The crappie fishing is nearing the end of the spring spawn. Several fish are still being caught on the Tennessee River as reported by Ed Rose and partner in crime Alton Lingerfelt with a 30 plus fish stringer Monday morning. I am glad to still have this source of information from these two, since one of their earlier trips was not so productive, but was educational. It is illegal in the state of Tennessee to run a boat above idle speed with a passenger (Ed Rose) in the elevated seat, as pointed out by a wildlife officer. A flat tire and out-of-gas were just outer lessons about being prepared that they learned on that day.
The lower end of Watts Barr is also producing; this is where Larry Gabbard and two friends from Ohio and I caught 40 late Friday evening. The crappies are still holding to structure.
The bream and red ear sunfish (shell crackers) have started moving into the shallow bays on Chickamauga Lake. The same group that went crappie fishing with me on Friday also went to Chickamauga after the rain stopped Saturday afternoon. We caught well over a hundred, mostly bream, and kept thirty. Keith Cole and I went back to Chickamauga on Thursday evening where we also kept 30 fish, with one shell cracker being 11