Just moved to Tennessee

[Marcrates]

I just moved here from Ohio, and I'm looking forward to being next to a lake! I'm living right near Nashville Shores on Percy Priest.

What's the best place near me to fish from the shore? I don't have a boat..

Thanks.

[MNfisher]

I actually just moved here from MN back in April. I have fished below the Percy Priest Dam many times, but it was back when they were generating water or had the gates open. But caught anything from Largemouth bass, bluegill, white bass, yellow bass and had some pretty big stripers on and saw some nice hybrids and walleye and catfish also caught down there by shore. Most were using live bait and outfishing me, and I was using roostertails and topwaters. But it was the only place I knew where to fish, so I fished it pretty hard. I hear there are some pretty big fish to be caught below the Old Hickory Dam right now. But haven't had the time to head down there yet. Soon hopefully. Good luck with your adventures! I wish I could be more help, but still learning myself!

[Doc Marshall]

Hey There,

My wife and I moved here from NYC in Feb. She's from Ohio, actually (Cincinnasty).

TWRA lakes allow you to rent a jon boat for $8 or so. Ideally, you should have an electric trolling motor (they give you paddles rather than oars). The motors are $100 at Bass Pro Shops, and a battery will run you another $100 or so. That said, once you have that set-up, you can go to any of their lakes and get off the shore for cheap.

Marrowbone Lake is very close by at under 20 minutes from my house. Williamsport Lakes in Columbia, TN are an hour and half away, but the bass action is good there.

I've fished from the banks of Percy Priest many times. I actually hate the dam area. It's full of bucket sitters and the scene is just not for me. It's a huge lake, though, and there is plenty of shore access.

I went on the Caney River today and rented a fishing kayak for $50. It was well worth it.

Anyway, welcome to TN. There are many options for the fisherman looking to get away from his wife.

[Marcrates]

I actually just moved here from MN back in April. I have fished below the Percy Priest Dam many times, but it was back when they were generating water or had the gates open. But caught anything from Largemouth bass, bluegill, white bass, yellow bass and had some pretty big stripers on and saw some nice hybrids and walleye and catfish also caught down there by shore. Most were using live bait and outfishing me, and I was using roostertails and topwaters. But it was the only place I knew where to fish, so I fished it pretty hard. I hear there are some pretty big fish to be caught below the Old Hickory Dam right now. But haven't had the time to head down there yet. Soon hopefully. Good luck with your adventures! I wish I could be more help, but still learning myself!

Thanks, that's good to know! I'll have to check out the Dam area soon.

[Marcrates]

Hey There,

My wife and I moved here from NYC in Feb. She's from Ohio, actually (Cincinnasty).

TWRA lakes allow you to rent a jon boat for $8 or so. Ideally, you should have an electric trolling motor (they give you paddles rather than oars). The motors are $100 at Bass Pro Shops, and a battery will run you another $100 or so. That said, once you have that set-up, you can go to any of their lakes and get off the shore for cheap.

Marrowbone Lake is very close by at under 20 minutes from my house. Williamsport Lakes in Columbia, TN are an hour and half away, but the bass action is good there.

I've fished from the banks of Percy Priest many times. I actually hate the dam area. It's full of bucket sitters and the scene is just not for me. It's a huge lake, though, and there is plenty of shore access.

I went on the Caney River today and rented a fishing kayak for $50. It was well worth it.

Anyway, welcome to TN. There are many options for the fisherman looking to get away from his wife.

I moved from the Cincinnasty area, too! (Hamilton)... I'll have to see about getting a trolling motor, that might be my best bet. Thanks for the advice!

[bd-]

Keep an eye on Craigslist, under the "boats" and "sporting" sections in particular. Trolling motors pop up there frequently. You might be able to luck into a good used one for quite a bit less than $100.00.

bd

[MNfisher]

I could be wrong, but i don't think there is much below the Percy dam right now since they haven moved water in months. Probably just some bluegill or small whitebass down there, but like I said, i could be very wrong! Good luck!

[txnative]

Step 1: find a decent fishing kayak on craigslist. You can usually find a decent one near $300.

Step 2: forget everything you assume about what is possible about kayak fishing, especially its' limitations.

Step 3: get with either myself or midtnkayak angler.

Step 4: crap your pants when you hook into a trophy striper and get pulled around by it.

Step 5: repeat.


Chris

[Travis C.]

Keep an eye on Craigslist, under the "boats" and "sporting" sections in particular. Trolling motors pop up there frequently. You might be able to luck into a good used one for quite a bit less than $100.00.

bd

Also keep an eye out for estate sales. I have seen several around here lately with a lot of fishing equipment including trolling motors. Sometimes they post the estate sales on Craigslist sometimes not.

As far as fishing close by you can check out above the Dam on your side, Cooks Rec area juts out by the main channel and has submerged big rocks next to it, Cooks also has a small fishing area as well by the ramp with pier, I can never remember the name but the ramp up near the mouth of Suggs Creek which is just passed Cooks is good as well and has lots of bank to fish from.

[Marcrates]

Step 1: find a decent fishing kayak on craigslist. You can usually find a decent one near $300.

Step 2: forget everything you assume about what is possible about kayak fishing, especially its' limitations.

Step 3: get with either myself or midtnkayak angler.

Step 4: crap your pants when you hook into a trophy striper and get pulled around by it.

Step 5: repeat.


Chris

You have me quite tempted to get one.. my future in-laws enjoy kayaking as it is, so it wouldn't be a completely one sided investment... hmm..

[Reel Tune]

I thought about a boat a couple years ago and then punched the numbers for payment, gas, insurance, maintence, tags etc.

Then looked into kayaks and said to myself I can buy all new rod and reels, and 2 or more kayaks a year for the price of one boat. I can also fish Saltwater from the kayak, and not have to worry about flushing the motor, no ramp or launch fees either. So now we fish a lot more than if we had a boat, and have money for trips.

There is nothing wrong with a boat though if I could get a 15K-20K raise a year I would probably get one.

If you ever want to get on the water to check one out I could help.