April and May is one of the most beautiful times of year in Middle Tennessee.
Everything around us is returning to life or giving new life! In this
day and age everyone seems to think you have to have a sleek, shiny,
speckled, mach III bass boat.........ZOOOM ZOOOOM! I tend to smile for
this is so far from the truth. Tennessee offers an abundance of fishing
and having a boat is not always recommended!! Tennessee offers some of
the most beautiful streams and small waterways in the United States let
alone holding trophy fish!
What Do You Need?
The first piece of material required is a Tennessee State Fishing License.
The first piece of equipment one needs is the Tennessee Gazetteer. This
map is the best source for road and stream information. Pick a day and
go for a ride scouting for that perfect small stream. Most of our streams
hold smallmouth, largemouth, spotted bass, rock bass, catfish and many
species of sunfish/bluegill. Streams that feed our major rivers like
the Cumberland River and the Tennessee River will have a wider variety
and many more creatures with fins lurking in their cool waters.
I often fish a flow that is only 20 feet wide and in its extreme sections
is only 4 ft deep. I generally catch a variety of fish, but I must admit
my main emphasis is the smallmouth bass. Once you find some interesting
waters you may need to obtain landowner permission. I suggest dressing
presentable and knocking on doors and asking to park or wade through
someone's land.
I
generally wear waders in early April. I like 6’ to
6.5” AllPro
Medium Action Rods with 6-pound MONOFILAMENT test line.
I don’t
believe in the super lines, it is a terrible site to see
when wrapped around your feet and impossible to get free!
It also
destroys the
environment by hanging in a tree, brush etc. after the
lazy and disconcerting individual
has discarded a tangled mess. The braids and copolymer
lines may never rot.
Suggestions
On Bait Selection
I
believe you ought to fish with what is comfortable. With
so many baits available you
can become
overwhelmed quite easily. My comfort zone is
Charlie Brewers 4 inch Sliders, Charlie Brewer Whirly B’s,
Case Hellgrammites and Case Dyno-mite Stix, Zoom Tiny Brush
Hogs and Hoppy's
Dudo Flys. I do have some original Rapalas and AC Shiners
for top water action, but I prefer the Fluke type baits
such as Case
Super
Saltys.
The
above lures will produce larger fish consistently. For
the small Sunfish and smaller bass the new Charlie B, Rooster
Tails and Rebel Crawdads
are good.
I
rig the Sliders on the 1/16 ounce Slider Spider Head along
with the Brush Hog Lures.
I
throw the Stix and the Super Saltys with a 1/0 worm hook
or # 3 offset Circle Hook. I add a Split shot for weight
in heavy Current. Hellgrammites
are rigged with a Size 1 offset worm hook and a Water Gremlin
Splitshot bullet weight crimped to the shank after exposing
the hook. We will be
talking more about these in our Monthly Product Reviews
in the near future.
Where
Do You Look
During
April, I like to key on the deeper holes with current,
and the sunny shallower banks. Crawfish are in abundance
on a sunny day and the
minnows are beginning to spawn also. With high clear skies
I like to fish the deeper holes and the lay downs and root
balls. I refer to deeper
holes in my streams 3 to 6 feet deep.
Most
of the time the afternoon bite is better than the morning
bite in April. But with Middle Tennessee weather your best
bet is to be out
all day.
If
you arrive at your stream and the water is to high to wade
and muddy look for wider
sections
above narrow sections and eddies. I have found
that the fish move to the calmer water during periods of
high water. Whirly B’s are great in the muddier water.
And you cannot beat a live Creek minnow. I never arrive
at a stream with
out some
creek minnows
in the 3 to 7 inch range.
One
thing I can’t
stress enough is that you need to work
each area completely. I have found
that fish in our streams do congregate
in certain areas and that a 100-yard stretch
of stream can produce 30 plus Rock Bass and
smallmouth.
Catch
And Release Smallmouth
I
do practice CATCH and RELEASE on smallmouth in our streams.
If you want to eat some fish try Night crawlers and dead
creek minnows for Catfish.
During the warmer months I will keep a few Rock Bass on
a trip freezing them until I have enough for a fry. It
is easy to catch a limit of Rock
Bass in our streams but you can fish your holes out so
be selective with any harvest of fish in your favorite
stream.
We
see so much press about Dale Hollow and Pickwick and Canadian
Lakes and the size of smallmouth people catch. I have had
numerous outings
where the top five smallmouth of the day were from 17 to
20 inches and I believe our streams offer greater numbers
of smallmouth also. My Largest
smallmouth from a Middle Tennessee small stream is 22.5
inches.
Final
Thoughts
If
you like to fish and do not have access to a boat check
out one of our many small streams. Once you learn the stream
you will have countless
hours of enjoyment. If you have young children always carry
crickets and/or worms, they will have a ball catching bluegill,
rock bass and
an occasional trophy smallmouth.
I
hope this will inspire you to explore and enjoy our great
state with family and friends. Please remember to practice
CATCH and RELEASE on
those smallmouth! Please keep Tennessee beautiful, any
litter that you find please practice proper disposal.
Mike
