Gona need bigger gear!

[Alphahawk]

Went to Nickajack this morning. I have only one pic to show as that is the only fish I landed. I should have taken my Striper box but I did not. It has bigger baits and some 1/4 ounce to 3/4 ounce lead heads....which I needed. Hung 4 fish on the first 4 casts. The first one was a Small Mouth so big couldn't do anything with it in that current with 4# test line. Then hung two huge Hybrids. Same thing...all I could do was hold on. Broke both of those fish off as I did not want to be spooled and lose 19$ worth of NanoFil line. Finally landed the one you see....took a while though to get it in. The pic does not show how big the fish is. It was easily 6 pounds. By this time they had so much water going that even when I switched to the 6# fluorocarbon I could not get down in the rocks good with only a 1/8 ounce head. Found out down there the cutbacks are not the same as at Pickwick. I am sure when they just have that far generator running one could get into some nice Bluegill as the water stays flat until they turn on number 2. Now I know what my son and I should take when we go next week.

Regards

[jackson]

I was going to suggest bringing some heavier gear but I know a lot of people who only use light tackle and didn't want to step on your toes if you were one of those types. I'm glad you got into some fish. Did the fishing die after the first 4 casts?

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by jackson

I was going to suggest bringing some heavier gear but I know a lot of people who only use light tackle and didn't want to step on your toes if you were one of those types. I'm glad you got into some fish. Did the fishing die after the first 4 casts?

Don't worry about stepping on my toes. One can learn a lot in these forums.....any input is welcome. No the fish kept hitting but I only had 1/8 ounce jig heads and the fish were in the rocks. It was very difficult to get 1/8 down and keep it down during the retrieve. I knew I should have taken some heavier stuff. Hybrids like I hooked into today have become very rare at Pickwick. We used to get some big ones down there years ago but not very many Hybrids are caught there anymore. I left the generator side and drove over to the lock side. The water looked good over there and I thought I would get into some Bluegill with my UL gear...but the only thing I caught were buck Bass...Large Mouths about 9 inches long. Farther out though Bass...and or Hybrids..Stripers were feeding. They were busting the water fairly regular. I don't know but there must be another area to fish past the parking lot where the handicap pier is. A sign said that area was closed and the gate would be locked at anytime so don't go in there. This is my first time there so I don't know where the road ends past the parking lot at the bath rooms. If my son is off Monday we will be going back there.

Regards

I always fish with bigger gear and use a 3-way rig.I use up to 4oz of lead depending on what I want my bait to do.You were way under gunned for that area.You can easily get into good fish there so heavy line and a stout rod helps.I use braid with a mono leader.I like that the heavy braid still has a small diameter.You will catch plenty of small fish with the heavy gear and be ready when a good one gets on.If you saw hybrids and stripers like you said you could have hammered them if you were more familiar with that area.I use 50pound braid with a 30 pound mono leader.A good friend uses all mono and he spools nothing smaller than 20.If your trying to make alot of long casts fishing artificials you have to use a lighter line but it needs to be strong enough to whip those fish in the current.Thats why I like braid.You will get spooled easy if you have light gear.When I hook up I dont try to play the fish I fight it hard and try to horse it in.A few months ago when I landed my biggest cat ever I had a couple of stripers that I lost because they got in the current and I couldnt turn them.A 20 pound striper fights like a 50 in that flow.There are alot of giant shellcrackers in that area to.You can catch them all day long if your in the right spot.Its a great place to fish for anything and theres always a good chance to hook into big fish.Thats why I always fish with heavy tackle.

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by clean air

I always fish with bigger gear and use a 3-way rig.I use up to 4oz of lead depending on what I want my bait to do.You were way under gunned for that area.You can easily get into good fish there so heavy line and a stout rod helps.I use braid with a mono leader.I like that the heavy braid still has a small diameter.You will catch plenty of small fish with the heavy gear and be ready when a good one gets on.If you saw hybrids and stripers like you said you could have hammered them if you were more familiar with that area.I use 50pound braid with a 30 pound mono leader.A good friend uses all mono and he spools nothing smaller than 20.If your trying to make alot of long casts fishing artificials you have to use a lighter line but it needs to be strong enough to whip those fish in the current.Thats why I like braid.You will get spooled easy if you have light gear.When I hook up I dont try to play the fish I fight it hard and try to horse it in.A few months ago when I landed my biggest cat ever I had a couple of stripers that I lost because they got in the current and I couldnt turn them.A 20 pound striper fights like a 50 in that flow.There are alot of giant shellcrackers in that area to.You can catch them all day long if your in the right spot.Its a great place to fish for anything and theres always a good chance to hook into big fish.Thats why I always fish with heavy tackle.

First thing I need to know..where are the Shell Crackers...LOL. I only use artificial for fishing so a 3 way rig would be out for me. Even though I have seen people use a two way rig with artificial. I knew going down there I did not have the proper gear to get into 20 pound fish. I thought I could find a cut back and catch some Bluegill and or White Bass. I did have a rod with 6# test fluorocarbon with me that I have used at Pickwick many times to catch 10 to 14 pound Stripers...and there is just as much current at Pickwick...really a lot more...than at Nickajack. My problem was only having 1/8 ounce lead heads as my biggest lead head. After the output went to 25,000CFS that weight would just not get down in the rocks...couldn't fish with it really. Now I do know that I will take bigger gear when I go back down with my son Monday. I have a Striper rod spooled with 65# test Power Pro on a Daiwa SS 2600 reel...a great setup. I gave one of my Striper rods to my son that I had spooled with 20# Power Pro. My biggest Striper is 35 pounds caught at Pickwick. That is a very big fish for Pickwick. The average Striper caught below Pickwick is 12 pounds. That is why I would use lighter gear there....you may catch a 40 pounder but it certainly is not common...as a matter of fact it would be talked about for a long time if you caught a Striper that big down there...now that is not to say they are not there...they are certainly not there in numbers such as they are on the Cumberland River System. The Daiwa rig was not bought to fish with at Pickwick. I bought that rig to fish below the dam at Cordell Hull....and believe me I needed it there. Even had a very prominent Striper fisherman up there tell me that I should be spooled with 90# test..LOL...but I am just not going to do that. I have caught my share of big fish..I spent 21 years working in Saudi Arabia and catching a 100 pound Grouper was quite common...or a Jack Crevalle that would go to 30 or 40 pounds. I am looking forward to getting with you and have you show me the ins and outs of Nickajack...from the bank as I have no boat at present. My son and I are truly multi-specie guys. Both of us like to tie into a big boy but also love to get into Small Mouth...Trout...Bluegill and Shell Cracker. I looked at the output at Nickajack today. I could have had some fun I think with my light gear from nine this morning until noon. Will answer your PM later. Thanks for the info..looking forward to learning more about Nickajack.


Regards