My club (Smoky Mountain Bass Anglers) had a tourney last weekend on Watts Bar Lake. I pulled these 2 fish out on back-to-back casts.
5lb 11oz & 4lb 13oz
I ended up winning the tourney with 5 fish weighing 15lb 13oz. Kinda scary that 2/3 of my weight was in these 2 fish. Hehe.
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NJ, those are some nice fish! My girlfriends family owns a lakehouse on the Barr around Arrowhead marina. We are planning a trip up there at the end of the month. Any idea on what the fish will be doing around there that time of year? I've fished the lake quite a bit but only in the spring for smallmouth. Possible to catch fish on ledges? Any help would be great. Not looking for spots just an idea about a possible pattern. Thanks for your help man! And way to go on winning your tournament!
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by hardball harrington »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">NJ, those are some nice fish! My girlfriends family owns a lakehouse on the Barr around Arrowhead marina. We are planning a trip up there at the end of the month. Any idea on what the fish will be doing around there that time of year? I've fished the lake quite a bit but only in the spring for smallmouth. Possible to catch fish on ledges? Any help would be great. Not looking for spots just an idea about a possible pattern. Thanks for your help man! And way to go on winning your tournament!</td></tr></table>
I'd start out flipping a jig / creature / lizard on bluffs that are right up against the channel, or just adjacent to it. I actually prefer bluffs with a bit of space between the wall and the channel drop. It seems the fish move up the drop-off in the AM and can be caught right up against the bluffs. Then when the sun gets higher, I'll work my jig / creature / lizard just about all the way back to the boat (20-ish feet of water), whereas in the AM I'll only work the water column to about the 10-12' depth.
I haven't fished Watts Barr too much in the heat of the summer (although I've got a tourney coming up July 10), but this pattern usually holds true on Ft Loudon, Tellico, and Douglas, so it ought to be the same on Watts.
Another thing I can tell ya: call TVA and see what the generation schedule will be like at the dam. I've been out there doing so-so on those bluffs.... and then they start pulling water and everything EXPLODES and I could stuff the livewell 3 times in a couple of hours. If you can schedule your outings to match the current you'll do much better.
Good luck and report back to let us know how ya did!
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