Fort Loudon Fishing Report- 6/25/13

I fished in the Tuesday TNToad tournament on June 25th from 6-10pm and didn't do so great.  We launched from Louisville Point Park and stayed in the mid-lake area.  The weather was partly cloudy and in the mid 70s and very humid.  There was a chance of thunderstorms early but they all passed by.  The water was around 74 F where we fished.
The evening started off good because we had our first keeper in about 15 minutes.  We also caught another small fish and I missed one deep while fooling with a bird's nest that formed on my spinning reel!  Two hours passed before we caught another keeper.  That's what we weighed in... two small keepers weighing 4.4 lb.
On a better note, the fish seem to be starting to school up pretty well.  We've been catching several in the same spots instead of one here and one there.  They are hitting deep crankbaits now and also plastics on deeper docks and trees. 
There were several 4+ lbers weighed in last night but I don't know where or how they were caught.  I would guess on jigs or crankbaits.  It must have been tough on everyone because I think there was only 1 limit weighed in and 11 lbs won. I think only one smallmouth was weighed in.
At least we didn't get skunked!

Fort Loudon Fishing Report 5/14/13

Fished in the TNToad out of the canal from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm.  The weather was windy and clear skies and around 75F degrees at launch and mid 60's at weigh in.  The water temperature in the area I fished ranged from 63 - 67 F.  We weighed in 5 fish that weighed 10.85 lb  and finished 7th out of 67 boats. Our biggest was 3.8 lb. They were all largemouth.
Most of our fish came off the main channel but there are still fish spawning.  We spooked one off the bed with a spinnerbait and she was a whopper.  Unfortunately, she never came back.  There has been a massive mayfly hatch for the past couple weeks in the late afternoon and there are many different species taking them off the surface.  I also observed a school in the distance feeding on shad but I couldn't tell what they were. 
It seems that people are catching fish on many different lures right now.  Spinnerbaits, plastics, crankbaits, and even some topwater seem to be working well.  Based on what I've heard and experienced the Alabama Rig bite has died off a bit.  And I haven't been able to buy a bite on a beaver style bait for some reason.
Now that we're getting some post spawn fish, my catch rate has gone up.  Soon it will be off to the ledges, humps, and points while they're pulling water at the dam.  Good luck out there!
Also, please respect and be hospitable to the PAA anglers coming to town next week.  The lake will be extremely crowded and you may run into people fishing your favorite spots.  Just remember these big tournaments bring in revenue to our local economy through hotels, restaurants, tackle shops, gas stations and grocery stores.  We want them to keep coming back so please be courteous and show them what makes our area so great!
Be safe and happy fishing!