Kats with Kevin

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 6:15 AM - 11:00 AM
Air Temperature: 65 - 85F during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 555.96

Weather Conditions: Nice, clear. Winds East 8 MPH.

Kevin and I went out to the Nuclear Plant for a morning session.  Caught a few cats on cut bait and had a great time!

Testing new trim unit and catching catfish

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 6:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Air Temperature: 66 - 84 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 87 Degrees
Lake Level: 555.77

Weather Conditions: Mostly sunny and clear. Winds SSW- 7-9 MPH.

I'd like to start out by giving a shout out to Five Star Marine in Port Richey, FL.  I've been having progressing issues with my power trim unit for the past couple years.  After researching it, I found a new unit to be about $1,200.  I was watching a YouTube video on how to remove the trim on my boat and the video mentioned sending their unit off to Five Star for repair.  After doing some research, it was a no brainer.  I shipped my unit off and 10 days later received it back in the mail.  They charge a flat rate, depending on the model, for refurbishing plus whatever parts incurred during the refurb.  In the end.  I was $635 in including shipping and have a unit that is as good as new with a 2 year warranty.  They are excellent if you are in the market for a trim repair.

I headed over to the nuclear plant today for some catfish.  I launched right at daylight and noticed some threadfin popping the water at the the boat ramp (Cowford).  I decided to throw a net a few times and see what I could catch.  l was able to catch a few small shad around the ramp and a few more plus a couple small bluegill under the powerlines.  I brought frozen skipjack and some chicken gizzards too, but fresh bait is always good to have.

Once I got set up, I noticed someone has placed several marker buoys around the pipeline marking the drop off.  I have mixed feelings about this, but it definitely makes sighting the pipeline area easier.

As normal, I dropped down below the pipeline and immediately begin getting hits.  I noticed chicken gizzards we're performing very well.  I tried the live threadfin, but they too weren't doing fantastic.  Nothing today seemed to beat the cut skipjack.  

I putted around the area until about 11:00 and managed 18 blues.  Most were around 6 lbs on the average, but I caught a couple bigger.  It was an excellent morning and my trim performed perfect. 

Summer Pattern

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 6:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Air Temperature: 78 - 87 degrees during trip
Water Temperature:
Lake Level: 555.72

Weather Conditions: Mostly sunny and clear. Winds SE- 5-8 MPH.

Slipped back out there this morning for a repeat of what I did last week.  Same place, same bait, same results.  Caught 17 in 3 hours this morning on chicken gizzards soaked in Kool-aid and cut shad over at the Nuclear Plant.  They've settled into a consistent summer pattern now.

COVID CATS

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Air Temperature: 66 - 82 degrees during trip
Water Temperature:
Lake Level: 555.76 

Weather Conditions: Mostly sunny and clear. Winds N-NE- 5-9 MPH.

Well, it finally happened... After two plus years, I finally caught the Rona.  Figured it i was going to sit around, I might as well do it atop a swivel seat! I can't say I felt 100%, but didn't feel bad enough to sit out a fishing trip.

I headed out by my house to the Nuclear Plant this morning.  Fished with chicken gizzards soaked in Kool-aid and cut skipjack from the freezer.  Bounced bottom along the pipeline.  

It got hot and I figured I needed to rest some, so I left at 11:00 AM.  Caught 21 cats this morning.  

Testing New Gear

 Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 6:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Air Temperature: 35 - 59 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 552.23
Weather Conditions: Sunny, Cool. Light and variable, 0-5 MPH

For the first time in many, many years, I finally invested in some new rods for catfishing.  I bought a set of the new Ugly Stik Catfish USCACATSPEC802MH rods.  These are two piece 8 ft rods in a medium heavy action.  They are rated for 3 oz of weight and 30 lbs test (I'm running 80 lbs braid, but the diameter is similar to 30 lbs mono).  These have the long trigger handle and are my exactly what I've been looking for in a rugged, versatile rod for vertical fishing.  I have them paired with left handed Abu Garcia 5501C3 and 6501C3 reels.

First impression is they are very nice.  They feel good, are well balanced, and handle the reel, weight, and line all very well.  I took them out this morning for a try and begin catching fish quickly.

I was using frozen skip jack and picked up 8 cats along the pipeline drop off.  The rods felt good and handled the fish well.  Could have caught many more, but was trying to get off the water by lunch.  Had a great day and pleased with the new gear.  

