Cumberland River (Clarksville area) 16 Aug 2013

[nomad60]

Today was one of those days you wish you’d have every day…it was cool, low humidity and cloudy with a front rolling in…and the bass were hungry.

My buddy Tom and I were on the water by first light and were happy to see that there was almost no current to speak of…which is just the way I like it. The water temperature was still 75 degrees, which is unbelievable for this time of year. Instead of heading downstream like we usually do, I suggested we hit some rip rap upstream…there’s a big flat along there with drop-offs on either side where it goes from 6 to 15 feet or more of water, depending on which side you fish. We caught several nice bass along the rocks, right at the edge of the flat; Tom caught one on a crankbait and I caught mine on a black, 4” Senko. Then we drifted slowly down the shore, fishing the rip rap and rocks walls and once again, caught bass…I caught all mine on Senkos and watermelon seed-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craws fished on a 1/8 oz shaky head jig.

As you can see by the number of times my white shirtsleeve shows up, I had a pretty darned good morning out there today and by the way, that song was wrong…that was NOT the last train to Clarksville after all. :)

[Travis C.]

Nice job Nomad, that looks like a good avg size of bass caught.

When you drift the bank are you casting? Have you ever tried drifting with the current and dragging the craw or... possibly a single blade white or chartreuse spinnerbait? :D

[Tnriverluver]

Very nice catch. Much better quality than what I caught near Birdsong last weekend although I did catch a lot of fish.

[Reel Tune]

That's a great day, congratulations.

[Alphahawk]

Those are some nice looking fish! Congrats.


Regards

[MNfisher]

Great fish! Good report!!

[SAMBOLIE]

Nomad, glad you had a good day. You have paid your dues and certainly deserve it.

Beautiful pic of the bridge also.

[nomad60]

Thanks guys...I don't have days like that very often where everything from the weather, the current AND the fish click. I don't know if it's me or the fish or both but as soon as the current picks up, I can't catch fish but whenever it's nice and slow, I have pretty good luck.

I forgot to mention in my original post...when we left the dock, the river was clear but around 11:30 when we started back upstream we encountered a minefield of logs and garbage...it was so bad I had to go at idle for fear of hitting something. I guess they once again opened the gates at Cheatham...man the river was a mess and there were some sad faced folks at the dock, waiting to go out in their speed boats to water ski LOL

When you drift the bank are you casting? Have you ever tried drifting with the current and dragging the craw or... possibly a single blade white or chartreuse spinnerbait? :D

Travis,

Yes, I drift about 10-15 feet off the bank (depending on water depth and any rocks I see under the water) and cast in front of me so I can sort of reel it back to me semi-parallel to the bank. If I think it's a really good spot I'll get on the trolling motor to keep myself in place so I can cast perpendicular. I've never tried dragging anything behind the boat while drifting...and you know what? I haven't caught a single fish on a spinnerbait since I got to TN :( and that used to be one of my weapons of choice along with the Senko and jig. Now I mainly stick to the 4" black Senko on a 3/0 hook, fished weightless and the watermelon seed-colored speed craw on a 1/8 oz shaky head jig. I don't know what it is about that watermelon seed color but around here the bass (especially the spots) love it. I've experimented when they were biting...I put on the same size speed craw but in a different color and nothing...back to the watermelon seed and the bite was on.