Addicted To Fishing

Recently I had the pleasure to take a friend new to fishing to the Tennessee River for some strippers fishing. Mark Smith has lived on the river for a few years without getting too involved in fishing. That has all changed know. On our first trip we were pretty lucky, catching several strippers and a few catfish and some large mouth bass. On the second trip we were equally as lucky and the third his wife Donna joined us catching a few herself. I believe these where the first fish that they had ever caught that actually pulled back on their fishing equipment.

Mark now has accessorized his ski boat with a trolling motor and depth finder, acquired a throw net and a few larger fishing rod and reels - replacing the inadequate push button Zebco’s. Now it is not uncommon to see him catching bait and fish on the river with his boys and their friends. It is funny to see them catch a fish and then the younger fishermen pulling out their cell phone, taking pictures and send them all over the country. Mark has joined several of my friends in eating them as well, finding them to be very good table far if cleaned correctly, removing all the red meat and fat.

The white bass have started breaking in their usual places in larger than normal school around 7:30 pm until 9:00 pm. Sometimes staying up for an hour or more, making catches of 50 or more fish not uncommon. The times that I fished this week, I started out targeting strippers first and then largemouth bass, catching some nice ones like the one Ed Hardin is holding in the picture below. Then we will switch over to white bass when they start breaking and finishing up the evening with a few more strippers. Most of the fish are being caught on shad and the white bass are being caught on Rooster Tails spinners and small top water lures like a Zara Spook Pup or Pop-R’s.

Take someone fishing, Greg

Taking the plunge twice

On an earlier trip below Ft. Loudon Dam, my fishing partner from Ohio got his fishing line caught around the prop of my outboard motor. Lifting up the motor and reaching out as far as I could. The white PVC pipe that surrounds the outside of my boat and acts as a cushion against the collisions with the dam gave way, plunging me into the cold water. After catching my breath and poseur I removed the line and lifting myself back into the boat. Thinking that no one had seen this mishap, I look around to see that I was wrong and that the rest of my Ohio friends in another boat laughing and pointing.

This past Saturday I took Mason Woody and Gage Paterson to the Tennessee River after their baseball game to do a little live bait fishing (photos below). The evening started out well with Gage getting most of the bits and catching most of the fish. Mason laid his rod on top of the bait tank to give Gage a hand removing a hook from a large catfish. As soon as he turned his back, off went his rod. As I seen the butt of his rod sinking out of sight I dove in catching it just before it disappeared. As I returned to the surface with his rod and fish in tow I could see both of their expressions change from worry to happiness, especially Mason. This was the same rod that on its first trip out had the tip shut in a car door.

Local sporting good store, Blackwater Outdoors, had its second bow fishing tournament this past weekend with a large turnout. Locals Drew Parks and Clint Whitehead (59 lbs) edged out father son team Dennis and Austin Keeling by one pound.

Take someone fishing, Greg

Chasing fishing Reports

In the recent weeks my focus has turned from crappie for the freezer to strippers for their fight. A few weeks ago I had made a couple trips to the Tennessee River around Long Island for strippers. Where we used top water lures like Red Fins and Zara Spooks. Most of the time just catching a few, with one evening my partner and I catching 8 fish in the 12lb class. Most of the time, the fish would not start biting until after 8.00pm and be done around 9:00pm.

Recently I was given a report of strippers being caught in the evening below Melton Hill Dam. As usual I was late finding this out and only a few fish were being caught. By the numbers of fishermen waiting to see if the fish were to surface, the fishing must have been as good as I was told. From previous experience I knew to bring the shad for bait from somewhere else and this proved to be true again with no shad to be found there.

While at Melton Hill Dam I was told of strippers being caught below Ft. Loudon Dam, which has always been a favorite area for me to fish. Since I had a group of friends coming in from Ohio to fish the following Friday. I made plans to take them to Ft. Loudon.

Friday afternoon we set out for the river with high expectations. Two of the guys fished in their boat and one in my boat. Shortly after arriving I was able to get enough bait for all and we started fishing. My partner and I focused on the boxes above the discharge. We caught several large drum and catfish with only one stripper. The others had caught two strippers and gotten a few bites. I traded out passengers and returned to the boxes without any luck except for a few more rough fish.

I had watched several of the guides catch some strippers throughout the day, and as their 8 hour day drew to an end. We were left with tail waters to our self. Soon we started catching fish free lining shad without weights and by the end of the evening we had landed several fish and kept our limit of nice fish. Even though I had started out slow, I did manage to catch the big fish of the day, which pushed 40 pounds.


