JPP Tailwater
 

Hoping to catch the open spill gates, we went to JPP Wednesday, and even though the TVA app says they are still spilling, they are not.

The aerator is on and there's some water in there, so we fished the small pools down close to the dam.

Went back last night also. Lots of bluegills and small stripers, but a few that were pretty fun for a little guy to catch on a 48" kid's pole and a bison TM.

All fish released.

Billy

Those whites are fun! Good to see they are still up there! It will say they are spilling all summer, when that tube is spilling, they consider it spilling.

I think that's a white bass, not a small striper. I made that mistake years ago when I got into them real good and threw back several good meals thinking they were stripers too small to keep haha. Looks like you both had a good time! I have yet to fish below that dam, need to try it sometime.

It looks like a baby hybrid to me.

White bass. The lines are too faded to be a hybrid.

Those fish are one of my favorites to catch, especially on a fly rod or ultralight gear. Looks you had a great time, congrats.


Chris

That's fun right there!



Regards

Which bass
 

Thanks for the clarifications. I had the TN Fishing Guide out and the boys and I were trying to ID as best we could. I like for them to know what they are catching and also to be fishing by the guidelines, but I'm pretty crappy at telling my bass apart still.

The pictures of white bass in the guide show them to be very white, and these fish had some green on them. What's the sure-fire way to tell?

Good tip on the tube, I didn't know they considered that "spilling".

Billy

Check the tongue. A striper and hybrid will have two distinct tooth patches, whereas a white bass will not. Also, a striper has far darker lines and a more torpedo-shaped body.


Chris

One way to tell, is if the output is 200 cfs or less, it is more than likely just the tube. 400 cfs or more usually means one door will at least be cracked.

I caught some very small striper tonight that I will post when I get time, to show you how they differ from a a white bass.
Once you get the hang of it, it's quite simple. It just takes time and experience on the water.

I wouldn't have pegged that as a white bass either. I thought white bass were taller whereas the striper were longer. Interesting.

Definitely a white bass but regardless nice catch.

Here are 2 striper(rockfish) that I caught last night. You can see the lines are much darker, the bodys are much longer and slender. But you can see one has solid lines and one has broken lines. A striper typically has solid lines and a hybrid has broken lines, but a pure striper will have broken lines too.

These would have been awesome to put in an aquarium!

Good deal

stripe/white
 

The bodies are longer and sleeker in proportion. That is easier for me to see first off than the color differences.

Thanks for the pictures.

Went back to JPP again Friday night. Unlike Thursday when we had the spillway side of the river to ourselves and a healthy bite, it was crowded and kind of dead.

Also stopped by yesterday (to ride bikes on the Greenway) and didn't see anybody catching anything in 30 minutes of looking.

Billy