It's been a great 10-days of Spring fishing during the Tennessee Spawn!

25# Striper from Tim's Ford

#5 at Center Hill

4# @ Center Hill

Nice chunky Ky Spot

3-4# LM @ Center Hill

#4 on my scale @ Center Hill Lake - 5-1-15

Another biggun'

...another nice one

No. 4 out of 9 caught 5-1-15

No. 5 was a nice spot

Notice the beat up tale...IT'S TIME!

Close to #5

Too much fun - where's the pot tourney when your need it!

Tough fighting Spot

Today finally warmed up to about 55 with West winds of 1-4 mph.  I busied myself this morning with all my chores and headed for the lake at 10:30 AM.

I unloaded and tied on some baits and headed out of the no wake zone about 10:45.  

Water Temperature varied between 46-48 so I headed to a rock cliff with Northern Exposure.

I threw a jerk bait for about an hour with no hits.  I changed to 1/4 oz black/blue hair jig (Punisher) and a black Zoom Super Chunk Jr. with the tails dipped in Chartreuse Dip n Dye.  The dye turns the Black tail a dark green.  Well, it wasn't long before I landed a nice Spotted Bass; almost 3#.   Three casts later I hooked up with a smaller Spot.

Twenty yards away, just off of a deep point and up the beginning of a flat, I caught a nice Large mouth; 20" long and 5.14#.   On the very next cast I catch a 19" Small mouth weighing 4.8#.

At 2:00 PM with the wind picking up and getting colder, I called it a day and loaded the boat.  A good few hours with benefits!  Cheers!

Last Wednesday, August 20th, high winds and storms took the Maple Tree down in the front yard.  On of my Grandsons, BJ,  came over, spent the night and helped me cut it up and put in on the burn pile Thursday. 

When we finished we headed to Center Hill for some fun fishing.  It was a good day and we found some fish.  BJ caught 5 fish including this respectable Small Mouth of 14".  I only caught two and one was a good 19" Small Mouth.

Center Hill can be a tough lake and I'm glad BJ is starting to catch more fish.  You need to catch some to really learn how they feel, etc. 

Thankful for his help and companionship.

Went out on Center Hill Lake for a couple of hours last night and hung this pretty 4# on a jig - classic location of Timber fallen in the water.  Also caught 3 other smaller LM.  Strange, no spots or SM.

I'm looking forward to Labor Day weekend as all the family meets at a big Rental house on Tim's Ford for fishing, boating, skiing, tubing and eating.  Always a great 3-days.  There will be about 25 of us.

Before that, though, I have some business in Argentina from the 25 - 28th.  Then straight home and straight to the lake. 

Thanks for reading!

Had a great Wednesday with my 2nd oldest Grandson fishing Center Hill Lake.  Water temps were 82-84, light breeze (often not enough) and partly cloudy skies.  We used Booza Football jigs; I used 3/4 on casting gear and he use 1/2 oz on spinning.  I hooked an 18" LM and flipped him in the boat - while that was going on BJ was just standing with his jig in the water watching me.  When I boated, measured and but it in the live well, he returned to fishing and had a fish on his line...a nice 17.8" spot - about 3#, that he brought to the boat.  It was gut hooked so I cut off the jig and placed him in the treated live well.  He didn't make it but we took a picture of him with it and also a picture with my LM.  He's a Freshman in College this year.

We also caught 4 others but smaller in size but just as much fun.  Came home to homemade chili and chips and he decided to spend the night.  He starts college Aug 25th so we need to make a few more trips before then.  The whole family (25+) will rent a big place on Tim's Ford for the Labor Day Weekend...we'll get some fishing done then for sure.

 Wow.  It's been a long time since I posted but in regards to fishing, there hasn't been much to share.  My oldest Daughter (45+) gave one of her kidneys to her son (My Grandson) in February - that was a long ordeal but everyone is fine and healthy now.  I had some overseas travel in March and April.  A neighbor's tree fell on our Buick.  It grazed the house, took out the fence, landed on my Tahoe (thankfully no damage) and bent up the frame on my mower trailer.  When I came home from my travels in May, I found the boat's onboard battery charger failed, putting 32VDC into the starting battery.  Long story short, the battery top was loose from the battery and completely dried out upon my return.  It had shorted out the rectifiers on the boat along with the Tachometer.  That brings us to today as I finally got the boat back (in repair since 2-weeks before 4th of July.  So, I finally went fishing late this afternoon and with decent results.  These were the biggest but also caught 2 other smaller SM, 1 other small LM and a decent Spot.  Thankful to get on the water at last.

