oldgolf4

Catt; Why the swivel with the wacky worm?

Thanks Bighead. I do have Navionics, but since I only get there a couple of times a year I like to have a paper map to mark up in preparation for my trips. Catt, I will try to find Acme Mapper. Thanks, I know you use it and Hook and Line for TB.

Has anyone used a good map of Lake Fork that has a lot of detail?

Central or East TN if you are looking at TN. I live in the Memphis area and have to drive about a 100 miles to get to Pickwick Lake, which is where I like to fish. Personally, I would rather put up with the hot weather in FL than the cool or cold, depending on your perspective, in TN. We may not get -70 chill factors in the winter like MN, but if there is a chill factor of 40 or less these old bones don't like it! Hey Charlie Brown, maybe we can swap homes!

Any suggestions where someone from West TN could travel to fish during the winter that isn't all the way down into South Florida? I would like to have the chance to do some pitching and flipping to grass, etc., but don't want to travel more than 10 or 12 hours. Obviously, I'm looking for somewhere that is usually a little warmer. Or is this even reasonable?

May be a little too elementary, but how about explaining how you "stroke" a jig.

Does anyone fish a Carolina Rig under schooling shad/bass? Could this be effective, for instance on Pickwick, reaching bigger bass, or catching bass under the schools of shad when bass aren't actively busting the shad up top? If so, what is your bait of choice?

In answer to a couple of questions on the replies: I did recover the bait and there was about 3' of line on it. The knot was still fine and yes I always wet the line before pulling down the knot. I am 99.9% sure the line broke first before the backlash, of course anything is possible, simply because when you are making a long cast the rod is moving fast and it is only a split second between line break and backlash. However, I believe if the backlash had of happened first the bait would have been forced down and could not have gone as far as it did. I was casting in open water with no debris, but there was rock, so it could have been a nick in the line. After all the replies, which I really appreciated, I am inclined to believe it was either a nick or more likely the line had "pinched" earlier as suggested by Fireguyfrank58. Thanks again to all and good fishing!

While casting a med. size crankbait on 12 lb. Seaguar Invizx fluorocarbon, my line snapped about 3 ft. from the bait. The bait continued a good 25+ yds. into the lake. This happened twice in one day! Both times it caused huge backlashes, the second time so bad I had to cut off most of my line. I have checked the rod guides and find no sharp edges, etc. Could the line be binding in the reel or what? I was using an almost new Lew's Tournament Pro Speed Spool reel. The line was spooled new just a few days earlier and I don't think it had been used until this trip. Has this happened to anyone else?

Fished Pickwick in TN Wed. afternoon and Thurs. morning. Caught a lot of small bass, mainly smallmouth, on plastics. I could find fish deep, not sure what they were, but could not get them to bite a jig or swimbait. I don't deep crank and must admit I'm not very good fishing deep. Caught several on topwater early Thurs. morning, but once again mainly smallmouth.

Thanks for the responses. I only fished Wed. Guess I should have turned left out of Yellow Creek instead of right! The bite was tough for me. No wind, seemed to have killed the spinnerbait/chatterbait bite. I did catch some fish including a couple of decent sized ones, but nothing like 30 or 40 a day! Nearly every bite was on a different type bait, squarebill, chatterbait, worm, etc.! No pattern. By the way, Roadwarrior, what was the weight on the big bass?

I'm headed to Pickwick Wed. and Thurs. Any idea how the high water and high rate of discharge will effect the bass above the dam?

Thanks for the information. Now if you can just get it to warm up a little!

Has anyone fished Tunica within the last year or so? I am looking for somewhere to fish closer to Memphis than Pickwick. I love Pickwick, but with gas prices like they are, I need something closer. Any help would be appreciated.

I will be heading to Pickwick either Wed. or Thurs. and would appreciate knowing what is happening there. Are the bass still busting shad? The water temp and any other information you might have would be appreciated.

00 mod is right. I caught 27 last Friday. 22 came in less than 3 hours and most were between 2 and 3 pounds. Oh, and 1 drum that was around 8 lbs., thought I had a good one for a minute!

Thanks RW. I'm still having a hard time with the deep water fishing. Part of my problem is a 17 ft. alum. boat with a 12 volt trolling motor. Makes it very hard to stay on a spot, even when I occasionally think I find fish!

Great day! Not trying to find out your "sweet spot", but were you in TN?

I'm headed to Fork this Sunday, can't wait! If you go to www.ets-systems.com/ you will find several guides listed. You will just have to start calling.

I have only fished Pickwick for about 3 years, but I have never seen the lake so low. While fishing yesterday, I realized just how dangerous the lake is right now. There is a large tree stump just above the water and rock outcroppings just under the water between the main river channel and the islands just north of Yellow Creek. I believe the stump was close to the break between the two larger islands. There are stumps and bottom shallow enough to hit all around the old duck blind just east of where you exit Yellow Creek into the main river. I could name several other places where you need to be cautious, but it's probably enough to say, you should stay in the known deep channels when you are running. Use caution and stay safe!

I just returned from fishing Toledo Bend. I love the lake, but it is just as dangerous or more so than Lake Fork, depending on where you fish. I think Fork is easier to navigate right now than TB. I would not hesitate to return to either lake, and at the moment am considering returning to Fork. Good Luck on your trip.

I realize everyone wants a line to be invisible in the water, but what line would help you be able to see it when casting? In high winds it is difficult to see if your line has drifted over stumps etc. if you can't see it! This would be used primarily for bass fishing.

If you were fishing for bass and crappie, and launching from 6 mile marina next week, where would you fish?

Those are beauties, I'm jealous!

Thanks RW. Would you recommend the Botel as a good place to stay?