Grain Dust

Wheeler Lake - Decatur Barges

Time: 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Air Temperature: 75 - 84 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 555.3
Weather Conditions: Partly Cloudy. Wind NW 8 MPH

James Harris and I set out for catfish this morning under the grain barges in Decatur.  We had a mix of skipjack and chicken soaked in Kool-Aid for bait.  We planned on a 1/2 day trip.

I started my day wet as I slipped on the Hard Dock boat ramp and busted my ass.  

There was quite a bit of boat traffic in the area.  We set up right behind the barges and started bumping bottom, but there was a lot of traffic and not much room.  We eventually tied off and casted tight lines.

We had a good morning and caught 9 cats and one buffalo.  They were biting the chicken very well.  It was an easy trip and we had a great time.  Looking forward to the next trip already.

A Change in Tactics...

Wheeler Lake - Decatur

Time: 8:00 AM - 12:30 AM
Air Temperature: 75 - 85 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 556.05
Weather Conditions: Mostly Sunny.  Winds NE 8-9 mph sustained.

My friend Joe came down from the Nashville area and we decided to approach the day in pursuit of a mixed bag.  We loaded up with worms, minnows, and frozen shad to be prepared for pretty much anything.  We launched at Arrowhead Landing and started the day fishing the deep water cover hoping to pull out some crappie on minnows or bluegill on worms.  We also launched 5-6 jugs on the flats out from the landing and 5-6 more just out of the mouth into the main river.

After an hour or so, we had zero luck on in the brush and it was obvious we needed to change tactics.  We needed to run jugs and I was thinking about trying for catfish under the interstate bridge, but another idea hit me on the way... We should try the grain barges by the cat food plant.

We went back into Arrowhead and ran the jugs.  No catfish, but right after we checked a a jug and threw it back in, Joe noticed it was acting funny.  We circled back and had a gar that is probably the biggest one I've ever caught.  

We ran back out into the channel and checked the others and pulled in one small catfish.  We headed on to the grain barges and set up there.

At the grain barges, we cut up shad and bounced bottom around back of the barge.  There were lots of baitfish in the area and we quickly hooked up.  In about 2 hours, we landed 12 catfish.  We had a solid time and it proved that sometimes you just have to adapt your plan to whatever works.  Look forward to doing it again!

  

2021 Catfish Kickoff

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Air Temperature: 53 - 67 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 77 Degrees
Lake Level: 507.27
Weather Conditions: Mostly Cloudy.  Clearing mid-day. Winds N-NW 9-10 mph sustained.

I've put up my long crappie rods for the summer and converted the boat over to a catfish slayer.  Today was my first 2021 day targeting catfish.  I thawed out some gizzard shad for the poles and some old threadfin to float some jugs and launched this morning at Cowford.  We had a cold front push through yesterday and it was cold for a late May day.  The cloud cover and north wind didn't help the temperature.

I dropped 6 jugs in from on my neighborhood and went down past the nuclear plant boils where the secondary channel spits and dropped 7 more.  I moved down past the powerline island and dropped 7 more there and then returned to the nuclear plant to drop my pole.

I attempted the livesocope today targeting catfish, but I can't say it made a difference like it does with crappie.  I concentrated on the pipeline dropoff near the green buoy.  I caught 3 nice fish on my first 3 passes.  I hung around bouncing bottom with cut gizzard shad and picked up another one before heading back to check jugs.

I caught a couple fish on the first jug drop, but only caught one total out of the other 14 jugs.  I decided to pick up these jugs. I headed back to the nuclear plant and gave it another go.  I wasn't having much luck near the green buoy, so I move to the middle of the channel near the dropoff and hit a good honey hole.  I picked up 2-3 more here.  

Around 11, I decided to call it an early day and pick up the remaining jugs.  The wind never really let up and it was pretty difficult to hold position.  The weather was clearing, but I needed to get back to the house and clean fish.  I picked up another could on the first jug drop and headed home.

It was an excellent start to my catfish season.  I ended up catching 12 and keeping 10 for the freezer. 3 of the 4 channel cats were still holding eggs, so the spawn is still active. One fish was slightly over 10 lbs and I threw it back.  Most were good eating size.  Will hit it again in another week or two and start running trotlines soon.

