Williamsport and Marrowbone

[JDH8504]

Hey all,

I've been out to Shellcracker and Marrowbone over the course of the last month and a half. I've had a lot of success with crappie at Williamsport, and a whole bunch of nothing at Marrowbone. I do enjoy the crappie fishing with my UL equipment, but my target is bass. Does anyone have any tips or pointers on either of these lakes? I have yet to land any bass this year and it's starting to get in my head!!

[Alphahawk]

Both lakes at Williamsport have good population of bass....and trophy bass to boot. There is not a lot of cover in either lake. There are some good points in both lakes that produce bass. The dam at Blue Cat has a kind of stair step slant which creates small drop offs.....and while I am not sure about the dam at Shell Cracker I suspect it is the same. A lot of the trophy fish caught there this spring were caught with live minnows on bottom. There are others on the forum that fish it a lot for bass and will probably give you some more details.


Regards

[JDH8504]

Thanks Alpha. I haven't done much with live bait for years but it may well be worth it. You're right, there isn't much cover. The success I have had with the crappie has come from drifting the boat along that dropoff adjacent to the dam on Shellcracker. I wonder what might happen if I throw something larger down there. I guess it's worth a shot.

[Reel Tune]

Most of my fishing at Williamsport comes in the spring, and I'm throwing 1/2-3/4oz Rat-L-Traps, and suspending jerkbaits. Every once in a while I'll drift live bait, but that's for hybrids but don't usually catch largemouth with the live bait. I've not fished whose lakes mych in the summer, but the one time we did go in the summer Sarah caught some really nice gills and one just over 10".

As far as Marrowbone, I think there are some big bass in there, but you need to fish deep, use bigger baits that represent another fish that is stocked in there. This is all speculation.

Jeremy

[JDH8504]

Anyone know if there are any decent contour maps available for either of these lakes?

[Doc Marshall]

Marrowbone has big bass, but they're either very deep or very shallow. I've had the best luck with jigs and a crawfish trailer, worked slowly.

Failing that, you can catch big numbers of gills, to say nothing of the catchfish.

As I've said before, the bass in my avatar is from Marrowbone...

[blink]

Trip report from Memorial Day.

http://fishingtn.com/showthread.php?t=6896

[OAS_5150]

Shiners or very large minnows need to be there right at sunrise or sunset this time of year but don't push it though the twra will get ya lol. These are Florida strain bass and they can be tricky live bait works the best from my experience

[Doc Marshall]

I'd never heard about the Florida strain bass in Marrowbone -- is that really why the bite is always so slow in spite of an allegedly healthy black bass population? I didn't realize they were harder to catch.

If so, I could start blaming that instead of my fishing skills...

[Reel Tune]

I didn't know of Florida strain in Marrowbone, but they are definitely stocked in Williamsport. Yes live bait is best for the very picky Florida strain. That's why I like the Tiger strain better, they're not as picky.

Jeremy

[JDH8504]

Has Williamsport always stocked Florida strain? I know they did it about a month back, but I didn't know if that was a one time thing or the norm for them.

[JDH8504]

Oh, and BTW, just got in from Marrowbone. Fished 4:30 to 8:30. Got skunked.

[Reel Tune]

I don't know if Williamsport has done it previously, but they are not easy so I would say so since most big bass lately have been taken on live bait.

Jeremy

[TNtransplant08]

Originally Posted by JDH8504

Oh, and BTW, just got in from Marrowbone. Fished 4:30 to 8:30. Got skunked.

Marrowbone lake is definitely a tough nut to crack. I've been there a few times, but its a 45 minute drive and I have JPP practically next door, so I stopped going. I've never caught bass there. But I've caught bream and trout from the bank behind the shop. While doing some work in the woods around the lake, I spoke with a guy who says he fishes it regularly and he told me that he has better luck in the winter time with football jig on the steep banks.

[OAS_5150]

I've never been to Marrowbone lake I was talking about Williamsport there are definitely some big boys in Shellcracker. I know there are in Blue Cat as well but the only bass I've caught out of there were tiny and were an accident caught while crappie fishing with minnows. These lakes havn't been around all that long I don't think and I'm not sure if they're all Florida strain or not, but there are several over 10 lbs. I'm positive on that. I don't fish for bass all that often but when I do its Shellcracker best place i know of within 35 minutes of me. I caught at least a dozen or more most were 3-5 lbs one day in april it was fun