"Whats up Tennesee"

[friendlyfisher]

This spring I will be heading down to Tennesee for a week or two. I will be staying in Chatanooga in the South East part of the state. Just wondering if anyone has ever been down that way befor. I think they have rivers running all over the place. Looking forword to stretching some lips in a new state.

[SluggoMaster]

I am from there. It depends on which reservoir you decide to fish. If you are going to be north of Chattanooga, then you are going to be looking at Lake Chickamauga. I spent a lot of time down there. I will be down there this March and will be getting my bassing groove back on before the season starts here. Let me know what timeframe you are going, and I will see whether the water is up, or still in the winter pool. That will make a difference on how to fish there.

Scott

[Cyberfish]

I worked at a friends Bible camp on Watts Bar lake a couple of weeks last summer, didn't do a lot of fishing, had no boat. Fished by the dam one afternoon, got some small smallies on topwater, lost one really nice one. got a couple of medium sized spots, and a couple of really small largemouths. All the fish were chaseing shad, no weeds in the lake at all, lot different than MN thats for sure!

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simul iustus et peccator

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[SluggoMaster]

Watts Bar is an outstanding reservoir for smallies. Almost all of the TVA reservoirs have been stripped of milfoil, and have been for at least fifteen years. I was just a teenager when they killed all the weeds with "the pellets" that got everything.

It has taken a LONG time for the bass to recover from this. If you read BassMaster magazine, a few months back, they had the east Tennessee river creel results. Watts Bar was one of the top reservoirs there. It is a HUGE lake, and there are lots of rocks too.

[Cyberfish]

They draw the lake down so far in the winter that I think any weeds that start to grow are left high and dry...

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simul iustus et peccator

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[SluggoMaster]

The water is definately pretty low in the winter. Believe it or not though, most of the milfoil that is left is a bit deeper than you would expect. *IF* you find any, there will be fish on it, always. I have found that in Chickamauga, the farther north you go, the better chance of finding some milfoil. In the spring, when the water is down, structure fishing is your best bet, or find a wind blown point, and crank away. You will hook up eventually.

You have to be careful though, the sandbars are not marked very well. Stay close to the markers when running the outboard. The water gets shallow quickly when the water is down. The creeks that feed the river are especially shallow, and clear most of the time.

[Coach Dog]

Well if you want a shot at the world record smallmouth, check out Dale Hollow Lake (or reservoir?). I believe it's in the northern part bordering Kentucky and there are smallies in there bigger than anywhere else in the country. Pretty sure the record is from there.

Coach Dog

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GIT-R-Done!

[This message has been edited by Coach Dog (edited 01-17-2004).]

[Coach Dog]

Just checked the map and Dale Hollow is due north of Chatanooga, on the TN/KY border.

Coach Dog

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GIT-R-Done!

[friendlyfisher]

Hey sluggo!
I will be heading there on march 7th through march 25. I believe the town we are going to is called hixston or something like that. Is the season open year round? Where is my best bet and closest place to fish both from shore or in a boat?

[SluggoMaster]

Hixson, and yes the season is open year-round. It's funny, I'm heading down there for a week starting the 19th of March. Depending on where in Hixson you are going to be, there are a couple of options as far as fishing.

There is a place called "Chester Frost Park" which is available, and there is quite a bit of water around this park. There is a huge launch area as well.

I will be a bit farther north from Hixson, which will be up in the Sale Creek area, which is about 20 miles northeast of where you will be. My e-mail address is: [email protected] if you want to chat some more about places to fish.

Scott