While fishing we watch several huge paddle fish (spoonbill catfish) be landed by individuals targeting them from the bank with long spinning rods, rigged up with treble hooks followed by a weight. These fish are sought because of the value of their roe which is used for some caviar. Some of these fish can be 50 years old and weight as much as 70 pounds.

The bream and red-ear sunfish (shell crackers) are starting to be caught on Chickamauga since the water has cleared from the recent rains. Remember that limits for red-ear sunfish have changed to 20 fish this year.

Take someone fishing,
Greg Jones

A New Crappie Trick

Saturday morning Midway High School alumni and avid sportsman Big Jon Russell arrived at my house around 7:00. He met me coming out of our field with my turkey call. I had been passing time talking to a tom up on a hill and watching 4 deer in the back field. It was a beautiful morning giving me high hopes for the upcoming fishing trip.

We started out fishing several spots that have been productive for me the past few weeks without any luck. Thinking that the cooler weather may have shut down the shallow water fish, we tried something new called “shooting docks”. This is where you hold the lure by the hook and bending the tip of your rod to the point of breaking, aiming underneath the dock and releasing the lure hoping not to be impelled by the hook. Jon started out strong catching several nice black crappies to my one. As we moved to another spot I pulled out my secret weapon: a telescoping 14 foot pole with a minnow. This helped me catch a few more fish out of heavy brush closing the margin between Jon and me. The next dock gave up a few more fish and then we tried the ultimate challenge, a dock that had hardware cloth stretched around it to keep the fishermen from fishing. This seemed only to make Jon and I want to fish it even more. The challenge was met by Jon laying down on the bow with most of his upper body lying out of the boat getting the angel he needed to make the shot. Even though the dock did not give up any fish there was some feel of satisfaction just by thoroughly fishing the dock.

We returned back to the original spots where we had started, catching one more fish for a limit of crappie. Jon’s shooting ability helped him contribute a majority of fish towards our limits and gave me another edge on future crappie fishing.


Take someone fishing, Greg

Return of a Fishing Partner

Recently I got to spend a Saturday with my nephew fishing for crappie in Angler’s Cove. When he was younger we frequently fish together and had the opportunity to introduce him to hunting.

After graduating High School he did a six year tour of duty with the Air Force, married, and then received an electrical engineering degree from Louisiana; all the time honing up on his fishing and hunting skills. This was apparent from our limit of crappie that may have consisted of a few more of his fish than mine.

He has only been working in the area for a few weeks and has already gotten back into the swing of things with a huge Musky and some nice small mouth from Bull Run Steam Plant. His specialty is grappling for catfish in June and July and stripper fishing. The first I will probably not be joining him in.

The crappie fishing is excellent and should be good for a few more weeks. Bow fishing is starting to pick up with carp moving into the shallows, soon to be followed by gar. Bream and shell crackers (red ear sunfish) will be here in May followed by white bass and strippers in June.

Turkey season reports are good with lots of birds being seen. TWRA stocking efforts have defiantly paid off. Now that the hens are starting to nest, the toms should be on the move again. This will give the hunters a better chance to bag one.

The short morel mushrooms season is here. I found a few last week and took my wife this pass Sunday afternoon to try to find a new spot locally. Between the steepness of the hills, bugs, spider webs, and everything else she does don’t like, we came back empty handed and to the conclusion that she will not be joining me on any further mushrooming trips.

Take someone fishing, Greg

Crappie Time in Tennessee

The warmer weather arrived quickly and the surface temperature rose from 57 degrees to 64 degrees over the Easter weekend, causing the crappie to move into the shallows to spawn. Easter afternoon, after dinner and watching the kids do the Easter egg thing, my wife and I headed to the Tennessee River where she was going to read while I fished. We started around 4:30 and almost immediately were into the crappie. Within an hour I had 12 keepers and several small ones in the boat. Jon Russell was one of the few other fishermen on the lake that afternoon. While we were catching up on things I landed two more keepers, needing only one more fish I tried a stack bed that I had put out several years ago. It paid off as well, giving up the one more I needed for a limit and a few more to be released.

Several fish where caught this weekend. I got reports from the lower end of Watts Barr, Tennessee River, Chickamauga near Dayton, Tellico Lake under docks, and Loudon in the Turkey Creek and Concord area. Most fish were caught on natural colors like Tennessee Shad, blue shiner, and smoke or a fly tip with a minnow. Typical colors like chartreuse, white, and red & white did not produce as well as usual.

