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Posted

I was wondering does anyone ever fish a float and hair jig for smallmouth during the winter. I know what you are thinking that this sounds like a crappie presentation but it works. Take a 7' spinning rod with 6lb flourocarbon line for the clear waters of tablerock position yourself over the bluff areas and watch your electronics targeting those suspended fish. I like a brown 1/16 hair jig with orange eyes or a white with a little sparkle. I usually position my jig about 6-8 feet below my weighted float, cast towards the bluff or standing timber it works great if there is some chop on the water. Work the jig very slow letting the chop on the water provide most of the action and hang on you might be suprised and don't count out catching a white or crappie mixed in. This is probably a well known trick on TR but I thought I would pass it on I use it on greers ferry and it works great

Posted

I have often wondered how effective it would be on TR. I know its said to be very effective on Dale Hollow, which I'm told is similar to TR in structure.

Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.

Posted

That sounds like a good technique. I can't say I've ever tried it for bass, but it sure ought to put crappie in the boat!

I've been busy catching crappie on TR, so I haven't tried my usual wintertime trips for smallmouth yet. This is exactly the time of year for that, and I'm going to have to get out there.

For winter smallmouths, I usually put in at State Park near the dam. From there, we fish between Indian Point and the Hwy. 86 bridge, but mostly Powerline Cove, around the mid-channel islands out from State Park, and the coves straight across from the launch ramp.

We use weedless 1/4 oz. jig heads with 3" grubs - clear or green with metal sparkles. In a 45 to 55 foot depth you can scope bass laying on the bottom. We drift around very slow with the wind, bumping the jig on the bottom.

Bass are pretty dormant then - a strike is usually just a small sharp "tap", then you set the hook with everything you've got! In that area in January and February, and with that technique, our ratio of smallmouths to largemouths is about 50/50.

We catch some big fish that way, too - some are 5 or 6 lbs. My partner caught a 24" smallmouth there a couple of years ago, and we had no scales so I don't know the weight. It sure would have looked nice mounted on a wall, but we didn't want to kill it so we turned it back.

The largemouths and Kentuckies though, we eat those!

:rolleyes:

Posted

When we're searching, and moving, Powerline seems to produce more Largemouths than Crappie for us. never been quite sure why that is, but there have always been better Crappie coves for us.

Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.

Posted
When we're searching, and moving, Powerline seems to produce more Largemouths than Crappie for us. never been quite sure why that is, but there have always been better Crappie coves for us.

I've never tried crappie fishing in that part of the lake, it's strictly a "bass hole" for me.

I think Powerline Cove got messed up when they built that big hotel and dock there. I haven't done any good there since they did that.

Posted

We may be thinking of different "powerline Coves". I'm thinking just north of the Arkansas line on the west side. :(

Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.

Posted
We may be thinking of different "powerline Coves". I'm thinking just north of the Arkansas line on the west side. :(

Yep, you're thinking of Mills Branch. THAT's a crappie hole - I caught quite a few limits out of there last spring just outside the line of flooded trees on the south side.

The one I'm talking about for smallmouths is the first cove north of the dam, on the same side as the dam. It's marked on the map Phil posted here as "Highline Cove", and Moonshine Beach is at the base of it. There's a big powerline running across, so I guess we just got to calling it Powerline Cove.

We've taken some big smallmouths out of there in the wintertime, but not since the big new hotel and dock were built on the east side of the cove.

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