Our Club's next three events will be on Old Hickory Lake this Summer, so my attention has turned to fishing that stump filled, shallow mud hole (you can tell it's not my favorite lake).
Anyway, I have spent the last two weekends checking some spots where I had success there last year. I've found several groups of fish in some of the same areas as 2008 and have found at least four new schools in the same general area of the lake.
This past Saturday I headed out there right at first light and went looking for a top water bite with virtually no success. I landed two babies in some bank grass on a buzz frog, but that was it. The grass that used to grow in the back of a major creek was not there this year. The good thing is that I eliminated that area totally, so I will not waste time on tourney day chasing a non-existent top water deal. Our club tourneys are over at 12:30, so you can't afford to waste any time.
On my way out of that creek I decided to stop and fish some marina slips and did was working for me last year around another marina, and I'm glad I stopped. I caught around 15 fish in 15 minutes doing that deal. They were mostly small fish, but I think I can catch an early limit of "club keepers" on that spot next week.
I then ran upriver to another major creek to try some cranking and Carolina rigging. On one spot I caught three on the rig and two on the crankbait. I also jumped off a toad in the five pound class that loaded up on the crank. It didn't hurt my feelings too badly, because I had the stock hooks on the bait, and it was just a practice day. I know what lives there now, and I'll be back on the day that counts fully prepared with replacement hooks, and I'll be ready to put em in the net.
Next, I headed across the lake to another marina, and by now the sun was up, creating a good deal of shade under the docks. There was no bait fish activity, but with the 90 degree heat, I figured it was worth a shot fishing in the shade. My marina pattern paid dividends here as well. I caught six fish in around 15 minutes, with two of them being legitimate 2 lb class keepers.
From there, I decided to go flippin the rest of the day. I was doubtful that it would work, because the lake was down compared to last year, and most of my flippin banks were just too shallow. So, I moved out a little further in the creek, and it was on. The shade was the key deal again, and I proceeded to whack em on a TX rigged creature bait in fairly skinny water. I had two fish in the 3 lb class and around 10 other fish in the next couple of hours.
The good news is that I had already identified eight to ten other areas to catch them cranking or riggin over the last couple of weeks. This practice day was successful because I added three new spots to the milk-run, and most importantly, I found something I can do first thing in the morning that could easily get me an early limit. Just as important as finding fish is eliminating unproductive water, and I did some of that too. The real bonus of the day was finding that flippin bite. I have a lot of confidence in the area that I found, and it should be a good way to upgrade my catch.
I could have culled to around 11 lbs on what came over the rail, and had I landed the big one, I would have had right at 15 lbs, which is a strong weight on OHL right now. 13 1/2 lbs won the ABA weekend series deal Saturday, and Flippers is taking 14-16 lbs per week to win.
Overall, I'm happy with what I've found. I have around a dozen spots to fish on tourney day, and we should be around fish all day. The best part is that all of my spots are in a small 5-6 mile radius of the ramp, so we won't waste a bunch of time running around. As always on OHL, the wild card will be the bigger fish.
The plan is to catch five early, and then hog hunt the rest of the day with the flippin stick, crankbait, and rig.
I'll report back after the tourney next weekend.
Tight lines.
RBK
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