Warm Water Line?

[ZachPinnell]

I’ve listened to podcasts with Jason McReynolds, a guide on the South Holston tailwater in East Tennessee known for catching 30in+ browns regularly, plus huge stripers.

He says he focuses on the last mile of trout water above the “warm water line”, where the cold tailwater meets the warmer lake water. Says this is where the most baitfish are, and thus also the big browns & stripers.

Does Taneycomo have a pretty distinct “warm water line” like this? On the Soho, Jason says the line moves around within a mile stretch depending on generation.

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, ZachPinnell said:

I’ve listened to podcasts with Jason McReynolds, a guide on the South Holston tailwater in East Tennessee known for catching 30in+ browns regularly, plus huge stripers.

He says he focuses on the last mile of trout water above the “warm water line”, where the cold tailwater meets the warmer lake water. Says this is where the most baitfish are, and thus also the big browns & stripers.

Does Taneycomo have a pretty distinct “warm water line” like this? On the Soho, Jason says the line moves around within a mile stretch depending on generation.

I've been up and down Taney for years, and below at powersite.  Unless generation has been off extended periods, which is rare, I've never seen that.  Surface water temp is uniform throughout.  

[dpitt]

3 hours ago, ZachPinnell said:

I’ve listened to podcasts with Jason McReynolds, a guide on the South Holston tailwater in East Tennessee known for catching 30in+ browns regularly, plus huge stripers.

He says he focuses on the last mile of trout water above the “warm water line”, where the cold tailwater meets the warmer lake water. Says this is where the most baitfish are, and thus also the big browns & stripers.

Does Taneycomo have a pretty distinct “warm water line” like this? On the Soho, Jason says the line moves around within a mile stretch depending on generation.

Ditto @snagged in outlet 3 but  I will add, my place is below Kanacuk and I mostly fish the Trophy section and I always check the temp while I motor up to my fishing grounds.  When the water is off or low it can increase or decrease gradually, depending upon time of year, as I'm motoring up river.  But I don't think there is really a distinct line even when what is off for a while, not sure it's big enough for that.  I'm caty wampus from the MDC dock and Water Treatment plant, it's wide and deep, holds lots of trout and there have been some big browns caught against the bank, I just have not fished it that much.  Also, if my memory serves me right some Winter trout tournaments have been won by folks who went all the way to Powersite, could be wrong just thought I remembered hearing this? 

 

 

 

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

2 hours ago, dpitt said:

Ditto @snagged in outlet 3 but  I will add, my place is below Kanacuk and I mostly fish the Trophy section and I always check the temp while I motor up to my fishing grounds.  When the water is off or low it can increase or decrease gradually, depending upon time of year, as I'm motoring up river.  But I don't think there is really a distinct line even when what is off for a while, not sure it's big enough for that.  I'm caty wampus from the MDC dock and Water Treatment plant, it's wide and deep, holds lots of trout and there have been some big browns caught against the bank, I just have not fished it that much.  Also, if my memory serves me right some Winter trout tournaments have been won by folks who went all the way to Powersite, could be wrong just thought I remembered hearing this? 

 

 

 

 

Is that where they are or were building a sheet pile wall?   
 

[dpitt]

18 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Is that where they are or were building a sheet pile wall?   
 

Yes, I think Is a sheet pile wall, the thing they are building around the water treatment plant? 

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, dpitt said:

Yes, I think Is a sheet pile wall, the thing they are building around the water treatment plant? 

Yep.  That's a sheet pile wall.  I haven't been down there in a while but they were driving sheet pile down there last time I was.  

[dpitt]

24 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Yep.  That's a sheet pile wall.  I haven't been down there in a while but they were driving sheet pile down there last time I was.  

It's done.   In season they dump trout once  a week usually on Tuesday... good fishing for the Herons and Humans

[Ryan Miloshewski]

23 hours ago, dpitt said:

Ditto @snagged in outlet 3 but  I will add, my place is below Kanacuk and I mostly fish the Trophy section and I always check the temp while I motor up to my fishing grounds.  When the water is off or low it can increase or decrease gradually, depending upon time of year, as I'm motoring up river.  But I don't think there is really a distinct line even when what is off for a while, not sure it's big enough for that.  I'm caty wampus from the MDC dock and Water Treatment plant, it's wide and deep, holds lots of trout and there have been some big browns caught against the bank, I just have not fished it that much.  Also, if my memory serves me right some Winter trout tournaments have been won by folks who went all the way to Powersite, could be wrong just thought I remembered hearing this? 