Ethan and Eon Barnett, who are both avid bass fisherman and whiling to regress to other species when fishing with me, joined me on the next trip, where we caught several fish including the 23 keeper crappie and a 15 inch fish that weighted 1 ¾ lbs. They were all caught in 2 hours of fishing the following Tuesday evening.

I believe the following two weeks should be the best time for catching spawning crappie. So if you want a mess or two for the freezer you need to get out soon.

Take someone fishing, Greg

03/04/2010 Fishing Report

The warmer and sunny days are signs of the upcoming spring fishing season. Some die hearts have got a jump by trying for sauger or deep water crappie. They have braved the cold temperatures and the spilling of water through the dams. The next few weekends the launch ramps will be packed with boats for the first trip out. Several will never make it off the trailer because of weak batteries or gummed up carburetors. Save yourself disappointment by giving your boat a test run before your long awaited fishing trip.

An overlook fishery is early spring white bass. They are a hard fitting abundant quarry weight in as much as 2 pounds. Below most dams they congregate in large numbers. I have had my best luck on sandy banks with a gentle slop into deep water or at the mouth of creeks. I prefer a 1/8 once jig with a chartreuse, white, or combination of the two known as lemon lime retrieved slowly across the bottom. Jigs with spinners, inline spinners and small crank baits also produce. These fish have been a tradition for my family since I was little. They have supplied many meals and where pretty good table fare if prepared correctly. The important thing is to remove the blood line. Soaking the fish in salt water over night will whiten and firm up the fillets.

On May 4 2007 I stared participating in the Tennessee Angler Recognition Program. My plan was to catch 10 fish of different species that year. A long three years later I completed this task and received a Tennessee’s Master Angler III Award. This buy no means suggest that I am a good fisherman. It just means I put in a lot of time on the water and target several species of fish. Several fish that I thought would have been easy for me to catch have eluded me while others have come easy. Now I am on a mission to catch 5 more different species to entry. This will be much more difficult and take a lot longer. I may have to resort to private ponds.

Take someone fishing, Greg

A Trio Of Trout

I grow up Trout fishing the Clinch River below Norris Dam. My first memories were with my parents as a child. I remember spending more time playing in the water catching minnows and crayfish than fishing. We would also gathering chestnuts and pecans in the fall after fishing. Most of the time, we fished from the bank in deep holes using night crawlers. Later we got hip waders and chased fish around Miller Island hoping not to get caught on the back side of the island by the rising water. I never failed to fill my hip waders with icy water trying to push them to their limit.

As a teenager my brother and I had upgraded to chest waders and would fish with rooster tails, panther martins, and corn. Still on occasion I would push the chest waders past their limits.

A tradition that was started some time back with long time friends was to start the day off by meeting somewhere on the way to the river. Then stop for a dozen or two donuts and chocolate milk. I believe this is why some of my friends like to go. We would catch up on the latest gossip and plan our strategy to help in catching our limits.

Later we started fishing from boats in the winter after hunting season had ended. It always seemed colder on the river than anywhere else, most of the time you would have to dip you fishing rod into the water to melt the ice from the rod eyes so you could cast. Occasionally we would combine a little waterfowl hunting with the fishing which would make for a full day.

Recently I heard a report of some trout being caught while the water was generating. I got my small john boat and a fellow worker that had told me that he also fished the Clinch as a boy. We headed up after work for an evening of fishing. The first float was very productive; within the first 100 yards we had landed three fish and missed several others. At the end of our trip we had caught over forty fish which included rainbows, brown trout, and some Brook trout. We keep our limits of rainbows and releasing the rest.

There are some special rules that now apply on the Clinch River. They now have a slot limit. Trout from 14 inches to 20 inches may not be kept. One over 20 inches and trout less than 14 inches for a total of 7 trout may be kept.

Take someone fishing, Greg

12-8-09 Fishing Report

December is general not a popular fishing time. Most outdoorsmen are focus on deer and waterfowl hunting, or waiting on warmer spring days to arrive.

Since early November a friend of mine Dave Hardin has been catching strippers on the Tennessee River early in the morning for the first hour of light and late in the evening for the last thirty minutes of light. Since he lives on the river it is little effort for him to make these short trips, which have been productive as the picture shows from the latest trip.

Waterfowl hunters have also reported seeing large school of stripper breaking early in the morning. This makes them question weather they should be hunting or fishing.

