Cordell Hull dam sauger report

[Dakota]

Went this weekend ended up with five total fish. 3 sauger 1 bluegill and a chunky 13 inch bass. I fished from shore left the boat home on this trip. Here is a picture of the largest which was 18 inches. He is in the freezer!! Caught everything on minnows mostly just a split shot and small circle hook tight lining the bottom. Also used 3 way swivel set up. Seen probably 8-10 short sauger caught from boats. Another guy on shore had 2 sauger both around 15 1/2. He was using small swimbaits. No luck for me on swimbaits small cranks jigs tipped with a minnow or spoons. If you go from Nashville area and want to fish from the shore on the eastern side here is a very important traffic note. You need to go through Gordonsville and up north 264. If you go through Carthage highway 70 bridge is closed for construction. If you're on the west side and want to go to the east side it'll take you about 40 minutes to get there because you have to go all the way back to the interstate around Gordonsville. The bridge closed is the only Cut through.




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[Alphahawk]

Nice sauger.

Regards


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[DUCK_2]

Very nice fish! Where can you get minnows near Cordell Hull? I have never been there before and would like to try. What's the range of flow from cordell that is good to drift for sauger. I hate to make a trip up there and find myself chasing my jig and not the fish!

[TNBronzeback]

Well the amount of generation depends on where below Cordell Hull you wanna fish. Talking about pure generation, no spilling through the gates, you can fish right at the dam with 28-30k BUT you will want to fish the slack water areas just for jig control as it can get swirly and hard to stay on track.
If your fishing down stream from the dam i would give it several miles, say the mouth of the caney as a starting point. It will still be fast, but it should be a little more managable and consistant. With alot of flow, avoid fishing hard river bends, the current really gets flowing in those areas.
Those are my rules of thumb. Others may disagree.
Up your jig size and get after em. No such thing as a fair weather sauger fisherman! lol.
Good luck to ya!

[DUCK_2]

Thanks man. That gives me an idea. Wish I had of gone Saturday. Does the sauger fishing just get better as we move toward March below Cordell? Also is there a bait shop near the dam that someone can get minnows? Many thanks!

[white95v6]

Originally Posted by DUCK_2

Thanks man. That gives me an idea. Wish I had of gone Saturday. Does the sauger fishing just get better as we move toward March below Cordell? Also is there a bait shop near the dam that someone can get minnows? Many thanks!

There is a bait shop close. I can't remember the name though. I think it's Turkey something .

[DUCK_2]

Okay thanks. I will look around for it or scope it out next time I'm coming back from east TN.

[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by DUCK_2

Thanks man. That gives me an idea. Wish I had of gone Saturday. Does the sauger fishing just get better as we move toward March below Cordell? Also is there a bait shop near the dam that someone can get minnows? Many thanks!

i really dont know to be honest with you. once the winter temps start thier early spring up-swings, im changing gears to white bass, hybrids and crappies.
i can tell you though, that below old hickory for instance, the waleyes would show up better in late january into february. Saugers and walleyes are setting up and staging for thier spawns now, so depending on weather, that could be earlier or later than a normal year. if i had to bet money on it though, i would think that by march, even though the temps could still be cold, the prime sauger fishing for the big females will be dwindling down. Ofcourse, all depending on weather/water temps.
but if i were you, i would be searching for the larger creeks in the sections of river you wanna fish and pound em hard for as long as you can. they will be searching for the creeks to make thier big spawning runs so if you put yourself in thier love shack, your going to tie up with some fine fish.
in high current flows, fish the backs of your islands if there are no good size creeks around for a long distance, and the inside edge of hard river bends. if you really really know your section of river, fish your gravel bars and shell beds.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by DUCK_2

Thanks man. That gives me an idea. Wish I had of gone Saturday. Does the sauger fishing just get better as we move toward March below Cordell? Also is there a bait shop near the dam that someone can get minnows? Many thanks!

In Carthage there is a bait shop. Also there is a bait shop off the Gordonsville exit beside the shell station but it's closed Sunday and Mondays. If you can get your minnows before you go there I would do that. I got some at Starkeys in Hermitage and Kept in the garage for a day or two using small battery aerator. If you take a Boat you need two people because they're no docks at the ramps below the dam as you may know. Good luck.


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