My first trip to the "Big G" was a "Big Zzzzz"

North and South Sauty - Scottsboro - Lake Guntersville

Time: 7 AM - 1:00 PMAir Temperature: 39 - 57 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 58 degrees
Lake Level: 593.11' -
Weather Conditions: Moderate winds, 8-14 mph North. Cold.


Today was a repeat of what I intended to do on 11/13. I didn't write about that trip because no fishing every actually occurred... I'm not superstitious, but another Friday the 13th like that and I could be...To summarize: I was all excited to have a Friday off of work and go fishing. I'd never fished Guntersville before, and I wanted to check out the crappie action under the bridges. I made it on the water by 7:30AM and was motoring toward my destination when I stopped to trim my motor up to free the grass that had hung on the lower unit. That's when it all went downhill. I never got the motor trimmed down. I couldn't reach the manual trim bypass valve so I tried the fill valve and that didn't work. One hour later, I had trolled about 5 miles and exhausted all batteries as I reached the landing. I trailered the boat and got the motor down with the bypass valve. At this point, I now had water in my trim oil, so I drained some to see what the damage was. It was bad. I had to manually raise the motor and lock in in the up position for the drive home. Two miles down the road, the motor slipped down and drug across the pavement until I could get pulled over. The result: 3-4" of my skeg fin now gone. I spent the balance of my day draining, flushing, and filling my trim unit and tracking down a skeg guard to fix my issues. Then while heading to TN to get my skeg guard, my radio head unit quit. BAD. DAY.


However, no issues today. It was a Monday, so I was hoping for light boat traffic. When I got to North Sauty Bridge, it was packed. I tied up to the last remaining bridge pylon and gave it a go. It was absolutely packed with fishermen. I tried minnows under a cork and bouncing bottom, but it was slow. I pulled in 4 yellow/white bass and two crappie. One crappie was a keeper. The wind was whipping through the bridge and it was cold. No one was doing much good.


I left and headed to fish around a marina with no luck and headed to South Sauty to repeat what I had done earlier. No luck at all and it was also packed.


Probably the highlight of my trip was seeing how others had innovated ideas to fish under these bridges. Several people were using C-Clamps to attached to any point under the bridge. Others had cut boards that fit between the bridge spans and had attached eye-hooks and springs to their tie-off lines. Genius.


I called it a day and rode back. I saw 3 beautiful bald eagles on the way back. Very slow day and not what I was hoping for, but still enjoyed myself.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat"

Wheeler Lake - Tennessee River @ Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant

Time: 7 AM - 10:00 AMAir Temperature: 53 - 70 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 73 degrees in the discharge water
Lake Level: 554.86' - 38,436 cfps - Perfect conditions
Weather Conditions: Light winds, variable 3-6 mph


Decided to wet a line for catfish this morning. I pulled out 3 big frozen shad from the freezer to use for cut bait on rod and reel. I went over to my favorite spot at the Nuclear Plant to fish the drop off between the pipeline and the discharge boils. I was set up with a single pole with two hooks and bouncing bottom.


It was a beautiful, perfect morning with no current or wind to fight. This is good for this area of the lake. I got off to a good start and caught 2 channels, 2 blues in the 8# range, one little flathead, and the big one below!


She. Was. A. Tank. I knew when I set the hook that it was big. I was able to get almost the whole fight on film. It took about 12 minutes to land this fish. It didn't fight violently, but put it's head down and peeled line. I don't fish with a lot of line when I'm bouncing bottom, so I was worried about getting spooled. Somehow, I managed to keep it hooked and not run off all my line. This was a solid fish and one of the biggest I've ever caught on road and reel. The scales showed 33#, but I was convinced it was 40 or more. I guess they always seem bigger than they are, but still very nice.


I took some photos and turned it loose and picked my wife and son up at the dock for a joy ride. Very nice day. Fall bite is on!!

"Eric!!?? Sgo fishing!"

Time: 7 AM - 1:00 PM
Air Temperature: 65 - 84 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 83 degrees
Lake Level: 555.82' - 31,152 cfps - Perfect conditions
Weather Conditions: Light winds, variable 3-6 mph

Kyle twisted my arm on Friday to go fishing on Saturday morning.  Ok, it didn't take much twisting... I just needed an excuse...

