Neely Henry
Valley View between Soddy Daisy and Chattanooga Tennessee
My buddy Wesley has a club tournament on Neely Henry next weekend and he was kind enough to invite me along for a little pre-fishing. Today's agenda was to do a little field testing of several new lures and to get some much needed "TOW". The alarm went off at 3:30 am and we were on the road to Neely at 4:30 am.
After a quick stop in Leesburg, AL. for a little grub, we arrived at the state park and got put in. It was a crisp 38* when we got ready to take off. The water had a very slight stain, but by river standards was very good. Surface temps for the day ranged anywhere from 55* to 65* depending on location. We really fished a lot of different places with a lot of different types of habitat. There was only one generator running so the current in the river was minimal to say the least. As is normally the case this time of year the river was loaded up with bait.
We Made a short run up river and pulled into a nice backwater pocket right off the main river. We both started working top water baits (For Wesley's sake, his bait selection will be un-named but I will give as much detail as I feel prudent). I started off with a 3/8 ounce black Booger Man Buzz bait and alternated it with a 5 inch Basstrix swim bait. We worked our way around the entire pocket with only a few blow ups. The fish seemed to be quite lethargic to start the morning. Wesley connected with a nice chunky 3 pounder, and that was it for the first location.
We moved on up the river and stopped to check out a small sand bar on the rivers edge. I switched gears and decided to toss a 1/2 ounce Buckeye Pulse swim jig. This was the first time to try these baits out and I really liked what I saw. The wobble on the jig was really tight , almost a shimmer if you know what I mean. I really, really like that it has a 6/0 hook. The gap between the soft plastic trailer and the hook point was awesome. I finally got on the board with a solid 2 1/2 pound chunky Spot. The fished were on the deep side of the sand bar and were chomping. We caught several fish at this location before deciding to move on along. Biggest fish here was 2 1/2 pounds with several 2 pounders in the mix. It should be noted that Wesley doubled up on one cast which I guess could be deemed a 4 pounder. LOL
We moved on up river and stopped on a long stretch of rip-rap with a couple of docks on it. I picked up a Hack Attack swim jig paired with a Skinny Dipper. I had saw quite a few brim skittering around one of the docks and decided to "match the hatch". I am happy to say that it was a good decision. I connected with several fish around the dock and a couple while skipping under. Biggest fish here was close to 3 pounds and choked the swim jig.
We continued on up the river trying several different spots as we went. We caught fish on almost every spot along the way without out one type of habitat being dominate. The fish were scattered and mixed in well. i.e. Large mouths and Spots.
We returned to the State park and decided to check some places out down river from there. I have always considered myself a Hybrid of sort. As a Co-angler there's often times that my "Go Big" approach (Big Swim baits) is not the answer to a solid Derby finish. I have worked for years to adapt a power fishing approach to a finesse presentation. With that being said I am also working on new and different techniques that are strictly finesse . One of those techniques is the use of a Jig Rig. The particular rig that I have been using happens to be put out by Owner. Its concept is quite simply. It has the basic qualities of a standard jig and adds a new dimension. The overall performance of the rig was out standing. I lost no fish that were hooked and I had excellent penetration of the hook. The best way to describe the rig is a cross between a jig and a drop shot.
We made a stop on a known community hole and marked a good school of fish hanging on the river ledge. I picked up the Jig Rig and put a Rage Craw on it. From the first cast till we finally pulled off, they destroyed my rig. Large mouths, Spots, Drum, and Catfish it didn't seem to matter. Hopping it, Dragging it, and even dead sticking it , they wanted it! I didn't keep up with the total number of fish that we caught, but it was quite a few (12+). The largest was a really chunky head around 5 pounds. I'm sorry to say I didn't catch it, Wesley did. So... no picture!
Here's a shot of the Jig Rig by Owner. if you get a chance give it a try. I think you'll like it.
We finished up way down river checking out a few other areas that Wesley wanted to look at. Overall it was a very good day considering the absence of current. I think we ended up with our best five @ 16 pounds. Maybe a little more or possibly less, we didn't put any of the fish on the scale. I am very blessed to have friends that invite me to fish with them. It is because of them that I get to spend as much time on the water as I do. I have also been blessed with friends who are excellent fishermen.
The good Lord's willing I will be flying out for Toledo in the morning, cant say I'm excited about the cold but I got to pay the bills. I hope to see y'all on the water soon. God bless you all and Thank you .
Sincerely,
Jason
p.s. If you like this blog please share it with your friends. I will be keeping it updated as we approach the All-American.
No comments:
Post a Comment