First time out on Little Bear

Little Bear Creek Reservoir

Time: 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Air Temperature: 63 - 72 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 618.17
Weather Conditions: Mostly Cloudy, light rain. Winds South 17 mph

I fished Little Bear for the first time today.  We always rent a cabin on Little Bear at Elliot's Branch each April for our family fishing trip, but we always trailer the boat over to Cedar Creek.  We've always wondered how the fishing was on Little Bear.

It was a pretty nasty day with light rain and sustained high winds.  I spent a lot of time just driving around and getting familiar with the water.  I probably covered about 30% of the lake.  

While it looked fishy, it was a slow day.  I caught 8-10 accidental bass and about 12 crappie with 8 of them being keepers.  All were males and in spawn colors, so I'd say spawn is definitely starting up.  

I definitely need some more time exploring this lake, but I'd come back.  It was a fruitful day despite crummy weather.  Fished almost exclusively minnows under a bobber today.  

2023 Cedar Creek Spring Opener

Cedar Creek Reservoir

Time: 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Air Temperature: 61 - 77 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 63 Degrees
Lake Level: 576.54
Weather Conditions: Mostly Sunny. Winds West 7-12 mph

I headed over to Cedar Creek this morning to kick off crappie season.  I put in at Britton Bridge and hit my normal spots.  For the most part, tree falls and bushes from prior years looked rough and dilapidated.  Most are now unfishable and some good spots on the levee had been cut down by utility crews.  I had to look for some new stuff... Water was a little low and this actually helped to spot some structure that would soon be submerged. 

I managed to find some new deeper water stuff and started off by jigging white and chartreuse tipped with a minnow and had good luck.  As the day warmed up, I slowly began working the shallows with minnows and bobber and picked up scattered fish.  For the most part, I was catching substantial numbers, but the fish were very small.  

I fished my typical spots around Britton Bridge area and caught over 40 fish, but only 12 keepers.  Most were males, which is a good sign spawn is just starting.  Every tactic I used (vertical jigging, casting jigs, minnows under bobber) produced fish.  Had a great day and glad its Crappie Season!

New Personal Best Catfish and Boat Record!!

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Air Temperature: 26 - 35 during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 551.64

Weather Conditions: Cold, clear. Winds North 12 MPH.

I love cold weather fishing and after an unseasonably warm couple of weeks, we had a cold snap.  I bought a couple dozen jumbo shiners and decided to head to the nuclear plant to see what I could catch.  I never got into the stripers this winter, so I was hoping for them or large cats on live bait.

I didn't get into the stripers, but I found the big cats!! My first fish hit hard and I immediately realized I had a whopper when it began spooling drag as fast as it could.  Current was pulling strong and between the size of the fish and the current, it was quite a battle.  As soon as it breached, I realized it was HUGE.

I grabbed my new Trophy Haul net and went to the back of the boat and went in for the scoop.  I broke my new Trophy Haul net... but I managed to land this fish!

This fish by far dwarfs my prior personal best.  My previous PB was a 62 lb flathead I caught when I was a kid that measured 48" long.  This fish measured 53-1/2" long.  My scale was not cooperating, but according to the length/weight charts, this fish likely weighed about 72 lbs.  I can attest that seems spot on.  

My day did not end there... the next fish was probably in the 30 lbs range and the next fish after that was a flathead weight near 15 lbs. 

I think I only ended up with 4 fish total, but it was an amazing day full of big cats.  I'll never forget this one.

Day off with Daddy

Thomas was on spring break this week, so he and I decided to go to the Decatur pumphouse and catch some bluegill.  We dug worms out of our yard and headed out with our Toy Story Woody Pole.  Thomas caught 13! Awesome day!!