Harpeth Question - FishingTN.com Tennessee's Fishing and Boating Community

drrxnupe · #1 06-08-2011, 01:40 PM

A buddy and I are going to explore the Harpeth for the first time on Friday. I was curious as to what access points offer good wading? I have found a dozen or so on a map.

I'm not asking for your honey holes...just trying to make sure we don't drown to death

MattC · #2 06-08-2011, 04:14 PM

Most of the river should be wadeable now because of the lack of rain recently. I would try sections like the south harpeth near franklin or sections near kingston springs, the fishing near hwy 100 bridge access point itsn't very good.

GO-OKFISHIN · #3 06-08-2011, 05:03 PM

Problem with the Harpeth is there a lot of long deep holes. With low water you can get through some of them but it is not low enough yet where that is possible. The stretch by McCrory Lane is not too bad but there are not a lot of quality fish there. We caught a ton of little ones today. I took a 6 year old my daughter babysits. Took the cheapest rod and reel I had and a Rooster tail and caught smallmouth, gar, catfish, redeye and sunfish. I have all the latest and greatest equipment known to man and that was the most fun I have had in quite a while. Nothing beats taking a kid fishing and swimming in the river.

creeksmallie · #4 06-08-2011, 09:19 PM

Awesome getting the kids out fishing. Mid TN wetlegging streams have some holes you have to swim through, that is part of it. But why do so many on the internet mention stream names. Wetleg streams are treasures and the seasonal patterns are the same. I will mention what stream I fish if I can get my 17 ft procraft with 115 hp mariner in it. Other than that I do not mention the streams that I and my kids,clients kids and clients have caught countless trophys over the years. Just my two cents. The owner of this board used to not take local fisherman on striper trips. I wonder why? Keep taking the kids fishing that is awesome but we need to be careful giving out stream names. Mike

GO-OKFISHIN · #5 06-09-2011, 09:33 AM

Mike, I agree about the smaller streams most people may not know about. It's not like the H?????? is a secret. You can't just walk down there and start fishing and expect to catch fish. It is one of the tougher rivers I have fished.

robhal11 · #6 06-09-2011, 09:53 AM

I think what the problem is, is the money(client). I take people fishing to have fun and to turn them on to the sport. I see the same thing from the guides on the caney. I am a 99.9% catch and release guy and the folks I fish with do likewise. It is a great thrill for me to see kids catching fish. Now I am not going to tell you the exact spot that I caught a 6lb small mouth or 24" trout either.

Doc Marshall · #7 06-09-2011, 12:15 PM

I once rented a canoe on the Harpeth. It was after some serious rain and, frankly, the current was heavy enough to take seriously.

I did some bank fishing and caught two 2.5 pounders. Fun to catch them in the current!

drrxnupe · #8 06-09-2011, 03:52 PM

I see the H-word stream on highway signs, billboards, radio, TV, and many other places. Didn't mean to stir up such a debate about the secret streams that only the guides are entitled to use with their clients. I by no means want to infringe to someone's income and I don't want you to reveal your honey holes. But if I just so happen to come across a spot that's fishing well... I'm going to fish it as I am entitled too (long as I'm not violating any law). I'm a hardworking individual like most of the fellows on this board who loves and appreciates the opportunity to fish when I can. Been doin it since I was 3 or 4 years old and have fortunately become darn good at it.

The cool thing about this board is that it serves as an alternative to when we used to strike up conversations with strangers at the corner bait shop. People were friendly and willing to help out the next fisherman. Thanks guys for the info.

BTW Gook...that kid is now hooked for life. I'm looking forward to taking my 16 month old out on his first trip.

creeksmallie · #9 06-09-2011, 10:48 PM

Ok I am sorry to stir feathers myself. I will say my first 20 inch smallmouth came in Edwin Warner Park and my 2nd largest Rock Bass came from the Narrows area. The Harpeth is very well known.
If you ask the folks I take fishing 98 % of the time we are parking on the side of the road and walking in by a bridge. 2% of the time I use just 3 landowners I get permission from. All the streams I fish have their name posted on the roads as you cross over them.Stones River,Smith Fork my precious gems that make me so much money oops did i type what i was thinking. Anyone can fish these streams and they are kid friendly. I have even told a few folks thru Private messege where to go and park and fish . I grew up on the Little H. and fished the forks of the harpeth most of my life and small streams feeding it. There has been a decline in the fishery, due to the City of Franklins sewer system and population growth. The Little Harpeth really went down hill when Brentwood ran sewer beside it years ago. I guided on the Harpeth system for years. It is not about the money with me either I am not a full time guide, I do not plan on being a full time guide either. It is about the stream and the fishery. In 17 plus years of guiding on and off I have seen streams fished out trashed up so many times. These were very easy to get to and easy to take my kids and there friends fishng. We have had tons of fun catching panfish and the occasional trophy. But now I go to these spots and you can't wade for the trash,people and line. I was guilty of mentioning very popular spots in my early days of sharing stories on the internet. I do feel guilty for the declne in those spots. If I see you on the stream I will share my knowledge and lures and even my live sucker minnows. I am sorry I even posted on this text about naming stream names. Oh yeah I have not caught any fish this year in the above streams in bold lol. Keep the kids fishing and free fishing day is almost here so grab a teen that has never gone before. Mike

