Old Hickory Small mouth
 

Well, I tried the crappie again... with no success. Caught 8 total with only one keeper. Kept a few whole fry blue gill because I have never tried them. They were pulling water hard and current out of drakes creek was strong. The current carried my live minnow about 12 ft deep into a down tree and I was in for a surprise. Didn't weight her, but 22 inches and broad as a barn! So, I can't say all was lost. First keeper small mouth I have caught on Old Hickory since the semi-new 18" rule!
http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/...r3a/photo1.jpg
http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/...lr3a/photo.jpg

Nice smallmouth

I'm not against keeping fish by no means but i hope to hear that she was takin back to the lake and released alive and well. Awesome fish!

Release the fish
 

what he said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Indeed! I have never eaten a small mouth or large mouth. She was in the well for less than an hour, just had to get a pic of her. I can't say the same for the lone crappie and 4 blue gill though. With my other four crappie in the fridge, we are frying fish tonight. Hope these blue gill are decent... I have mixed feelings about them. If anyone wants a first class crappie repellant, I'm your man!

Good to hear! I have always heard of bluegill being really good to eat but have never messed with bringin any home. I have 2 little girls that are really getting into fishing now, guess i'll have to start throwing some in the livewell and give them a shot.

Bluegill are as good as it gets. When the willow flies hatch, fill your live wells with big bull bluegill using beetle spins or a 4wt fly rod with a popping bug. Best fish fry of the year.

If the fish measures and yer hungry , EAT IT!!!!

Call me crazy but one landed on my depthfinder Saturday night in Drakes Creek. It was kind of a pale yellow color. From being a trout guy, it was definitely in the may fly family.

I can't wait for the fly rod gills until your arm gets sore.

It is tough to beat a bluegill fish fry! One of the best tasting little morsels out there!!!

Nice smallmouth I would of turn it lose though big small mouthh are hard to come by

Nice catch! Though I would have released it too... into my skillet :)

Nice Smallie!!! <'TK><
 

Even Old Hickory is not all that rare for over 20" smallies. You'll definitely increase your catch ratio going to Dale or Pickwick but on Old Hickory that ratio with go up as well just getting out of the creeks and on the main channel. Fish like that nice one he caught are out there around main river humps, ledges, submerged islands and channel swings.

The Cheatham is full of them too.

TK, that is an interesting math formula.

Wow, some interesting math! Thanks for your "keeper" approval by the way!. I have really just recently started fishing for fish to eat. My family really only eats crappie, catfish, sauger, and walleye; and they have always cursed me for bass fishing. I have always heard that bass were "trash" fish as well. However, I have kept a few spots and must say prepared fresh that it is my wifes favorite meal. I have even snuck them in with crappie at family fish frys and watched them eat spots while telling me they are trash. Its like sweet revenge. For now though, I am going to try to ignore the tournaments starting up and try to focus on catching more than one keeper crappie per day!

No one said they are impossible to catch but consider the facts on Old Hickory how many tournaments have 18 + smallmouth brung in ? How many people I talk to never caught a keeper smallmouth on the hick . I bet you are still guessing" well not many at all. I wasnt saying they are impossible to catch at all if you are referring to me. I have seen times you can lock through and bring a 20 + stringer of smallies in any day of the week or pull up on a piont on the Hick and catch plenty 18in +. Now they have a 18 in size limit on them they get to grow and more get caught on the Hick. If you are a fisherman that eats what he catches more power too him keep anything legal ! I my self just hate seeing a beautiful BIG largemouth and smallmouth get eaten. I would trade a man a boat load of 14 in largemouth for one 4lb largemouth or smallie get turned back to its home.

I think that number is low because people aren't out there trying to win the tourney's fishing for smallie's in their places. You'll see them show up in summer/late summer tourney's because people are out on ledges fishing. Plus, a 19 or maybe even 20" smallie would have a good chance of getting culled.

It would be interesting to see an all smallmouth tournament on Old Hickory and what's brought in.

