know spring is the time when lots of fish head upriver in search of love on the gravel bars. The Dogwoods blooming is a sure sign that it should be getting ready to blow wide open soon. East and West Forks of Percy Preist should be a good place to start looking for some spawning fish. Head up as far as your boat can go, put the motor in shallow water drive and go a little further. The fishing is usually best an hour or two before dark but you will find enough action to keep you interested all day with a little planning. Be sure your lights are working and that you have a spotlight before you stay late.
There should be enough fish in the upper section of our rivers to keep you busy this time of year. I like to bring a multitude of rigs so that I can be ready for just about anything. Here is a little list of the fish I pursue and places where I spend most of my spring.
1. Stripe, Hybrid, Striper can be found in the upper East, West forks everywhere. I like to go a good ways upstream and fish down. Shad are good bait if you can find them but rooster tails and Rapala like minnows will work well also. A couple of easy places on the lake to find the “Water Zebra’s” are Old Hickory Cove and Suggs Creek. Finding good Shad is going to be the key to lake fishing. If you can get the right bait (I like Shad about 4”) you can have a phenomenal time catching Hybrids and Striper this time of year.
I also like to fly fish in the upper river during the Stripe run. Flies that work well are anything flashy, the more flash the better. A pearl bodied beadhead Wooly Bugger with white or flash tail is a killer!! Cast it out on a 5 weight and let it sink a little bit, then strip it back erratically. Always be on alert because you just might hook a huge Hybrid and get your arm pulled out of socket or knuckles bloodied on the reel handle.
Spring is also Trophy Striper time at Cordell Hull Lake and below the Dam. Live Shad and Skipjack pulled on planers or drifted behind the boat work well for this.
2. Carp should be in the upper river in good numbers and a fly rod with a dark colored wolly worm (no flash) should do the trick to fool some of these golden bonefish. TIP: You have to be extremely stealthy to get them to eat right now. Approach them from downstream and stay low to the water. Once you spook them, move on to the next spot. Hey, don’t turn your nose up on Carp fishing until you’ve tangled with one on a 6 weight fly rod. I’ve caught almost every freshwater game fish in North America and the Carp is in my top 5 most fun fish to catch. They can be very easy to fool with the fly when their feeding on the flats later in the summer but when they’re packed in the river they are somewhat spooky. During a spring Mayfly hatch in the upper river they will readily take dry flies off the surface or nymphs fished under an indicator ;-). This usually happens around dark.
3. Smallmouth are also moving up river to spawn and should arrive at Walter Hill Dam soon if they aren’t already there. Creek minnows are the ticket here and can usually be caught streamside with a cast net or sein, as they are up in the river spawning too. Way up in Fall Creek is another excellent place to find spawning Bass. PLESE RELEASE THESE JEWELS. Think about how much you spent on a license, gas, bait, food, gear, etc, to go fishing to catch that fish. Then think about how much a good fillet of fish (ummmm, tuna) cost at the grocery store…. Always bring a camera so you can document/validate your catch to your buddies and let the fish live to spawn and fight another day.
4. Crappie, Well you don’t need me to tell you how to do that but I will say that they sometimes can be found way upriver where alot of people never fish.
5. Caney Fork Trout fishing is picking up. Keep checking my Forum at
http://www.trophyfishingtn.com/smf/index.php for the latest reports from the Caney. Be sure to check out the photo site
http://www.trophyfishingtn.com/coppermine/index.php and see some of the nice Trout that the Caney and the Cumberland produced last year!
Some other excellent and often overlooked Spring fishing opportunities here in mid TN are TWRA Lakes!
Williamsport lakes. These small lakes provide EXCELLENT fishing for Hybrid, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, and Blue Cats. I won’t give too much away here except that they are worth checking out! Remember, you can launch your own boat but you aren’t allowed to run outboard on the lake. They also have boat rentals with paddles (or you bring battery and trolling motor) available. I can only hope TWRA considers revising the regulations to prohibit jug fishing on these lakes. These lakes just don’t seem support it! I have seen a considerable decrease in Catfish since I started seeing people jugging in Bluecat lake. Not to mention that the lake is not big enough to spread 50 jugs out and not bother other fishermen.
http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/pond/famlake/williamsport.html Fall Creek Falls Lake in Fall Creek Falls State Park for Trophy Bluegill. You should Fish on the bottom in 20 feet of water with crickets and 6 pound fluro. It does take some time and effort to find the beds but when you do it’s a good time. Fishing is usually best in May and even if they aren’t biting your still in one the most awesome and beautiful places in mid TN. If you do find them you will never be the same about Bluegill fishing. These fish are big as dinner plates and pull like a Mac truck. Not sure about using a fly rod for this since they’re so deep. I’m sure it could be done but I would have to question why???
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/parks/FallCreekFalls/Lake in Standing Stone State Park has Shellcrackers and Bluegill that are also very large and somewhat easier to catch then the Fall Creek Falls fish. I have found these fish in shallow water on several occasions. Your nose can usually find where the beds are located. This lake also has Rainbow Trout stocked in it and is in a very scenic area. The only way to boat this lake is to rent a boat and they are limited to first come, first serve. Something to keep in mind is under this policy you could spend several hours getting there only to find there are no boats available to rent but I have not had that happen to me yet. If you strike out here the Obey is just a few miles away. Be sure to visit the TWRA Trout Hatchery while visiting the Obey. It is a free tour and very interesting. I really like the inside where the eggs are hatched in tubes filled with swirling water. Be sure to bring the kids on this one.
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/parks/StandingStone/index.php?activity=I hope you all get to spend some time out this spring enjoying Tennessee’s lakes and rivers and remember, be courteous and respect other peoples space on the water, wear those PFD’s and PLEASE don’t litter.
Mike Anderson
www.trophyfishingtn.com