A few weeks ago a friend from Ohio came down for Thanksgiving to visit family. We managed to get to the water the day after Thanksgiving for a little fishing. I had heard reports of crappie being caught below Watts Barr Dam and we decided to give it a try. We had a pretty productive day with over twenty keeper crappie and several other fish including a few undersize sauger.

Take someone fishing, Greg

Trout Fishing on the Clinch

I grew up trout fishing the Clinch River below Norris Dam. My first memories were with my parents as a child. I remember spending more time playing in the water catching minnows and crayfish than fishing. We would also gather chestnuts and pecans in the fall after fishing. Most of the time, we fished from the bank in deep holes using night crawlers. Later we got hip waders and chased fish around Miller Island hoping not to get caught on the back side of the island by the rising water. I never failed to fill my hip waders with icy water trying to push them to their limit.

As a teenager my brother and I had upgraded to chest waders and would fish with rooster tails, panther martins, and corn. Still on occasion I would push the chest waders past their limits.

A tradition that was started some time back with long time friends was to start the day off by meeting somewhere on the way to the river. Then stop for a dozen or two donuts and chocolate milk. I believe this is why some of my friends like to go. We would catch up on the latest gossip and plan our strategy to help in catching our limits.

Later we started fishing from boats in the winter after hunting season had ended. It always seemed colder on the river than anywhere else, most of the time you would have to dip your fishing rod into the water to melt the ice from the rod eyes so you could cast. Occasionally we would combine a little waterfowl hunting with the fishing which would make for a full day.

Recently I heard a report of some trout being caught while the water was generating. I got my small john boat and a fellow worker that had told me that he also fished the Clinch as a boy. We headed up after work for an evening of fishing. The first float was very productive; within the first 100 yards we had landed three fish and missed several others. At the end of our trip we had caught over forty fish which included rainbows, brown trout, and some Brook trout. We keep our limits of rainbows and release the rest.

There are some special rules that now apply on the Clinch River. They now have a slot limit. Trout from 14 inches to 20 inches may not be kept. One over 20 inches and trout less than 14 inches for a total of 7 trout may be kept.

Take someone fishing, Greg


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See more photos like this from Greg Jones under the Outdoors section of the SORSN galleries.

May Fishing Report

This years crappie season has been hit our miss depending on where you were fishing. Ft. Loudon started out strong; lots of fish had to be caught to cull enough for a limit. Local fishing legends Ed Rose and Alton Lingerfelt had some good days in Angler Cove - sometimes not even leaving Alton’s dock. They did put forth an effort to make some brush piles in late winter last year which paid off. Some crappies are still being caught and night fishing for them will soon start.

This year I introduced some friends to bow fishing. The first group was from Connecticut. Eric, his son Adam and a co-worker from Poland were down on a job. They had fished with me several times in the past but this was their first time to bow-fish and did very well, getting several gars.

Another first timer was Christophe. He too was on a temporary assignment at the Oak Ridge National Lab. New to bow-fishing, he had shot a bow as a child but never at any game, which is not allowed in his home land of Germany.

The water was a little higher than I normally like so I could not pull him around on the front of my john boat. The fish where further in to the grass and we had to sneak back into the shallows. Christophe got the hang of it pretty quickly, getting several gar and missing some carp.

He also got a reminder of the trip by letting the string hit his forearm leaving a nasty welt followed by an awful looking bruise the next day. That was the one thing that I forgot to tell him about. He will be returning in a couple weeks and is eager to give it another try.

The bluegill and shell cracker fishing on Chickamauga has been good. It took a little more time to locate the bedding fish earlier in the season. They seemed to be in a little deeper and water was a little stained by all the rain. On the last trip I enjoyed fishing with Aston and Jacob Parkinson; two fine young men from south of the river. We tried a new technique where we drove down the shore line 30 yards from shore until we spotted bedding shell crackers. This was very productive with each bed producing twenty to forty fish. Our afternoon total was over a hundred and fifty fish.

The dam tail water fishing is coming along well as normal for this time of year. Rockfish, white bass, large mouth bass, small mouths bass, spotted bass and cat fish are being caught in good numbers. Recently I took Mason Woody to Ft. Loudon for some rockfish and bass action and a drum thrown in for good measure. Mason put on quite a show pulling in these big fish with a professional rod pumping action that I had only seen on TV. He did complain slightly about how sore his arms were.

Take someone fishing, Greg