Biggest Fish of the Year.

[jdmidwest]

I finally had a decent trip to TN this weekend.  That storm system shifted to the east about 6 am Sat. Morning and we had a beautiful day on the water.  Temps made it to 70 and winds were moderate.  We had been in a rut, every trip this fall was post front, and they were big fronts.  Fishing was off every time.  And we battled a rough lake with swells making it even tougher to fish.  The drought down there had kept flows thru the system to the minimal.  Lake fish like a nice current down there to stimulate feeding.

We started off on the river below Pickwick Dam.  Target of the day was to be Sauger, we picked up 2 along the walls right off.  But a pesky barge decided to lock and we had to move off and fish down stream.  Down river we picked up a few Kentuckies, a Skip Jack, a Crappie, and even a Bluegill along with a few small largemouths.  After a couple of hours of that we decided to trailer the boat up to the lake and give it a try.

We launched the boat and I decided to eat a little lunch.  My buddy picked up 5 bass around the ramp while I was eating.  Then I joined in and caught a nice little 17" fat smallie.  We poked around our cove and caught a few more before heading out on the lake.  The next cove produced a few dinks, nothing special.  The shad were thick in the coves but the fish weren't feeding on them.  We hit a few more walls and dropoffs without much luck.  Back to the dock cove and we fished the other side of the arm.  Things picked up with several more bass.  Run a big flock of mallards out of a cut across from his slip, it was a fun sight.  They have been using that area as a roost, crapping all over the neighbors dock. 

It was the best trip in a while, first fishing of the year,  but no big ones this trip.  But the water temps were 54 degrees and and the air temp was 70, not something that happens very often in Jan.  I will take that any time.  Back down in a few weeks when the Sauger fishing hits it peak.  I hope the weather holds up.