09-02-2009, 09:00 AM
I haven't fished around here since the trip described in my Aug. 4 post. Today I wanted to try a little bass fishing and to go exploring for new crappie hangouts between Soddy Creek and the Hiwassee River mouth. My bass fishing success is amply demonstrated by what's left of my DD22 crankbait after I jerked it out of a tree and bounced off the side of my boat. My crappie experience was a little better. I found 3 new spots that produced a few crappie - a dock, a bluff and a fallen tree in deep water. I caught 13 keeper crappie, a couple of undersize crappie, one spot and 6 bluegills. I kept 4 crappie for dinner with my wife and a fish sandwich for me tomorrow. I released everything else. Among the released crappies were two 13.5 inchers that I hope will grow into trophies for someone (take note, Drumking and Hal). I've caught a fair amount of crappie just under 14 in., but I can't seem to get that TARP fish lately. The water temp was 76 when I got there and inched up as the day went on. There ws a pretty good current. It was a beautiful day on the water with very little wind most of the time.