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!

Fort Loudon Fishing Report - 6/30/10

I put in today at Carl Cowan around 10:00 am. The sky was cloudy and there was a nice breeze and fish jumping everywhere. By the time I got unloaded and to my first spot about 30 minutes later, the sky was clear, there was no wind, it was getting hot, and the fish stopped jumping.
The water was 88-90 F and stained.
I fished the area from Concord to Louisville Point.
I tried deep diving crankbaits, Carolina rigs, jigs, shakey heads, flukes, topwaters, and spinnerbaits.
The day was a bust. I quit at 3:00 pm and only had 1 short largemouth on the Carolina rig.
This was the worst day I've had out in a long time. I believe the heat and water temperature are making the fish school on very particular pieces of structure, such as ledges and deep points and they are only feeding heavily when the generators are pulling water. The key is finding the right pieces of structure with the right amount of current. So far, I've been unsuccessful.

Tournament Preparation

Well, it's almost that time of year when I start competing in tournaments and thought I'd share some things I do to get prepared.
Most of the pros talk about studying lake maps, calling local tackle shops and doing internet research to prepare for their upcoming season. That's fine because they fish many different lakes all over the country. However, to me this information is kind of useless because I only fish 3 or 4 lakes a year. As a matter of fact, most of the anglers I know only fish a few lakes a year. More... We have become familiar enough with these lakes to eliminate map study and such. If you are fishing a lake for the first time, by all means, get a map and use it for as long as you feel you need it. I used maps of the lakes I fish for a couple years until I felt comfortable without them. Having said that, I would like to talk about some things to prepare you for the tournament season that would apply to both amateur and professional anglers.
The most important thing in preparing for tournaments is making sure your gear is in good shape, especially your boat, rods and reels. Following is a list of things I do to make sure they are in good working condition. I continue to do this several times a year due to the frequency of use.

Rods:

• Check for any hairline fractures. A broken rod is a useless one.


• Make sure your cork is in good shape.


• Check all guides and tip. Run a cotton ball through them and if it snags, you need to sand down or replace the guide. Snags lead to broken line.


• Clean rod and eyes to remove any dirt.

Reels:

• Remove all old line.


• Clean exterior with a good product designed for reels. I like Ardent products.


• Take apart and completely clean insides.


• Grease the gears lightly, don't gum them up.


• Lightly oil any moving parts such as handles, spools, roller balls.


• On baitcasters, make sure the line guide is smooth and clean any dirt out of it.


• Put new line on all reels. Write down what line you have on each reel so if you don't like the setup, you'll know not to use it again.

The other equipment you need to prepare is your lures. Here are some of the things I do.

Crankbaits:

• Touch up any paint you feel is necessary. I do this on some baits, but mostly I like them beat up and rough looking.


• On heavily used baits, change the hooks. I prefer Owners on lipped crankbaits, and Mustad Triple Grip on lipless. I change factory hooks on everything except Lucky Craft.


• Make sure the split rings aren't bent.


• Sand the diving lip if it's beat up. This will help it dive.

Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits and Jigs:

• Sort by size


• Sort by color


• Sharpen hooks

Plastics:

• This may sound silly, but make sure they haven't melted in storage before you throw them in your bag.


• Arrange them so they are easy for you to find. A previous article recommends using a cake pan that you can get at WalMart or Target and it works great. I carry about 50 plastic bait bags in one of these.


• If you have several bags of particular bait, consolidate them into one to save space.

Lure Storage:

I used to be a lure fanatic. I would buy everything just to try it. Those days are gone! I try new lures occassionaly, but I mostly know what works well where I fish and what I am comfortable with. Here is what I carry for lure storage in my boat to tournaments.

• A Shimano bag that holds four boxes in it and has a front pocket, 2 side pockets, and a zipper pocket in back. In the boxes I have one for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, one for flipping jigs, one for football jigs, and one for smaller buzzbaits, inline spinners, hair jigs and bucktails. The side pockets hold extra blades, trailer hooks, sharpie markers and scent. The front pocket holds plastic trailers and pork trailers. Tha back zipper holds my caplight, scissors and pliers.


• Two Falcon hook utility boxes. One holds shakey heads, drop shots, and other finesse type hooks and sinkers. The other holds heavy hooks and sinkers for Carolina and Texas rigging.


• 2 Plano utility boxes. I like to make these season specific as far as colors and types of lures, but generally it is this. One for deep diving crankbaits. One for other crankbaits, topwaters, lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits.


• 1 cake pan for all my plastics.

So, to sum it up, I carry one bag, 4 utility boxes, and 1 cake pan. This really helps me decide what to use on the water by limiting my choices to only the lures I am comfortable with and I know work.

Last but not least, you need to make sure your boat, trolling motor, and electronics are in goodworking condition. I change my lower unit oil, start the boat in the driveway and let it idle for a few minutes. I also put it in and out of forward and reverse gear. Be sure to keep up with regular maintenance on your boat. I just turn my electronics and trolling motor on to make sure they're working after being stored for a couple months.

Everyone has their own preseason rituals which may or may not include things in this post. These are some of my practices, but I am a firm believer in doing whatever works best for you. Have a happy and safe tournament season!

Does Size Really Matter?

Well it depends on who you’re asking, but if you’re asking a bass, then she would most likely say yes. I experienced a new-found love and gained confidence last year in fishing big lures. Although to this day I’ve caught my largest bass on a three inch grub, which to most fisherman would be considered a small fishing lure. You will catch large fish on small lures too, but I believe there are certain lures that will increase your chance of putting a lunker in the livewell. More... Most of my fishing career I’ve relied on small to medium sized fishing lures in tournaments to produce more bites and medium size fish with an occasional large fish here and there. So, this past season I told myself that I would make a change and I stuck with it. I knew that I probably would not get as many bites, but if I did receive a bite, then it would most likely be a keeper for the livewell. I soon realized and found a new confidence in fishing big lures. The main big fish lure I like to use is the big ribbon tail or curly tail ten inch worm. Several manufacturers produce a good ten inch worm, so I suggest you try a few and choose the best one that works for you. You can fish a big worm several different ways, so you just need to adapt it to the season and style that the bass are hitting during the time of year you’re fishing. It’s important to be comfortable with the rig you are using too, so if you prefer texas rig, then stick with it until you gain confidence in the other styles and approaches, such as carolina, shaky head, wacky, or drop shot rigging. There are other lures I like to use which land big fish too. You will experience catching big bass on jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, flippin’ or pitchin’ jigs, lizards, brush hawgs, deep diving crankbaits, and slow rolling swimbaits. This fishing season just ask yourself one question, “Do you want to catch big bass”? If the answer is yes, then I suggest you try out more big lures this year and stick with them until your livewell is full of hawgs.

Best,

Dittmore