Travis I personally have caught on a couple ledges mostly keeper smallmouth before !I know people dont fish for them enough and they are kinda a hidden secret. Its sucks turning back a 3 lb smallie in a tourney because of it being to short but thats part of it. That would be interested if there was a smally tourney on Old hickory ! I think it would be won with one or two fish due to the abundance of large mouth !

I haven't seen anyone weigh more than one smallie in at a tournament since the 18" limit. I can't remember ever seeing more than two being weighed in at a tournament between the entire field of boats come to think of it, and I have only seen this happen late in the year when everyone is fishing offshore or steep bluffs. Locking through is a different story, but I usually fish the 3-5 hour tournaments and no one risks being stuck below the dam! But anyways, this is why I had to get a picture: its the biggest smallie I have caught on OH! Don't judge, I don't target them... and she's a good fish in anyone's book! Now... where are those 10+ inch crappie at? If I don't find them soon I will be after the bucket mouths again :o

Wow this post got pretty out of hand huh? I have personally been to Canada more than once and have caught more smallies there than you could imagine. It's just something about those fish that seem special, maybe the elusiveness or that they aren't easy to fool, who knows. IMO TN should look at how Canada handles their lenght limits. Keep the small ones and release the big ones. It's obviously worked there!

That's one nice fish for sure. I don't want to across as judging. Heck, if you had ate it that is fine with me as long as it's legal.

I was simply wanting to say you can really get after fish like that if you changed up when/where you fished on Old Hickory. They are in there.

blr3a/ My crappie catching started increasing when I started targeting structure on or near the river channel dropoffs. I also started trusting my depth finder,threw out a marker buoy,and all i do is vertical fishing. If you get snagged in 15 to 20 ft. you know your in the ball park.This is very sloooow fishing.I also troll with bandit 200s.I rarely catch short fish with these techniques but i do not catch great numbers either. Hope it helps.

Exactly! I'm tired of people jumping down our throats for wanting to keep trout, smallies, etc. Who made them the judge of what is acceptable to feed yourself and your family with and what is not? If you are smart, you understand that meat and fish are essential to our health as human beings. If you're a vegetarian or vegan, well...that's a different argument. If you prefer to eat fish from WalMart that was raised in a Chinese sewage pond (no exaggeration, google it) then by all means, suit yourself and deal with the health consequences. Me, I'd rather save my money and eat fresh fish from waters I know are clean(er). I throw plenty of fish back but you can believe when my freezer is getting low, that cooler gets filled up on fishing days.

You shouldn't be offended by someone posting their opinion on a subject if you are gonna post yours.

I have friends the that would never release anything if not for the minimum size limit. They were raised on the land and keep and eat everything they catch.

I do not keep lm bass, not good to eat imo, too mushey.

We have huge 30 to 50 people fish frys every couple of weeks and always have enough to feed everyone. Catfish, crappie, bgill etc. I do not feel we hurt the fish population.

We also cook other wild game so we do not go hungry and have a lots of fun. Ever heard of the "Walter Hill Country Club"?

I do have a Philosophy in that I release the trophys and the others are fair game. It is much fun to fish, release and come home and not have to clean fish sometime. But it is disheartning to catch a really nice one when fishing alone and not being able to show someone. A picture made by ones self does not always do the trick.

My Grandkids gave me shirt for Father's Day the says, " There's room for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes and gravy."

Now you tournament fisherpeople. Tell me the survival rate of the gene pool bass that are kept in the livewells, then weighed, then photographed and held while breaking their lower jaw swinging them around. Then released.

This is after running from one end of the lake to the other blowing all the others off the lake.

More than one view point. Which one is right? Opinions are like......, everyon has one.

Enough of this rambling but it was fun, I am going fishing, see ya

I'm sorry I never meant to imply anyone was judging, I was simply trying to make a joke about me wanting a picture with this fish like a little kid. In fact, if I was not a member on this forum I would have never put her in the livebwell. But thanks! And... I agree! I think these fish can be targeted and caught, but I simply don't have the patience knowing I can catch LM more easily. Before the 18" rule, I had a spot near Avondale I would stop by in every tournament and it rarely failed to produce a 14-16 inch fish. Dale Hollow and Center Hill are a different story... for me anyways.

