Chasin' Ghost Crabs

 

Draggin' It Out

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Air Temperature: 76 - 81 degrees during trip
Water Temperature:
Lake Level: 555.81

Weather Conditions: Cloudy, windy. Winds N NE Sustained 8 MPH.

I decided to shake it up some today and try something I seldom do.  I put in at the Elk River landing and rode out to the channel with the intent of fishing deep and trolling/dragging.   I put out two bottom rigs and two suspend rigs and trolled around 0.7-1 MPH.  I started in about 45 FOW, but had no luck.  I could see a very strong thermocline about 35 feet deep and my guess is that was making things challenging.

I tried two more spots, but had no luck.

I finally headed over to the south back where I've had luck with trotlines and trolled about 30 FOW.  I got more bites here than anywhere else, but only landed one catfish weight about 12 lbs.  

Tough day.  I think my mistake was starting off too deep.  Need to brush up on this method and try again maybe when I get my new trolling motor.  

Creek Walking

 

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.  

Hottest Crappie on the Face of the Earth

Cedar Creek Reservoir

Time: 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Air Temperature: 81 - 95 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 83 degrees
Lake Level: 580.74
Weather Conditions: Sunny - Hot.  Winds  SSE 5-11 mph.

Last fall at a wedding, Lance and I talked about getting together to fish one day this year.  He came down with the family and after a short discussion, we decided to try something I've never done - Summer Time Crappie.

I must admit, I'm a crappie idealist.  I fish when they are very patternable and predictable.  That's what makes the winter and spring bite so attractive.  I usually catfish all summer long, but crappie have to eat and they can be caught all year long if you know how they behave, where to look, and how to fish them.  I'm definitely not a summer crappie expert, but I was up for the challenge.

It's a long drive out to Cedar Creek, so we didn't get on the water until close to 8:30 AM.  Out of simple curiosity, I started out in a couple shallow spots I normally fish during the spawn.  I didn't expect to get bites, but crappie follow the bait fish and bait fish relate to structure and will go shallow.  However, no bites, as expected.

Pretty quickly, we defaulted back to classic summer approach: Finding fish over submerged structure just off of drop off areas and underwater features.  We set up in 12-14 FOW over some marked structure and turned the LiveScope on.  There were crappie hanging on there like ornaments on a tree.  We went after them with a single pole, single jig approach vertical fishing.  They were particularly suspended in about 8 FOW in and above the structure.  The fish immediately showed interest, but were very finicky to approach and slow to commit to the bite.  However, with a slow presentation and a little patience, we hooked up on the fish. They didn't seem to favor any one color over another.  They were picky in general, but I'd say we caught a fair even amount on white/chartreuse, orange/black, red/chartreuse, and minnow tipped and untipped.  

We fished about 4 marked areas and put about 10 keepers in the boat by lunch. We lost 2-3 top water trying to hoss them into the boat instead of using the net... I knew better, but laziness gets the best of me from time to time 😆.

After lunch, we headed to the far side of the lake to fish some other marked structure, but when we got there, the wind had picked up and shifted in a manner that made vertical jigging next to impossible.  We couldn't hold structure or catch any fish, but the water was super clear and we did identify a lot of sunken tree stumps and structure that we marked for next spring's use.  

We headed back to re-fish our morning spots, but the heat was brutal and the fish had slowed tremendously in the heat of the day.  We pulled about 3 more keepers out and called it a day at 2:30.  

We ended up catching 2 channel cats on jigs too.  We finished the day with 13 keeper crappie and 2 catfish.  Should have had 15-16 keepers had we been using the net.

Although we didn't bring home big numbers, I absolutely would call today a success.  I'd never fished crappie in 95 degree heat and 83 degree water, but we found fish and put fish in the boat and learned a lot in the process.  Lance and I had a great time fishing and catching up.  Hot day, but absolutely worth the effort.  Looking forward to doing it again next spring and I'll definitely be more open to summer crappie in the future.

Bill Dance, The Man, The Legend. Go VOLS! 🟠🏈

 

Fryinstein!

Took a bit of a slow period at work to finally put together that fish cooker I've been planning for the past year.  Amazed at the results!

Gone Nuclear

Wheeler Lake - Browns Ferry

Time: 4:30 PM - 9:40 PM
Air Temperature: 85 - 73 degrees during trip
Water Temperature:
Lake Level: 555.58 

Weather Conditions: Mostly sunny and clear. Winds SSE- 5-10 MPH.

After taking about a month off, I finally got back on the water today for some Memorial Day weekend catfish.  I had to replace the trailer boards today, so while I had the boat off the trailer and in the water, I headed over to the nuclear plant for an evening/night catfishing session.

