Gallatin Waterway Bank Fishing 7/17-7/18

[Jmarley]

Went out the past two days to a few locations. Caught a bass and a smallish blue gill under a bridge near Castalian Spring with some old crawlers. I usually bring some for when the fish are being a little picky.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2008.37.47.jpg (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2008.37.47.jpg)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2008.47.50.jpg (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2008.37.47.jpg)

After that I picked up a Strike King Sexy Shad crankbait and went to my usual 'creek' spot I guess it's more of a waterway and was just kind of fooling with it, speed reeling, trying to learn how to work it properly and caught this bad boy.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2009.53.58.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2009.55.30.jpg (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2009.53.58.jpg)
I believe it's a drum, if I'm wrong let me know, but this guy hit that crankbait hard and is the biggest fish I've pulled in so far. I didn't have a scale, but he was heavier than anything else I've managed catch in the past month or so I've been fishing hardcore. Got a little scale for next time :).

I believe this a little striper edit white bass whose eyes are much bigger than its mouth.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2010.38.58.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-17%2013.37.14.jpg
Little bass caught near Drake's Creek by the park.


For the second day I got up real early and headed out to my spot in Gallatin, the fish really turn on in the early hours of morning giving me some courage. Caught atleast 6 or 7 bass overall in a period of a few hours, my most caught at one time yet. On my first cast I landed a hissing snapping turtle that I thought was a lunker.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-18%2005.47.55.jpghttps://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-18%2005.48.02.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-18%2007.44.18.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-18%2008.45.51.jpg

Please ID this little guy looks like some kind of panfish, not too sure though, caught him a under a rock while I was fooling around with my little rebel cricket
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18580539/Picture%20Share/2012-07-18%2009.11.10.jpg

Last, but not least I had one fish, which seemed massive to me get away. It was one of my last few casts before I was going to move on. I had my SK Sexy shad on the line was casting from shore into a little cove to the left sort of along the shoreline. I had no access to that area due to bushes/trees and whatnot and had had a few bites in the past casting there, just due to only being able to cast in front of it at an awkward angle with bush limbs jutting out in the way, I wasn't able to get any sets or fish it really well. Well I casted it out and was reeling in fast and jerking, next thing I know I heard a splash and something was on my line it was big, and tough, started reeling in, rod was immediately bent over to where I thought it was gonna snap. He kept zig zagging back and forth to the outside edge of the cove and towards more open water, then when he was getting closer to about 5-10 feet from me he drove straight into the cove and spit out my lure. I had forget to set my hook due to the thrill and excitement, and usually them treble hooks seems to set themselves. I casted a few more times to the area and got another bite from him I believe, but he didn't want to take it anymore.

This was in the same area where I caught the drum above, along the same shore line, but not in the same spot, I don't know if it was the same drum or something even bigger, but the first fight with the drum the day before wasn't nearly as tough.

Sorry for the long post, but the past two days have been the best fishing I've had so far. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things and learning the techniques I need to excel as a fisherman and not just tread water.

What do you guys think?

[jad2t]

The picture you said was a striper is actually the link to the same picture of the drum. I'm interested in that though, I have a feeling you caught a white bass rather than a striper but I'd sure like to see the pic!

[Jmarley]

I fixed it, looks like it's probably a white bass never seen any of those before so I naturally assumed it was a striper. Looking at some pictures of white bass/striper/yellow bass, I think it looks more like a yellow bass than anything: http://www.uaex.edu/wneal/pond_management/images/fishphotos/yellowbass.jpg

[jad2t]

Yea that's a yellow bass. White bass are good eating, I've heard yellow bass are too. I made that same mistake last spring with white bass. I caught about 15 of them wading in the Calfkiller River and threw them all back thinking they were little stripers and therefore way too small to keep. Oops!

[Travis C.]

Sounds like you had fun.

The big one that got away, my first thought other than another big drum would be a catfish since it did not try to jump. But really it could be anything. There are big bass, striper, drum, gar and cats in Old Hickory.

Here is a good fish ID tool put together by the TN fish and game

http://www.tn.gov/twra/pdfs/anglersguide.pdf

It is also tacked at the top of the threads on the forum too.

[Jmarley]

I've seen the guide before, but now I'm gonna have to start using it more often.

I didn't see the big one jump, but he did make quite a splash when he took my lure and it was pretty much out of sight when he bit due to the bushes and shrubs. Gonna head back out there on Saturday morning and see if I can wrestle him outta there.

[tylerreid1234]

That panfish you caught is a Green Sunfish. They are ALWAYS under rocks or any kinda structure, no matter where you go. Me and my buddies would get bored sometimes not catching anything in the creek and just dangle little curly tail grubs down beside rocks and just watch them fight for it! Fun fish to catch and they will bite ANYTHING.

[Travis C.]

Another thing the green sunfish are fun for is after you catch one put a bigger hook through his lips and chuck it over by some big rocks, timber or rock walls.

They are flathead catfish candy.

[Jmarley]

I'll have to try that, I had been trying to catch some of the really tiny 2-3" sunfish by the shore to try to use as some bait, but without a net its alot harder than it looks lol.