Guys With Boats...We Need Your Help

[roadwarrior]

Help!

Man, if you have a boat and you're on the fence,

we could really use some help. We need two or

three more boaters at Pickwick for the Roadtrip.

Common' now, you know you want to go!

-Kent

[Sam]

Lots of things I want to do but not Pickwick this year.

Funny thing about your post is that my wife told me tonight that she wants to go back to Louisiana to do some redfish fishing again.

So we will make plans to go to Louisiana but I can't go to Pickwick.

Go figure. 

[Chris at Tech]

I'll bring my jon boat and it's 145 total lbs of thrust.  Hold onto your butt upon takeoff...

[Casey_C89]

Chris at tech, what brand jon boat is that in your avatar? It looks to have a nice wide front deck.

[Chris at Tech]

Chris at tech, what brand jon boat is that in your avatar? It looks to have a nice wide front deck.

G3 1548

[skunked_again]

times is tough....

[Blue Streak]

Can't get away at that time, maybe next year.

[RoLo]

I've never gone on a BR roadtrip, so I guess that makes me a lousy cheerleader, or maybe not.

Any BR member who has half a chance should take the plunge and meet the family.

Gosh, we yak back-and-forth here on a daily basis, so it's got to be a blast to put a real face

on the names we know so well, to share a round-table and maybe a brew or two.

Along with the comradery is the great angling opportunity.

The largemouth bass swimming in Pickwick Lake have a greater mean weight than

largemouth bass north of the Mason Dixon Line. If that's not enough, Pickwick Lake

is World-Class water for smallmouth bass. In 1950, Owen Smith caught a gargantuan

smallmouth bass from Wilson Lake just below the Joe Wheeler Dam. Owen's smallmouth

had a certified weight of 10-lb, 8-oz, which set the new world-record smallmouth bass at that time.

To this day, only two certified smallmouth bass have ever been taken that exceeded the weight

of Owen's goliath, and both of course came from Dale Hollow Reservoir.

For me, the Wilson Lake world-record was particularly memorable because it spanned the period

from 1950 to 1955, when I was just a budding angler (ages 8 to 13).

Here's the upshot. The waters of Wilson Lake flow directly into adjoining Pickwick Lake,

which as it were is the tailrace of Wilson Lake. Wilson's reputation as a trophy smallmouth fishery

began to wane during the 1980s, but about that same time Pickwick Lake was entering its heyday.

Due to the natural aging process (eutrophication),Wilson today is better suited to largemouth bass.

As a matter of fact, electroshocking in Lake Wilson during 2009 produced 84 largemouth bass

per hour, the highest success rate among all 31 electrofished TVA impoundments!

Again, this is the same water that flows directly into Pickwick Lake.

With respect to smallmouth bass, Dale Hollow and South Holston are two formidable competitors,

but Pickwick Lake today still remains a prime candidate for a new world-record bronzeback.

Go for it!

Roger

[cart7t]

Hopefully, fishing boat rental availability will be towards the top of the list of requirements for future Road Trips and conference facilities and catering availability will move much further down the list. 

When you have as many coming in via plane or driving in from northern states that are boatless,  it would seem prudent to make sure that having the ability to rent a fishing boat (ie, a boat with a decent size motor AND a trolling motor) would be a no-brainer.   

[Muad Dib]

man i would love to go! good luck fellas.

[Long Mike]

Hopefully, fishing boat rental availability will be towards the top of the list of requirements for future Road Trips and conference facilities and catering availability will move much further down the list.

When you have as many coming in via plane or driving in from northern states that are boatless, it would seem prudent to make sure that having the ability to rent a fishing boat (ie, a boat with a decent size motor AND a trolling motor) would be a no-brainer.

Good point Glen!  Gosh, why didn't I think of that? :

[fourbizz]

It seems to me like having fishing boats available for a fishing trip is pretty logical.

This post mysteriously edited to remove the armchair quarterback comment.

[Tin]

Fork pre/spawn

Guntersville prspawn

Kentucky prespawn

Pickwick post-spawn

2011 3 Rivers in July?    ;D

[cart7t]

Quote

Quote

Hopefully, fishing boat rental availability will be towards the top of the list of requirements for future Road Trips and conference facilities and catering availability will move much further down the list.

When you have as many coming in via plane or driving in from northern states that are boatless, it would seem prudent to make sure that having the ability to rent a fishing boat (ie, a boat with a decent size motor AND a trolling motor) would be a no-brainer.

Good point Glen! Gosh, why didn't I think of that? :

Not a pick on you Mike, I realize you don't set the criteria on lake selection.