Late Fall and early Winter means tackle cleaning and rod building time.  This year I took some old boat-rashed reels, tore them down to parts, repainted the bodies and then reassembled.  I'll be the first to say I'm no expert and they're not fancy but they look great - fresh and ready to go.  I've also rebuilt about 5 rods that were also pretty beaten up.  Fishing?  Not much yet...too much going on with holidays, family, concerts, travel and other things that get in the way of time on the water.  Been darn right frigid here in Middle TN too.  I have one more rod to wrap and epoxy then I'm done tinkering and ready to bundle up and fish. 

My daughter is giving one of her kidneys to my Grandson (her son) on Monday, Jan. 20th.  It will be tough with two having surgery but I think the support group is in place.  I have to be Dallas for a meeting that day but I'll hurry home and relieve some of the folks during aftercare.  I expect they will both be in the hospital a good week and they have to stay close to Vanderbilt Child Hospital for about 3 weeks after that.  A long journey but it will be good to see my G'son have a chance at a "real" life.

Sweetie's at Callaway Gardens for 7 days - she's big into needlepoint and has signed up for 3-classes during that time.  We have a deal...she doesn't tell me how much she spends on her stash and I don't tell her what I spend on mine.

Have a great late winter and spring!  Cheers!

Been awhile since a post but here are some fish from the last couple of months.  My bud Alan has a nice Smallie, my G'son a nice LM and some LM from me.  My son has the 29 pound Salmon caught yesterday (8-5-13) in British Columbia.

March 5-7, 2013 the BIG "O,"  Florida.

My son and I spent two days in Ft. Lauderdale fishing the Big O, the Glades and the canals.  He paid for the Guides, Air fare and food and I used my points for hotel and car rental.  We had a good time and of course I enjoyed being with my son doing something we both love.

A cold front came in to Florida 5-days before we got there and continued through our trip.  Florida fish are accustomed to waters well over 70 degrees and with water temps in the 60's and steady wind out of the North at 20-25 it wasn't the Florida dream trip people dream of but we enjoyed it and caught good fish on live golden shiners.  Artificial bait was ignored by all species.

We caught numerous 4# and 5# bass, four 6# and these nice fat 7# ladies.  We caught some Peacock on the Canals and a few bass in the Glades but no size to speak of.

Special thanks to our Guide, Brett Isaacson!  He's a great guy, great sense of humor and knows his fishing!  Thanks, Brett!

Floridians were freezing but we both enjoyed the warm afternoons and we both have burnt feet (sandals), faces and arms.  We had some great food while there and enjoyed the time together.  Thanks, son!

Of course, my son is always running his businesses!

 21' Skeeter with Yammy 250 4-stroke

The local Thug! 












Sharing the Load












Matt hangin' with Stephen

Center Hill Smallie December 31, 2012

Had a chance to fish today...finally!  Cold and overcast but the rain won't be coming in until this evening so spent about 5-hours on the water.  I only caught 2 fish - this SM and 1-spot.  I spent most of my time searching for schools then targeting them with blade baits, spoons and drop shot.  However, as usual, the two caught came on a football jig.  I saw some old timers on the lake and they were catching many small Smallies on the float and fly.
Water temp was still 49-50, ambient about 38 and at WOT about Zero (LOL).

Center Hill Lake - November 20, 2012

Well, an interesting day on the lake.  I got on the water about 10AM, drove over by the bridge and promptly caught 6-bass; 5-Small Mouth and 1-Large Mouth.  I moved spots and never caught another so I went back to the bridge to see if anymore had moved in.

When I got there, I saw two Army guys  (Trevor and Matt) crawling down the bank to the lake.  When they saw me they waved and we struck up a conversation.  Long story short I asked them to join me for a look at the lake.  One was from Georgia and the other from Ohio and both had visited the local High School for recruitment.  They were based out of Fort Cambell, KY.

We had a great couple of hours fishing (turns out they both had TN fishing license) and seeing the lake.  When they had to leave they wanted pictures of the 2-keepers in the live well.  So I took some of them and they took some for me.

