August 2014 Fishing w/Hope on Percy Priest

I went fishing recently with my youngest daughter Hope on Percy Priest Lake.  She caught several nice fish including this hybrid striper.  The fish were caught on minnows and crawlers at 12-15 feet.  I really enjoyed getting out on the water with her.  She is a great fisher-women and daughter.

Percy Priest Monster Yellow Bass

First spring outing on Percy Priest Lake was a success.  Fished the backwater creek channel heading out into the main lake in about 5 feet of water from boat.  We had 6 to 8 rods with slip bobbers set down 3-4 feet tipped with medium sized minnows.  Caught 15-20 crappie, several bluegill & bass and some yellow bass.  One of the yellow bass was Moby Dick's little brother......HUGE.  See the picture below with the large yellow bass in the middle.  It dwarfed the normal sized yellow bass below it.  The water was dirty and around 52 degrees.  Air temperature was 38F at first light warming to 50F.  Winds were out of the northwest 5-10MPH on a partly cloudy day.

Ross Barnett-All Crappie-No Bluegill Lake

I have been living in Madison, MS now for about 7 months now and have never seen a lake were you could not catch large quantities of bluegill but could catch crappie any day any condition.  I catch 20 crappie for every bluegill I land on Ross Barnett.  Almost unheard of.   Of course in Mississippi, they call crappie "white perch".  Maybe that is why I catch so many. 

Went out for 4 hours this morning. It was very sunny out, so I fished under a bridge for most of the morning.  Caught 20 nice keepers (10-14 inch) again the old fashion way. Caught half of them straight lining about 22 feet down in 30 feet of water. The rest were caught on slip bobbers about 10 feet down in 20 feet of water.  Only landed one other species of fish, a small channel cat.  I did see what appeared to be some incredible striper surface action though.  I don't think my 4 pound test would hold up to that. 

December Crappie on Old Hickory

Went crappie fishing on Old Hickory this morning. It was a perfect day for December with morning temperatures in the 50s. It was also overcast with a strong south wind and a low pressure system moving in. Water temperature was 51 degrees. Fished 20 feet down in 30 feet of water using jigs tipped with minnows & slip bobbers w/minnows on regular hooks. Caught 15 nice keepers.

Crappie on Shrimp

Very interesting fishing outing this morning. Catchin crappie on shrimp in Old Hickory Lake. 16" big one in the picture.

Claytor Lake 2011

This year was another good fishing year. Weather was mild and overcast with moderate winds and a water temperature of around 72 degrees. Caught the majority of fishing 8 to 10 feet down in 10 to 20 feet of water. Caught several large channel catfish, a variety of bass, some nice yellow perch and a lot of decent bluegills. Also caught a large stinky snapping turtle.

Old Hickory-First Kayak Fishing Outing for My Son

Kayak fishing with my son today was a proud moment for me. Steve went out in his own kayak and learned to kayak and caught some nice fish on Old Hickory. It took him about 30 minutes to learn how to navigate properly in the kayak but when all was said and done he did pretty well for a 7 year old. He also did very well fishing, catching a very nice channel 2-3 pound channel cat, a drum and a lot of bluegill under the shade trees in a deep water cove. I didn't think about it previously but all I had to do to manage the fishing was drop an anchor and tie it off on the cleats of the two kayaks. I will take credit for most of the casting, but he hooked and caught all the fish. It was kind of frustrating since they were biting very well this morning, but he caught his fair share. The funny part of it was watching him struggle so hard to bring the big catfish up. His arms were killing him:)