Easter Weekend Catfishing
It was another tough weekend of catfishing for me here in East Tennessee. I hit the water on Friday with high hopes. Those hopes were quickly dashed as the wind shifted and started blowing directly upstream shortly after I got to my first spot. That particular area is wide open and there was nowhere to hide from it. Waves were continuously coming over the bow of my kayak. I toughed it out for about an hour and managed to catch one small blue before it got too rough to fish.
The weather was much better on Saturday. It was warm and the winds had died down. I decided to go back to the same area I had tried to fish on Friday. TVA wasn't running any current so I was trolling with two baits suspended and two baits dragging along a main channel ledge. Within a few minutes of getting set up, I hooked into a decent size blue. A few months from now, a fish that size won't get me very excited but with the difficulties I have had lately, catching that fish felt like hitting a home run. I covered a big section of water over the next few hours but the bites were few and far in between. I only ended up catching two more dink blues that afternoon.
On Sunday, I decided to switch things up. I headed over to Fort Loudon reservoir and fished a backwater area. With water temps at 60 degrees, I thought I might find some fish in shallow water. Over the course of the afternoon, I covered a big section of the creek channel I was in by utilizing planer boards. I dragged baits from 5 feet deep to 25 feet deep. It turned out to be for naught though as I ended the day having only caught one dink blue.
Monday turned out to be the best day I have had all year as far as the weather is concerned. It was warm and there was no wind at all. Since I am still fishing in my Nucanoe with the electric motor, I decided I would fish an area that is usually out of reach for me. This particular area is right in the middle of two launch sites and is too long a journey for me to make in the Hobie. I trolled a secondary channel while dragging and suspending pieces of cut skipjack the entire afternoon. In the end, all I had to show for my efforts was one small blue. At least it was a nice day to be on the water though.
Hopefully the fishing picks back up for me soon. I am seeing more and more reports from locals having good days and catching some fish again. It is just a matter of time before I get back on them. Here is the video footage from Saturday.
Monday turned out to be the best day I have had all year as far as the weather is concerned. It was warm and there was no wind at all. Since I am still fishing in my Nucanoe with the electric motor, I decided I would fish an area that is usually out of reach for me. This particular area is right in the middle of two launch sites and is too long a journey for me to make in the Hobie. I trolled a secondary channel while dragging and suspending pieces of cut skipjack the entire afternoon. In the end, all I had to show for my efforts was one small blue. At least it was a nice day to be on the water though.
Hopefully the fishing picks back up for me soon. I am seeing more and more reports from locals having good days and catching some fish again. It is just a matter of time before I get back on them. Here is the video footage from Saturday.
