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3336_020_TN 12/3/03 3:20 PM Page 20 th OUR BEST FISHING TRIPS in fis wi alo na go 36 Great Fishing Spots ge m m ce In Tennessee m in ge The Volunteer State has great fishing all year ’round. These 36 destinations — th three for each month — promise topflight fishing for Tennessee anglers. sta of by Jeff Samsel fro do With a few springlike days sneaking and then make the trips. We’ll help by JANUARY Re in between cold snaps, it would be giving you a few new things to dream Trout m tough to not spend some time day- about. We’ll look at every month of Tellico River Te dreaming about fishing. Of course, the year, for each exploring some of Heavy stocking and catch-and- an with thoughts about a new season the best fishing opportunities that release requirements keep trout num- pe always come visions of exploring new exist in Tennessee. Picks will stretch bers high in the delayed-harvest sec- ed places. from the mountains to the Mississippi tion of the Tellico River from Oct. 1 in Don’t just dream about trips to new River and look at fish of every shape to March 15. High catch rates are re waters, though. Start planning them and size. common throughout the winter for ye JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE TROUT SMALLMOUTHS CRAPPIE LARGEMOUTHS STRIPERS TROUT WH Tellico River Pickwick Lake Woods Lake Family Lakes Watts Bar Lake Clinch River Ken Tips: Don’t overlook Tips: If a winter front Tips: Fish stumps and Tips: If you are new Tips: When stripers Tips: Always be Tips: small plugs for fish- pushes rain or snow brush away from the to a particular lake, are busting but won’t aware of water levels, marke ing delayed-harvest over north Alabama, bank even when start with points. take your baits, try especially if you are get a c waters. Big trout feed plan your Pickwick anglers on the bank Work all parts of varying the size of wading; pick a shore- strikes on big baits. trip: Heavy water are catching fish. them and pattern the your offerings; line rock to mark the carefu equals good fishing. Deeper cover may bass based on the stripers can focus on water level and get to tioning hold bigger fish. strikes you get. one size of baitfish. land if the water rises. STRIPERS LARGEMOUTHS WALLEYES TROUT BLUEGILLS LARGEMOUTHS C Old Hickory Lake Nickajack Lake Dale Hollow Lake South Holston Lake Reelfoot Lake Mississippi River Woo SAUGERS TROUT STRIPERS HYBRIDS CRAPPIE BLUE CATFISH SMA Watts Bar Lake Lake Cumberland Cordell Hull Watts Bar Lake Percy Priest Lake Tennessee River Pig EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR 20 FEBRUARY 2004 FE 3336_021_TN 12/3/03 3:20 PM Page 21 those anglers who don’t mind tough- FEBRUARY along with the legitimate opportunity ing it out in the cold and putting their Smallmouths for an angler to lock horns with a 7- fish back. Pickwick pound-class smallmouth, makes those Flyfishermen generally do best The pre-spawn period is the time of slow days on the lake well worth with nymphs, dead drifted to run right the year an angler is most likely to enduring. along the bottom. In fact the area’s hook an absolutely gigantic small- MARCH namesake fly, a Tellico Nymph, is as mouth, and there are few places in the Crappie good a fly to tie on as any. Strikes are world for doing just that than Tims Ford s generally subtle and quick, so fisher- Pickwick Lake. Everyone can catch crappie during men must pay close attention and During late winter and early spring, the spring. A lot of fish move shallow make quick hooksets. most of the best action occurs on the and hang tight to very obvious shore- Spin-fishermen find similar suc- lake’s main body, either over gravel line cover. Woods Reservoir, which is cess by fishing small spinners or bars or over the tops of points that are among the best crappie lakes in the micro-jigs slowly, keeping their offer- close to spawning areas. Popular lures state, has abundant blowdowns along ings very close to the bottom. Trout include suspending jerkbaits, big- its edges and stumps through its generally stay fairly active through bladed spinnerbaits and grubs fished upper end, giving anglers plenty of — the winter, but most of their forage on leadheads. At times, it’s easy to targets to cast toward. stays on or near the bottom this time believe that on this lake anyway, char- The easiest way to catch crappie of the year. treuse is every serious smallmouth during March is simply to put min- Delayed-harvest waters, which run fisherman’s No. 1 color. nows under corks and move from one from the mouth of Turkey Creek Continually rising and falling water tree to another, casting the float rigs downstream to Oosterneck Creek levels create an ever-changing lake around them and waiting for the corks Recreation Area, add opportunity to and add to the angling challenge. to dart under. By adjusting depths more than a dozen miles of the Smallies relate differently to various periodically and paying attention to Tellico River that are heavily stocked structural features according to how where strikes come, it’s usually not d- and open year ’round under a special much water is pushing across them. difficult to find the best depth and the m- permit system and have long provid- Pickwick can be a very difficult lake. best type of cover for the day. c- ed fine winter fishing. Beyond serv- It can seem like it doesn’t have a fish Many anglers also fish jigs, either 1 ing up steady action, the Tellico sur- in it, or it may yield several 5-pound- casting them under corks, slow- are renders some really big trout every plus smallmouths in an afternoon. trolling several lines along the lake’s for year. The very proposition of the latter, edge or casting to slightly deeper JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC WHITE BASS SMALLMOUTHS LARGEMOUTHS BROWN TROUT BLUE CATFISH SAUGERS ver Kentucky Lake Dale Hollow Lake Old Hickory Lake Smoky Mountains Mississippi River Pickwick Tailwater e Tips: Toss out a Tips: Move often Tips: Adding rattles Tips: Watch where Tips: Use circle Tips: Add a stinger evels, marker buoy if you until you figure out to a plastic frog can you step. Browns are hooks. Along with hook to your jig, u are get a couple of what kinds of banks enhance the bait’s apt to be in very shal- increasing hook-up whether directly on shore- strikes, and be very are holding the most action as well as low areas that don’t rates, they also typi- the jig hook or on a k the careful about posi- active smallmouths. sound. Experiment to look like brown trout cally hook fish so that short section of line. get to tioning your boat. Work from main-lake create the best action. spots this time of those fish are easier Saugers can be diffi- r rises. points into creeks. year. to release. cult to hook and to land. UTHS CATFISH SKIPJACK WHITE BASS CRAPPIE CRAPPIE SMALLMOUTHS River Woods Reservoir Pickwick Chickamauga Lake Kentucky Lake Kentucky Lake Norris Lake Tailwater FISH SMALLMOUTHS TROUT CATFISH LARGEMOUTHS TROUT CATFISH River Pigeon River Old Hickory Lake Douglas Lake Ft. Loudoun Lake Percy Priest Barkley Lake Tailwater 004 FEBRUARY 2004 21.