JD Dudley

He spit up a few as I brought him in

Dad and I were there Sunday and we were throwing white jigs letting them drift close to the top and the fish were coming out of the water for them. They barely ate at the dam because they were so gorged so we went down river to find where they were eating... it was AWESOME watching these fish blow up on a jig like a smallmouth on top water!

Bill I know we’ve never met but I’ve heard of you over the years through Phil and Mike McClelland. I’ve read your posts and seen how your clients love to be around you and get to learn from your wisdom on the water. The fact that you were afforded the chance to take a break and fun fish today, all the while helping your friend catch some fish on your day off speaks even more about your passion for what you love. CONGRATS on a truly unbelievable fish!! Yes, God has a plan for everything and it’s apparent that today, he wanted to bless you through what you love!

Have known this man and fished in countless tournaments against him over the past 25 years and I have no doubt whatsoever that he and his partner did everything they could to keep this TROPHY alive. He’s an unbelievable jig fisherman and definitely one of the best out there and I couldn’t be happier for him! Congrats Gerry on a BEAUTIFUL fish... and another win! Can’t wait to hear about it this winter.

Been several years since I've gotten to get up there during the summer. Got to take my son and one of his friends on Friday and was NOT disappointed! Got on the water at 10:30 with 2 units running, then they turned it up to 3 at noon. Pulled off the water at 3:30... Made one run multiple times throughout the day which was from the line at the dam down to the ramp using 1/16 ounce homemade jigs at 2 units, then 3/32 & 1/8 at 3 units... 1/8 worked better at 3 because the fish would hardly come off the bottom. Was really surprised at the lack of clarity of water but could still see the bottom when the sun was just right. Caught a lot of them by sight fishing them, but most were caught blind jigging. We caught them on both banks and in the middle on the run we were making Got to see my son keep up with the old man as far as numbers go which was fun to watch him try to catch me. He's real close to hammerin down on me, but for now, I've got my bluff in on him! Ended up catching 84 rainbows in those 5 hours with the biggest being 21, 19, and 18 inch rainbows (most were between 13-16 inches). Didn't catch a brown all day which kinda surprised me, but did catch 2 white bass which didn't surprise me considering we absolutely smashed them below bull shoals a few weeks ago... never seen so many fish with "dam" scrapes on their sides! Overall, just a fun day fishing!! This post has been promoted to an article

So you measure and record EVERY fish you catch during the day and then the total is added up OR is it the total length of your 8 biggest fish?

Whew, I bet you got pretty cold going under the water to take those pictures... now that's dedication!

Oh, and by the way... even though he swears by it, I never actually saw him catch one on pinky

James, that would be Turpin... remember? The guy who ran like a little girl up the stairs in fear for his life when he tried to mess with you while you were sleeping!

Clay, minimum flow has helped a little with getting down the river. It'll likely be next summer before I can get over there because I go straight from basketball season to coaching baseball which lasts til the end of the school year. Will try to hit a couple of Phil's tourneys up north, but that'll be it for me. Have fun with the 3rd one and early congrats!

It's been a little over 6 years since the last FATIGUE. I'd love to get over there again. Clay, when me and Drew went over the Saturday after the 4th, it was busy, but not that busy. We ended up going past all the docks into the next 3 holes and it was incredible down there as well. Saw a few fly fishermen in C&R and one other boat and that's it. In fact, the past 3 trips, we've had McClellan's and Mill Dam all to ourselves the past 3 trips. Got down there at minimum flow without ever having to get out of the boat... rubbed a few rocks, but kept it in line and got down without any problems. Planned on floating all the way to Mike's at low water (and really feel like we could've made it down without dragging), but each time, they turned the water on so we headed back up and fished more freely up top. I saw one of the monsters you're talking about over there...easily over 20 and had two leeches on it's back, but it was running crazy trying to find a safe spot. Fun to watch it move around though and would've loved to see it eat a little "hairy" water bug. About to get crazy busy for me, but definitely planning on getting over there more than I have been! We all gotta get back over there!

Nothing like having a hook trying to be wrapped around your neck by an angry angler... but QUITE a memory!! My buddy is the same as what you're talking about with being consumed by it. I was initially suppose to be taking another one of the football coaches, but when this guy heard I was taking another coach over there, he said, "I'M GOING!" Turns out the other football coach couldn't go, but we ended up going anyways. He's already bought a new rod and reel setup and is hitting any clear water he can to be able to sight fish better... really fun to watch and coach him! We're about to close on our house, so we're moving next weekend and then the next week we start in-service with school so it won't happen for me before school starts but maybe once we get in the groove, we can get ol' Matt buddy over there with us and hammer down!

James, did that "not so fun" day involve gently walking the boat through a shoal on FATIGUE weekend? Regardless, I'm with you! It's ridiculous how good it's fishing right now. Last 3 trips over there have been just like your talking about and I now have a guy I coach with who is ALL OVER IT!!! He caught just over 50 on Friday and that's only his 2nd time over there (both in the last 3 weeks). We fished for 4 hours and ended up with over 150. A lot of it had to do with them running the stockers through there, but there's plenty of QUALITY hungry fish in there as well including some browns that are eating and chasing like I've never seen. We still need to hook up over there and see what kind of dent we can put in them... that'd be FUN!!

Thanks! It was a blast!!!