This isn't a regional get together where most of the forum members own a bass boat, this forum has many members that would like to attend but are coming from such a distance that towing a boat isn't feasible or they don't own a boat or do own a boat but it's not suitable for fishing on a lake the size of a KY Lake, Gunthersville or Pickwick.

Obviously, just assuming that enough boats will show up to satisfy demand isn't working, even using the economy as an excuse. Seems like a plan B needs to be available which there isn't this year. I also don't think that jamming 3 people into a boat for 3 days is the best of options either. I'd hate to be on a nice C-rig bite during the trip and have to fish with 3 people in my 18 1/2 foot boat for the week.

Just an opinion, not a jab at you by any means.

[I Love BassResource]

Fork pre/spawn

Guntersville prspawn

Kentucky prespawn

Pickwick post-spawn

2011 3 Rivers in July? ;D

Lol, that would be a test.  If that doesn't work, I have access to a few farm ponds really close to a hotel 8 down here.

[roadwarrior]

Boats Seats have not been an issue until this year.

Even now, we're just a few boats away from what

is needed.

I am hoping we have a couple of members than can

still make it to Pickwick. Otherwise, we will do what

we can to accommodate everyone.

[bassinsergeant]

It's going to be fun no matter what! It will be fine even if I have to fish from the bank some!!!

[timothy_spain]

wish i had a boat

[TheBeast]

It was a little to easy to figure out why and when chitwick was picked for the roadtrip.

And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fishing.

[Tin]

It appears that way Beast. If I'm going to spend money or drive a couple days I want to go to a lake where the fishing is going to be great and have memories of that. Not because of  KVD or seeing pros, or fishing on a spawn/ post spawn lake that has just been destroyed for the past week by the best guys in the world.

Next year I'm definitely in and can't wait to hear where it will be.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

Maybe you guys are doing better, but Pickwick

is on fire!

http://www.fishpickwick.com/fish_report.htm

p.s.

KVD won the Classic fishing the Red Eye Shad.

Here's another story, an e-mail I received this

morning:

Ok guys,

Attached are a few pictures from my blackberry of the largemouth I caught last Thursday at Pickwick. Was all alone so I wish I had a better camera and better pictures, but it was mighty cool to me. Fish was 26.5 inches long and had a girth of 22.5 inches. I had a board to measure her with, but took fishing line to get girth and measured later.

Caught her on a gravel bar in about 7 ft of water at 1:00 last Thursday on a Strike King Red Eye Shad 1/2 ounce with Vicious 12 pd test fluorocarbon and a Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Elite Reel and a Bass Pro Shops 7'0 ft medium heavy cranking stick. Was slowly pumping it down the gravel bar when it just loaded up on the fall. First fish I caught of the day and really she did not fight that much. Dead pull, strong but I figured I just had a fish foul hooked or in top of head.

She bulldogged under the boat and when she came out and floated up, she had it right in top lip and just gave up.

I was kinda in shock I guess and ran water for live well and called dad (he was at work of course) to get him to pull up records which in Alabama for public water was 14.9 or so. I took the x-tool and weighed her and it bounced between 13.1 and 13.3. Not wanting to hurt her, I put her back in live well as I tried to figure out what to do. Nobody was anywhere around and I took her out for as many pictures as I could with a cell phone (no other good camera). I then took her measurements to verify weights as the only scale I had was x-tool in the boat. After

2-3 minutes of her in the live well, I cranked up and idled back to the exact area i caught her and let her swim away, in which she TORE out of my hand.

I have never caught anything close to this (10 lbs biggest), nor will I, I am sure on area waters, but it was a very humbling experience to finally see one this big in our lake we love so much. We have one of the most special resources in the world close to our home and I just hope we can keep seeing these things happen.

Also, Jimmy Mason caught a 8-2 smallmouth yesterday up there and is putting pictures on his website on a guide trip, so it is getting awesome.

Thanks for the listen.

Lance Walker

MEMPHIS BPS

[Thad]

Pickwick is a fun lake. I'd be there if it wasn't my exam week, last one of my life thank God. A month ago my friend was there and they caught a 8lb smallie. I'll be going to Guntersville the week after though.

[David P]

If I could afford that kind of trip I'd be there in a second, maybe one of these times you'll have it closer to California !

[TheBeast]

Pickwick is a fun lake. I'd be there if it wasn't my exam week, last one of my life thank God. A month ago my friend was there and they caught a 8lb smallie. I'll be going to Guntersville the week after though.

Why would you want to do that unless your going to ride around and watch others fishing.

[DINK WHISPERER]

When it gets closer to FL i'm all game!!