Overfished or is it just me?!

[TriStar]

What's everyone's opinion on the TWRA family lakes? I've been to Marrowbone twice and down to one of the Williamsport Lakes yesterday and haven't even had as much as a nibble. Seems like everyone I talk to are just out there trying to catch catfish. I am looking for bass, crappie, bluegill and have tried small jigs, spinnerbaits, and rooster tails. Fishing all of the coves, points, and near the banks.

Nothing beats a nice day on the water but I'm beginning to get a little tired of catching nothing!

[jad2t]

I can't speak for Marrowbone, I've never been there. Williamsport is absolutely full of quality sized largemouth bass. The rules to keep a bass from there are very strict, only 1 fish allowed and it has to be over 20 inches. So the problem is not over harvest. The Williamsport lakes are notorious for humbling people. I was proud to say for a while that I had never been skunked there and then it finally happened lol. I've caught several fish in the 3-5 pound range in there and so have a lot of the people on this forum.

My first fishing tournament ever was in there and I took 3rd actually, that's a day I won't forget. Tournament was from 8-4

Fish #1 - 11" dink at about 8:15, I thought I was going to have a good day

Fish #2 - Didn't happen until about 3:30, almost everyone I talked to was getting no action. Many left early, I wanted to leave early. Then I hooked what at that time was my largest bass from a kayak at 18.25".

Fish #3 - 2 casts later I land a 15.75" bass and it was about 3:45.

I paddled as fast as I could to the bank to turn in my memory card before 4pm and wound up with 3rd place!

Moral of the story - Don't give up when you're fishing Williamsport. You won't catch numbers there but you will catch quality.

[Shoe man]

I used to fish Marrowbone quite a bit for bluegill and shellcracker and learned quickly to use live bait. I used crickets and worms on a #8 hook under a quill float with a cane pole or long crappie pole. Casting and big colorful floats don't work nearly as good. I also only used the trolling motor to move from spot to spot. I skulled (paddled) while fishing. Straight up and down keeps you from snagging so much also. The bluegill like the lay downs at Marrowbone as much as the crappie. Always caught bass on soft plastics. Never fished for crappie out there much. Hope this helps. They used to sell the quill floats in the bait shop.

[Alphahawk]

Williamsport Lakes are full of Gills...crappie.....and as it has already been said trophy bass. I have not fished there this year as I no longer live close....but have many friends who are killing the Gills and crappie there. Catches of 100 fish a day there are not uncommon. Do a forum search on Williamsport and you can see many of my reports from there last spring. The Gills are not the biggest but are quite chunky and give a good fight on 2# test line. The crappie are actually getting better in there...and believe me when I tell you Blue Cat and Shellcracker have thousands of crappie in them.

Regards

[JDH8504]

I have yet to have an even decent day bass fishing at Marrowbone. It's a shame because it's a beautiful lake and seems like the kind of place they should be thriving. Maybe they are, and I'm just terrible out there :confused:

It has crystal-clear water throughout the lake. I wonder if they stay relatively deep all year round. I am no deep-water fisherman for sure -- but I am working on it.

I have had some of my best days on Shellcracker and Blue Cat at Williamsport. In February on Blue Cat I caught 16 Largemouth, two nice Hybrid, and a monster Crappie (biggest I have ever seen). Blue Cat has better (read: actually has some) structure. You can find clay bluffs, rock walls, gravel points, weedlines, etc.

Shellcracker is where my personal best came from, and I caught two approximately the same size in the same late-afternoon/evening. See profile pic. Didn't have a scale, but she was about 23 inches and fat. I really feel the key there is do anything, but do it s-l-o-w. I have never had a topwater strike on that lake. I've caught them on just about everything else in the tackle box fished v-e-r-y s-l-o-w.

Shellcracker's biggest targets get beat up constantly, but still consistently produce. Laydowns and submerged timber along the banks, riprap at the dam, and the culvert at the back of the left-most major creek arm all hold fish. I have never had any success on the riprap but that's my fault because I know people catch monsters there year-round.

If you can't tell, I like these little lakes a bit. :D

[JDH8504]

Check out this crappie caught out of Bluecat in Feb this year!

http://fishingtn.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8516&stc=1&d=1464743681

[Mikeyrrt]

I think lately it's over fished I can catch maybe 20 gills a full day last two times I went this year in the past Years I could do 20 big gills in a hour jig fishing


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