08-18-2012, 09:00 AM
Managed to get Pete down to the river for the first time in a couple of months. He has been doctoring for a bad back and in therapy for awhile. Anyway he was feeling well enough to join me on a 1/2 day trip to the dam. <br /><br />Hit the water about 7:00 and headed up to the dam to try and find some bait. It took a few throws around the turbine walls, but finally got some threadfins and gizzards. The gizzards seemed a little big for bass, but the bait was mostly too big or too small. Had a few just right size. The current looked to be about 13K when we got there and we mostly fished downstream at a current break next to some slack water. Had a lot of fish working bait there but it was hard to get a hookup. <br /><br />We moved a little further downstream to another eddy spot and Pete hooked a nice Smallie on a tube. Then he got a bite on a drifted shad that turned out to be a Gar. Note to self - do not grab Gar by the bill with bare hand. Second attempt I used a towel and no problem. Their sharp teeth stick out the edges of the bill and make you bleed.<br /><br />After Pete caught his Smallie, i put on a tube and soon had a hard hit. Fish was fighting in the current, but not coming up and felt too heavy for a Bass. 20# Drum emoBang . At least something was pulling my string. <br /><br />About 9:30 or so they upped the current to about 40k. We decided to try the boils on a couple of drifts, but nothing doing. Almost too fast for drifting shad. Moved back down below the railroad bridge to an eddy spot and Pete got a LM and I managed a couple LM too. Had fish just killing the shad around us, but tough to get bit. I did hook 3 other bass on swimbait and jerkbait and a shad and lost everyone. emoScratch .Oh and we did catch about 20 crappie in the cast net along with yellow bass, white bass and LM. Maybe I will just use the net and leave the rods at home. <br /><br />Sun broke through the clouds and it started to get hot so we quit about noon. Didn&#39;t get any real big fish, but had a good time and got Pete out of the house. Saw a CFF member at the ramp, but didn&#39;t get his name. He had been working the White Bass at the Dam.<br /><br />Regards, Labman