 

 

 

 

Ahh, the ol' Sewer Hole as we called it. We, those who stayed and fished down lake, used to fish around there regularly and a lot of big fish were caught. Mike and Cindy Weaver used to stay at Briarwood with us and one evening they caught a 9 lb brown, a 6 lb rainbow and a 8 lb rainbow trolling Lil' Jakes from the MDC dock to the public dock. The bank down from MDC dock to Bee Creek used to be great, too. There used to be some big, big fish down there, but when everything started silting in the trout fishing went downhill fast. 

In the wood across from the white mansion, my buddy and his wife were fishing it one year. They always used to anchor up and drop a nightcrawler with one white power egg straight down from the boat. His wife had a big fish hit. She fought it and it came to the surface and laid there, right next to the boat. Huge brown. They were in one of the jon boat rentals from Blue Haven and it stretched from one seat to the next, so it was somewhere around 36-inches, (estimating, of course). He didn't bring a net and she tried to maneuver it and the line broke. It sat there for 5 seconds, kicked its tail and away it went. It was in June of 2002 I believe. 

I had something big hit once doing that exact same thing in 2004 or so. Line tapped, it slowly started moving away and I set the hook. Three massive head shakes and it got me in the timber. I just know it was a huge brown. Still have never felt a head shake like that. 

Also used to catch a lot of big fish around Bee Creek, even up until 2017, on jerkbaits and Lil' Jakes. On the bluff side and the flat--anywhere around it. I haven't played around down there in years, but I am sure there are still some big fish about. 

[dpitt]

28 minutes ago, Ryan Miloshewski said:

Ahh, the ol' Sewer Hole as we called it. We, those who stayed and fished down lake, used to fish around there regularly and a lot of big fish were caught. Mike and Cindy Weaver used to stay at Briarwood with us and one evening they caught a 9 lb brown, a 6 lb rainbow and a 8 lb rainbow trolling Lil' Jakes from the MDC dock to the public dock. The bank down from MDC dock to Bee Creek used to be great, too. There used to be some big, big fish down there, but when everything started silting in the trout fishing went downhill fast. 

In the wood across from the white mansion, my buddy and his wife were fishing it one year. They always used to anchor up and drop a nightcrawler with one white power egg straight down from the boat. His wife had a big fish hit. She fought it and it came to the surface and laid there, right next to the boat. Huge brown. They were in one of the jon boat rentals from Blue Haven and it stretched from one seat to the next, so it was somewhere around 36-inches, (estimating, of course). He didn't bring a net and she tried to maneuver it and the line broke. It sat there for 5 seconds, kicked its tail and away it went. It was in June of 2002 I believe. 

I had something big hit once doing that exact same thing in 2004 or so. Line tapped, it slowly started moving away and I set the hook. Three massive head shakes and it got me in the timber. I just know it was a huge brown. Still have never felt a head shake like that. 

Also used to catch a lot of big fish around Bee Creek, even up until 2017, on jerkbaits and Lil' Jakes. On the bluff side and the flat--anywhere around it. I haven't played around down there in years, but I am sure there are still some big fish about. 

Thanks! that is some great history and intel. I'm going to spend some more time there. Also, I have seen lots of largemouth hangin around our docks in the spring, summer, fall.  Some very nice sized ones.  I've heard Taney is a pretty good largemouth fishery, I've seen folks pull some hogs out. 

[Ryan Miloshewski]

16 hours ago, dpitt said:

Thanks! that is some great history and intel. I'm going to spend some more time there. Also, I have seen lots of largemouth hangin around our docks in the spring, summer, fall.  Some very nice sized ones.  I've heard Taney is a pretty good largemouth fishery, I've seen folks pull some hogs out. 

Biggest largemouth I've ever seen was on Taneycomo 20 years ago during the spawn. She had to be 12+ lbs. I also found one floating above Bee Creek in 2008 that was huge. It was fairly decomposed, but we weighed it and it was 11.7 lbs. So add whatever live weight to it and it was monstrous.