I have two buddies who will be fishing the ITT trail classic on Cherokee next weekend. Any general areas and baits would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
I have two buddies who will be fishing the ITT trail classic on Cherokee next weekend. Any general areas and baits would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
Dale Sinclair original
Head way up river and fish the creek arms. Cranks, traps, jerkbaits, swimbaits, jig
Dale Sinclair original
Water will likely be mid to upper 50's in mornings. Afternoons it will climb mid 60's. I like to choose small finesse stuff. Think neds, small jigs, drop shots and small creatures. If cloudy and windy a spinnerbait or chatterbait will work. I choose smaller
baits mostly due to this lake is heavily pressured .
Smallmouth are now 5 fish limit and 15 inch minimum .
We are all born ignorant but one must work really hard to remain stupid---Ben Franklin
Dale Sinclair original
If you check TVA website you will find lower water levels. Not winter pool yet but it's on the way down due to drawdown. You should be careful and use a good mapping program . You can pretty much go anywhere but their is a lot of humps just under surface.
If you hit bottom it'll likely be rocks. Cherokee can be a lot of fun and not so much fun the next but that's fishing.
We are all born ignorant but one must work really hard to remain stupid---Ben Franklin
Dale Sinclair original
Certainly agree that use good mapping and stay on the main channel as much as possible and should be alright!
Also, this is getting the time of year where the smaller baits start to shine. Fishes somewhat similar to a northern lake. I know a lot of folks fish a ned rig there, but I have seen most of my bites on a drop shot. Just something I have confidence in as well. Crankbaits also work well there, red/orange variants seem to do good around this time of year. And definitely not going to go wrong with topwater either.
As far as areas to fish, if you like more shallow type fishing, head up lake above the 25E area tends to fish more like a river. Shallow-er areas, narrower main lake, more bends/turns, etc. (also a higher largemouth population). If you want to target more smallmouth or have more deeper options, I would say stay on the lower end. Much deeper areas with many "islands" and main lake rock formations and such. The dam is also on that end as well.
Hopefully something in there can help!
Dale Sinclair original