We did a repeat trip of what Joe and I did the prior weekend.  We launched at the house and put out 10 jugs on the flats in front of my house baited with a mix of chicken gizzards and cut shad.  We placed the other 10 out by the mouth of Mallard Creek.  We then headed to the nuclear plant to fish rod and reels.

As soon as I dropped line, I was pulling in a channel cat.  Fishing was a little slow, but I managed to catch 4 cats around the boil line across the channel.  We ran back fished the jugs and pulled in a nice fat blue clocking in near 20 lbs and another smaller channel.  The blue was bigger than the pictures made it appear.

We went back to the plant to the intake gates and I pulled in another good fish.  Soon after, we ran the other set of jugs and then headed to Lucy's Branch for fuel. We ran across to the bluffs and bounced bottom there and I picked up another fish, but it was slow and starting to get hot.  We decided to call it a day and headed back to pick up jugs.  I think we picked up 3 more cats on jugs to finish the day with 6 rod and reel cats and 5 jug cats.  Kyle took home a great big goose egg and I'm going to trash talk and remind him for a little while 😂.

It's been 2 years since we did this last and we had a blast.  Need to get out there together more often.

Catfishing with friends

Time: 6:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Air Temperature: 71 - 81 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 81 degrees
Lake Level: 555.44' - 53,325 cfps - Perfect conditions
Weather Conditions: Light winds, variable 2-5 mph

We had some family friends come in for the weekend.  Joe had never been fishing specifically for catfish before, so we went out to see what we could do to round up a few.  We launched from Cowford this morning and proceeded to drop some jugs.  We placed 10 baited with a mix of chicken gizzards and cut shad along the flats in front of my house.  We placed another 10 around the mouth of Mallard Creek and then went to the Nuclear Plant to try rod and reel.  

I immediately caught a little flathead on my first drop at the nuclear plant.  Joe reeled in a nice blue in the 6-8 lbs range around 8:45.  Fishing was a little slow along the boils and channel, so we ran the first set of jugs before moving over to the intake gates.  I think we caught one on the first pass on the jugs.  Back at the intake gates, Joe picked up a channel.  Within just a couple hours, we had already netted all three major catfish species.  

We ran the 2nd set of jugs without much luck and then headed down toward the bluff across from the Elk to try bouncing bottom around there.  Joe again landed a good channel before we headed back in to pick up all the jugs.  

The last run on the jugs was more fruitful as we picked up 3 more cats.  We looked everywhere, but ended up losing one jug.  Must have been one heck of a fish to have gotten in under and out of sight!

Overall, we ended the day with 7-8 cats with about half coming from rod and reel and half on jugs.  It wasn't the best fishing day ever, but was still solid and Joe got to experience pulling in a few nice cats. We culled our count down to 4 fish and went home and dropped them in the grease. Looking forward to doing it again next year!

First Day Back Since My Son Was Born

Location: Shoals Creek, Wilson Lake

Time: 6:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Air Temperature: 36F on Arrival, warmed to about 59F
Water Temperature:
Lake Level: 506.57 ft - Still operating at summer pool.
Weather Conditions: Calm to slight E wind


Today was a good day - Today was the first day I've been back on the water since my son was born in May. I've spent my downtime since January with my wife and then my son upon his arrival. I can't wait until he is old enough to get out there with me. However, today was nice and although I didn't break any fishing records, I had a great day on the water.

I went to Shoals Creek on Wilson Lake today. It's sort of my "old trusty" when I don't have much time to plan or get creative. I set out to try to pick up some crappie.

I hit my normal spots this morning and started out under the bridge. However, other than a few bites, there was no real action in any of my spots.

As the temperature picked up and the sun came out, I decided to try out my new bimini top that I recently installed. You can find more information about it on AMAZON. I must say it was pretty easy to install and I am very pleased with it.

Before heading back home, I decided to give the bridge another try. This time, I decided to fish on bottom vs suspension. This finally produced fish, although no crappie today.

Using minnows on a bottom hook and a black/chartreuse curly tail jig on a top hook, I managed to pick up 12 fish under the bridge pretty quickly. I used the Lowrance unit to specifically target bridge columns holding fish. I pick up around 3 bluegill, 2 drum, 2 catfish, and the balance was a mix of white and yellow bass. I had a lot of fun and even pulled a double with a white and yellow bass combination.

I can't wait to get out there again!