I started tied up to one of the four metal corner posts and was casting slip egg sinkers on the bottom and also floating a couple of slip bobbers at adjustable depths too.  I was using a mix of chicken gizzards and cut skipjack.  I got a quick fish on the bobber and had a monster throw the hook and slime my line on a giant skipjack head, but the wind was tough and I moved over to the green side tower and tied up and repeated my same spread.  I picked up fish more quickly here.  I caught one more on the bobber rig and here gizzards seemed to be the best bet.  I was catching smaller fish on the gizzards, but they were more frequent.  

I used the tie-off method today mainly because of all the wind, waves, and recreational traffic.  I would have normally bumped bottom.  

I stayed well after dark, but the fish actually slowed down tremendously when the sun went down.  Still had a great trip and ended up with 8 or 9 cats.  I've missed this evening bite and need to do it more often.

Slabs upon Slabs - Ending it Right.

Cedar Creek Reservoir

Time: 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Air Temperature: 63 - 80 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 68 degrees
Lake Level: 580.24
Weather Conditions: Mostly sunny, perfect.  Winds  S 7-15 mph. Manageable.

I started out today thinking this could be my final spring crappie fishing trip and I can report it will be.  I'll be going out on a high note!

After blanking out and producing a big goose egg on my first two stops of the morning (old boat dock bay near Britton Bride landing and the creek under the bridge on the next southern bay), I had my doubts to the morning.  I had put in a solid hour with zero bites.

I moved to the willow tree on the east side of the Britton Bridge levee at 9:00 and immediately began pulling in SLABS! I was amazed at how many fish this tree was holding.  I think I probably caught 12-15 out of it back to back in my first pass.  I fished the little bay behind it and then moved on along the southern shores fishing typical spots and caught fish everywhere.  I also had particularly good luck in the 2nd southern bay past the levee.  I don't fish this one often, but the same fallen log where my Dad and Ronnie had good luck produced well again today.  

I fished the other southern shore areas that had produced well this year and caught steady fish in every one.  After lunch, I went back up to the willow tree and started over and consistently pulled fish out of the levee area again.

At 2:00, I caught my limit.  Technically, I didn't want to stop, so I threw the smallest crappie from my livewell back and caught one more to replace it.  I think this is my first time every culling crappie!  The fishing was so good today, once I started catching, I averaged a keeper every 10 minutes for 5 straight hours.  I ended the day by catching 31 big enough to measure and kept 30 of them for my limit.

Today's fish were BIG.  I caught 4 fish over 14 inches weighing in at up to 1.5 pounds.  

I had a fantastic spring crappie fishing and was happy to have gotten to share it with all my guests.  A big thanks to my Dad Ronny Watkins, Ronnie Pierce, Doug and Douglas Ainsworth, Kyle Macomber, James Harris, and Cameron McDonald for all making time to spend a day fishing with me this spring.  You guys truly made it more enjoyable and we will catch up again next season.

Put the ball in the net...

Cedar Creek Reservoir

Time: 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Air Temperature: 66 - 81 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 581.57 - Slightly high
Weather Conditions: Mostly Sunny, warm.  Winds  S 14 mph sustained.

Today was almost a carbon copy weather day as it was two days ago with Kyle, except strong sustained winds.  That didn't stop James and I from giving it hell.

We were severely limited to fishing the southern banks as a result of the wind, but we made the best of it.  We fished all my typical southern spots, but found the best luck under the bridge in the southern creek in about 1.5 FOW in a very, very unlikely spot.  We must have pulled a dozen good fish out of a little creek behind the road levee.  They were slabs.  We also had some good luck around the Britton Bridge area on both sides of the road.  It was a great day.  Even found a nice soccer ball for my boy.  Ended the day with 20 very nice keepers, which we split.  My son "helped" me clean fish!!

Hookey

Cedar Creek Reservoir

Time: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Air Temperature: 63 - 82 degrees during trip
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 582.63 - High
Weather Conditions: Mostly Sunny, warm.  Winds Variable 3-10 mph.

I called Kyle last night and he also though it was a good idea to skip work and go fishing, so we did. 

Recent patterns showed that the fish really seemed to pick up as the day warmed.  We tried a couple typical shallow spots, but it was a little slow, so we worked some deeper structure early and decided to revisit shallows a little later in the day.  Kyle pulled a couple giant slabs out of the deep water.  The water in general was up a couple feet from recent weather patterns, so some new areas were good options for fishing today.  We had exceptional luck in the back of a southern bay where spring fed water was coming in.  After lunch, we fished around the road levee near Britton Bridge and also had exceptional luck there and along the back bay in that area.  We were catch good, frequent fish in the rear around 1.5 feed deep.  As the bays warmed, it was spawn crappie fishing at its best. It overall was an excellent day, even if it did start off a little slow.  Ended the day with 20 keepers with a the biggest being 13.25" and weighing 1.25#.  It was the first time Kyle and I had a chance to catch up in quite some time and it was a great time all the way around.