The SM was about 2 to 2.5 pounds, 19" and the LM was between 5-6 pounds and I didn't measure him.  Ambient Temperature was 65 and surface water temperature 59.5.  A light breeze at 5mph and mixed sun and clouds.  Fish came from 12 feet of points with Zorro Hand tied Hair Jig, 1/2-ounce and Zoom trailer - Watermelon Green in color.

Great day!  Thanks to the military folks for allowing us to do all that we do!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Been-a-while

It's been a very busy fall and regretfully I haven't fished the best part of the season.  I traveled around the world from Sept 25 through October 20th visiting Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Singapore and Japan then had lots to catch up on after that.  Took a little weekend with Sweetie up in North Carolina last weekend.  The Fall colors where OK, but past their peak.

I got back my Humminbird today - it wasn't recognizing the transducer - they replaced some kind of chip.  Thankfully, it was under warranty; or at least they didn't charge me anything out of kindness.  Either way, I was glad of that.  Now I have to try it out and thankfully it's a beautiful day today in Middle Tennessee!

Have a great Thanksgiving and God Bless!

Old Hickory Lake - July 19th, 2012

Our Worship Pastor's Dad was in town from Maryland so we fished Old Hickory Lake in the AM for about 5-hours.  Weather was nice, slight wind up to about 10-mph, water clarity good and surface temperature 87.  We both caught fish including LM, SM and he even caught a Catfish on a T-rig.  Enjoyed the time on the water and the company.  He's actually thinking about moving to TN and would like to be near Tims Ford lake.

A first for me...

Having put new spark plugs and fuel feed lines in the boat, I ran out to the lake during lunch hour to test everything.  While cruising past a bluff I saw a dog in the middle of the lake.  There were no other boats anywhere and since the water was about 200' deep and the distance to land at least a 1/4-mile, I idled toward the dog.  Having a dog of my own I started talking to the dog - it kept swimming - when I get almost next to it, it opened it's mouth and I saw some very long and sharp teeth and it gave some kind of hissing sound.  Much to my surprise, it was COYOTE swimming back to the mainland from the big island.  Amazing.

Tuesday, June19, 2012 - Center Hill Lake

Had another few hours of fishing this pleasant but warm evening.  Ambient temp. was 92 and water at 87 with a light 5mph wind.  This fine #4.5 Small Mouth treated me to a great pull and again today, was the only one I caught.  Great fun.

Center Hill, Monday June 18, 2012

Sweetie is in SC with my Son, his wife and kids so, late this afternoon I went fishing for a couple of hours.  Only had one bite but was able to bring it to the boat.  About a 3# Small Mouth on a Zorro 3/4-oz Football jig and Zoom Trailer in 10' of water dropping in to 40'.  Water temp 85-degrees and ambient about the same.  Water was a bit dingy with visibility to 3'. 

Center Hill June 6, 2012

Another Grandson showed up so I took both him (Walter) and Ryan out to Center Hill yesterday for a little fishing. 

Walter is a newbie so much of the time for him was spent teaching, showing, untangling, etc. I was hoping he'd catch something but no go.  Ryan made me proud as he spent so much time tutoring Walter with both kindness and skill. 

Ryan and I caught one fish each.  Mine a 3# Smallie and his a 3# Large Mouth. 

The new Garmin 300C I installed on the bow worked great - a nice sonar for the price. 

Mostly sunny skies with wind from 10-20, ambient temperature 80 and surface water temp the same.  Fish were on rocky points.

Pleased to have some time with 2 of my grand sons.

Old Hickory, Monday June 4, 2012

My Grandson is visiting this week so we took some time yesterday to drive to Old Hickory for some fishing.  We enjoyed ourselves about 6-hours and got home just as it was getting dark.  Ryan caught his first Sauger (Walleye family) and two large mouth bass.  He caught all his fish on a Zorro Shakey head and Zoom Shakey worm.  I caught 3-bass and a big Crappie.  The Crappie hit a crank bait but my other fish came on a Zorro Jig and Zoom trailer.  The weather was great, water temperature 85 and ambient about 78.  Water clarity about 2-feet with a brownish tint and the lake level was at high normal pool.  We enjoyed our day and a nice steak for dinner.  Blessed for sure!

Boy Scout District Camporee - Camp Tubb - Rock Island, TN

No fishing this time out but I enjoyed the Black Fox District Camporee with our Troop 347 folks.  We did have about an hour of T-Storms and hail, but the tents stayed dry, the food was good and the company even better.  The Scouts won the "Golden Skillet" as the best dinner on Saturday night.  We had about 15-folks total.