creeksmallie · #10 06-09-2011, 11:15 PM

Oh yeah when taking the young ones I had a cheap raft at one point(but they got older or the rocks got sharper) and now use the tube we pull behind the boat to tote kids thru the deep holes. It works well because you can walk or swim thru sections while they hold the rods and stay fairly dry and you can drag along a cooler also with kid snacks and drinks . The fish should be hanging in the deepest holes with current/oxygen and cover during the heat of the day unless feeding. It has gotten so hot so fast this year they are in a August pattern it seems right now. This is a great friendly board and I do apologize if I came over unfriendly and some how offended anyone. I could care less if anyone from this board ever hires me, to tell you the truth. That is not why I post on this board. I do enjoy the board and the good friends I have made over the years. I will do my best to never state an opinion ever again on this board . My phone number is 615-556-0281 if anyone would like to call before 8 pm any day and discuss lure selection. patterns. sections of streams I may know. I have always been happy to share my knowledge. I am done with this thread. on to the next one.
Mike

bd- · #11 06-11-2011, 09:35 AM

I have to agree with Mike. It's probably okay to mention "The Harpeth," since it's a big river and no secret.

Beyond that, I hesitate to mention specific access points on a public forum. Too many poachers and meat hunters out there who will carry fish out by the bucket load until a stretch of stream is a shadow of what it used to be.

I've mentioned the Hwy 100 access point here before as an exception, because it gets a huge amount of traffic and it's well known. On the other hand, it's probably just a fair bass fishing spot. It's actually pretty good for catfish, gar, and "rough" species, because those fish seem to migrate from hole to hole through the river system a lot (especially the catfish). However, fishing pressure in that section has depressed the bass population somewhat.

Beyond that, I tend to avoid mentioning specific spots. It took a lot of work and scouting for me to find the small-stream access points that really stand out. It's kind of frustrating when someone else names those spots online and sends a crowd of "the bucket brigade" out to concentrate on that one spot for the summer and carry the quality fish out on stringers.

Small streams just take too long to rebound from rough treatment. I have a spot on one favorite creek that got hit hard by poachers with cast nets about five years back, and it's still nowhere near as good as it used to be.

bd

Travis C. · #12 06-11-2011, 10:19 PM

Seems like this comes up every three to six months.

I am not against giving names to people of specific streams or helping them out either(with a couple streams as an exception). I would just say to do it via personal message not in main threads. We get twice as much non-registered traffic as people who contribute.

All have good points in this thread. That is just how I'd handle it.

tkwalker · #13 06-11-2011, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drrxnupe

I see the H-word stream on highway signs, billboards, radio, TV, and many other places. Didn't mean to stir up such a debate about the secret streams that only the guides are entitled to use with their clients. I by no means want to infringe to someone's income and I don't want you to reveal your honey holes. But if I just so happen to come across a spot that's fishing well... I'm going to fish it as I am entitled too (long as I'm not violating any law). I'm a hardworking individual like most of the fellows on this board who loves and appreciates the opportunity to fish when I can. Been doin it since I was 3 or 4 years old and have fortunately become darn good at it.

The cool thing about this board is that it serves as an alternative to when we used to strike up conversations with strangers at the corner bait shop. People were friendly and willing to help out the next fisherman. Thanks guys for the info.

BTW Gook...that kid is now hooked for life. I'm looking forward to taking my 16 month old out on his first trip.

Hi Doc, Great Post !!! And by the way I want to see that baby !!! ... How are things at Vandy ??? Guy's (Mike, bd, Gook, doc Mar, MattC , rob, ) Great posts also .... Thanks for the honesty and all of your contributions over the years ... (Gook, loved the pic's of the youngster) ... This is what it is about !!!! .... Great, Great Great, Posts .....

Sorry I haven't been on the board this past week, (Thanks bd for taking care of the spammers) I have been at my cabin on the Caney in Lancaster doing repairs from a total neglect for the past 18 months do to taking care of aging relatives and other arrangements and duties ... (I actually fired up the River Hawk since Aug 2009 !!! ) I did do some wading last Month and it was good at the Dam ...

The Caney report is pretty much like bd laid out on a previous post ... .. Things are getting back to normal, a pretty descent Gen schedule ... and some nice fish are being caught ... Thanks guys or all your posts ... and Doc your right, I hope this site takes the place of the old bait and tackle shops for info that no longer exists unless you are going to hang out at Walmart ... <'TK><

tkwalker · #14 06-11-2011, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creeksmallie

Awesome getting the kids out fishing. Mid TN wetlegging streams have some holes you have to swim through, that is part of it. But why do so many on the internet mention stream names. Wetleg streams are treasures and the seasonal patterns are the same. I will mention what stream I fish if I can get my 17 ft procraft with 115 hp mariner in it. Other than that I do not mention the streams that I and my kids,clients kids and clients have caught countless trophys over the years. Just my two cents. The owner of this board used to not take local fisherman on striper trips. I wonder why? Keep taking the kids fishing that is awesome but we need to be careful giving out stream names. Mike

Mike, I think you may have me confused with Ralph Hollis Dallas about not not taking locals Striper fishing ... I never refused a local ... I was cautious and would feel them out on what type of ethical fisherman the client was ..and show and fish areas accordingly ... but had never refused a Local ... <'TK><