Jaycee : (quote)Now you tournament fisherpeople. Tell me the survival rate of the gene pool bass that are kept in the livewells, then weighed, then photographed and held while breaking their lower jaw swinging them around. Then released.

... Are you insinuating the majority of fish caught in tournaments are killed? " while breaking their lower jaw swinging them around. Then released." This sounds like an attack. I have never EVER seen anyone in a tournament break a fish's jaw. The only jaws I have seen broken was by Jimmy Houston who tends to want to hold the fish horizontal by torquing their lower jaw. I believe he is pathetic. However he is a TV fisherman, not a tournament fisherman (anymore anyways). Please don't suggest "tournament fisherpeople" as people who enjoy murdering fish. Thousands of fish are released at Flippers in Gallatin every year, I don't remember seeing thousands of them floating around dead though. If you look at my pictures you will see the fish is supported... even horizontally. Also, please keep in mind how much money big tournaments bring in for the TWRA in out of state licenses. Please don't be confused, you didn't step on my toes or "hurt my feelings"... I just think your comment is absurd. As I was putting my boat on the trailer I was watching a kid cast out.... catch a small blue gill... and run backwards dragging the fish onto the bank, instead of reeling it in. Then, unhooking it with pliers and kicking it back into the water. HOWEVER, you will not find me or anyone else petitioning to have kids stopped from fishing. I know not all kids behave in this manner.

Thank you very much for the tip! I certainly have not done this yet, but I was considering that deeper may be the ticket. I have been fishing 8-12ft mostly. If you don't mind... when your stopped fishing vertically do you find minnows or jigs more productive? And when fishing like this do you drop anchor to hold on the spot or try and hold it with the trolling motor? Thanks!

never anchored,workin that foot pedal, use tube jigs 95% of time

Tourney Regs and handling ... <'TK><
 

Now you tournament fisherpeople. Tell me the survival rate of the gene pool bass that are kept in the livewells, then weighed, then photographed and held while breaking their lower jaw swinging them around. Then released. Enough of this rambling but it was fun, I am going fishing, see ya[/QUOTE]

Jaycee, Good point, and I am not protecting bad behavior in the past ... ... But (this statement is not qualified ...tournament fisherpeople ?)

I'll gaurantee the mishandling of tourney fish has been corrected in the past 15 years by organizied groups ... Now as far as your local club sponsord from the local bars ... Who knows ??? ... But let's face it ... Until the mid 70's to mid 80's no one released anything ... look back at the old pic's of yesterday years ... Westmoreland on the Dale for example ... Maybe it is my age ... But conservation of the Game fish in this state is controlled very well ...

Not withstanding the Rednecks in Smith and Dekalb County that bank fish the Caney Fork And throw Eatable Stripers on the bank when fishing for Bass and Trout because they think they are trash fish (which I have witnessed first hand !!) .... ...

Bottom line is ... Regardless of Catch and release verses Legally Keeping ... Livewell etiquette ... Things have improved ... But I know where you are coming from ...

I relate this the same way we relate to our modern time of our drug problem ... I HAD A DRUG PROBLEM WHEN I WAS GROWING UP ... I WAS DRUG TO CHURCH AND DRUG TO THE WOODSHED WHEN I DIDN'T SAY YES MAM OR YES SIR OR WAS NOT RESPECTFUL and did not follow the law ... .... With our new influx of fishermen, legal or not (even legal asians disregard the laws, check the judicial dockets) and our politics ... The Tourneys are the most controlled fishing out there for the masses of fish caught at anytime ... ...

Jaycee, I appreciate your posts and opinions over the years (Since you joined April, 24th, 2004) ... Keep them coming ... Now there is an old saying with us old delta blues guys, with the tube amps , American Strat and Les Pauls, Unless you have lived it you can't play it ... this also goes with Tourney, commercial fishing and guiding ... I have done all the above ... <'TK>< :)

TK, yeah man, tube amps and Les Pauls(or a 335), maybe not so much Strat's(just kidding). A musician and a fisherman too.