Go-Cart Fueled for Tennessee

I'm Tennessee bound tomorrow, and the Fiesta is fueled up, loaded with junk and ready for travel. Best I can tell, I have cameras ready and the right stuff packed, but I suppose I'll figure out what I've forgotten as needs occur. (That's the way it normally work.)

Primary trip focus is on bass and crappie on Lake Chickamauga with pros staffers from Lew's and Gene Larew. I'm excited about that both because of the great crew that will be assembled and because I haven't fished Chickamauga since the bass fishing got so good. The biggest bass bags mostly come during winter and spring, but the potential for a giant bass still exists.

There's also some really good stream fishing in that part of Tennessee, so I have ultralights packed and hope to do a little fishing along the way tomorrow and then again after the official trip stuff is done. Trout, smallmouths and rock bass could all be part of the pre- and post-trip fishing play.

For now I'd better sleep. Fish await!

Double Dose of Douglas

The PAA season opener began yesterday morning, and bright sunshine and warming water caused the lake to produce very well for many anglers. PAA photo.

East Tennessee's Douglas Lake is spending two weeks in the national tournament spotlight, hosting the the PAA season opener right now and a Bassmaster Southern Open next weekend. Quite a few pros will fish both events, so it will be interesting to see how much the two tournaments have in common in terms of the patterns that dominate and the names that top of the leaderboard.

One significant difference in rules that could affect that very question is that BASS does not allow multi-rigs such as an Alabama Rig, and those are apt to play a big role with the water still cold in a steep, clear lake. It's also spring, and conditions are changing quickly, so the fish are apt to be moving and changing behavior almost daily. The PAA pros practiced in snow and very cold temperatures, but yesterday was sunny and fairly warm and the next week or so is supposed to include highs ranging form the high 50s to the 70s.

Douglas produced well yesterday. Day 1 leader Timmy Horton brought an impressive 28.04 pounds to the scales, and Brian Snowden and Ott Defoe are close behind, each with 27 and change. The top 12 all weighed in more than 20 pounds on Day 1. Stories I read this morning suggest that the leaders are moving a lot, running patterns, not fishing key spots.

Douglas, which remains low from winter drawdowns, is a deep, clear lake with steep rocky banks that sits at the edge of the Smoky Mountains. It's water is fairly fertile for a mountain lake, and it supports a great bass population. Largemouths predominate, but a strong population of smallmouths make a heavy showing during the cooler months. That said, lake regulations only allow one smallmouth with an 18-inch minimum in a daily bass bag, so the smallies add kickers but cannot be primary targets.

Smallmouths & Super 8 Steaks

How we ended up grilling steaks in the Super 8 parking lot is sort of a long story that has to do with arrival times, cell signal dead spots and closed campground gates. More significant is that our steaks and our grilled asparagus tasted really good, and that it was actually quite fun grilling by the light of the Super 8 sign and tailgating in the parking lot on a pretty fall evening.

The Super 8 camp out fell between and afternoon of smallmouth fishing and a morning of squirrel hunting high on an East Tennessee ridge and doing a bit more fishing in the Nolichucky River. We only caught a few bass and the squirrels stayed hidden, but we had a good time stomping up the river and sneaking through the woods. The hunting outing also provided really good learning for Nathaniel and me and a good foundation for trips we'll soon do on our own.