Fort Loudon Fishing Report - 6/22/10

Brandon and I went out on Tuesday afternoon from 2-5 pm.  We fished the area around and near George's Creek.  The air temp was 95 F and the water temp was 91 F.  The sky was clear and there was virtually no wind.  Needless to say, it was tough!  We fished deep.  We targeted the 15-20 ft zone because that's where the baitfish were.
The lures we used were shakey heads, jigs, deep diving crankbaits, and even a few topwaters in the shady areas.
We didn't catch many fish, but the ones we did catch were quality.  We managed 4 fish with 3 being keepers.  One largemouth was 2.5 lb, one was 3+ lb and one was a 4+ lb smallmouth.  I also caught a big drum on a jig.
I considered it a decent day given the tough, miserably hot conditions.  We caught a few good fish and were able to get away from work for awhile.  If I went out right now in the same conditions and fished the same area, I would definitely focus on the jig and the topwater. 

USA Bassin' Regional, Douglas Lake Report 9/13/09

Brandon and I fishied the Regional on Sunday 9/13 and didn't do so well. We only had 2 fish that weiged 2.5 lbs and I think finished in 31st place. The good news is that was good enough to qualify for the USA Bassin' Classic which will be on Kentucky Lake in May 2010. The top 3 will win a new boat! The winner on Sunday had 17+ lbs, 2nd was 10+, 3rd was 9, and 4th was 8.9. There were 48 boats.
It was a tough day. The topwater bite was slow in the area we fished in the morning and we only managed a few small fish on Pop Rs and Zara Spooks. Our keepers came off of shady steep rock banks on finesse shaky worms. We caught around 10 fish, but only had the 2 keepers. From 11:00 am to 1:00 pm we didn't get a bite.
If I had it to do over, I would go much farther up the river and find dirtier water. It was just too clear where we were. The water temperature at 7:30 am was 74 F and we found 80 F later in the day in one area. The skies were clear and a strong eastern wind was blowing in.
The tournament director, Joe Cummings, did a great job! It was very organized and efficient. Congratulations to the winners and everyone who qualified for the Classic!

Douglas Lake Fishing Report - 8/26/09

A friend and I drove down to Douglas Lake today and fished from about 12:00 pm - 4:15 pm. It was only the 3rd time I had been on Douglas and the first time in 5 years. We put in at the dam, which was not nearly as crowded as I had expected, and took a left into the Flat Creek area. We jumped point to point and tossed everything at them. Deep diving crank baits, spinnerbaits, jigs, Carolina rigged plastics of all sorts, poppers, flukes, all with no luck. It was very slow, no shad breaking or bass busting. Even the Great Blue Herons seemed inactive, allowing the boat to get extremely close before flying off. We ended up plucking 3 largemouth from the lake using plastic finesse worms. Two of the fish were keepers, a 14 inch and an 16 1/2 inch. Water temperatures were between 77 and 80 degrees, air temperature was around 85 degrees and there was no wind and no clouds. It was hot, humid, and pretty much miserable. But, at least we were fishing instead of working, right? You all have a great day!