Man, I love the butterflies and the nerves before the first tournament of the year!
Enjoy this feeling...this is not one of those, "you can't win it today, but you sure can lose it," moments. We have drops built into our AOY championship...so go out there this Saturday and have some fun...the smallies are FAT!!!!!!
Now, lets be honest, everyone that has an internet connection is running out and buying more Damikis (even though they already have a boat full) now that the Bassmaster Elite Series just decimated Cherokee Lake with it...so here is the question...do you and your fishing partner stand inches apart on the front of a 20ft boat for eight strait hours, staring at sonar screen like it is the only source of warmth in the entire world.
After today my answer is a BIG FAT NOPE!
Yes, the Damiki will play a role Saturday, and yes, good fish will be caught on a Damiki Saturday. But! Please don't drive yourself crazy staring at those stupid yellow lines all day long. There are some really good fish on the bank.
Here's a game for Saturday...see if you can sneak up on some Damiki fisherman and blow your horn and scare the poop out of them.
Well enough of the non-sense, lets get down to business!
South Holston - 2.16.17
Water Conditions: 45 - 47 Degrees from Ob Knob to Spillway / Clear 3'-5'
Weather: Overcast and Windy / 27 degrees - 41 degrees / Post Front
Notes: I want to start out by saying that we only caught five fish all day long, but those fish were the right kinds of fish. Our five went just a little north of 13 lbs. We hit a little bit of everything today, but our bites came from 45 degree banks where you could find large formations of shale or river rock. We had some bass pop our Damikis in 20-30' of water but they would never take it. The two baits that caught our fish were a 2.8" Fat Impact Keitech Shad in Chartreuse/Electric Blue on a 1/8 oz. jig head and a 1/2 oz. Silver Buddy. We were slow rolling the Keitech and letting it fall to keep it close to the bottom. Bites were coming in about 15-20' of water. The Silver Buddy was being hopped along the bottom and being lifted hard enough to create a soft vibration. The bites were spread throughout the day and each bite came in a different location. The smallmouth that we caught were fat. The 15 incher that Fred is holding went 2.5 lbs. because of the belly on it.
Personal Thoughts:
When I drop the throttle on Saturday morning, I will have four rods on the deck of my boat. I will have two different colors of Damikis, a Keitech Swimbait, and a Silver Buddy. I will hit 2 or 3 Damiki areas in small intervals throughout the day and I will focus the majority of my time on 45 degree banks with the swimbait in my hand. As a backup, I will have an A-Rig and a Fly in the box. The weather should provide for good bite, especially in the afternoon as the rain pushes in to the area.
Remember, this is not the time of year that you are fishing to catch four or five limits. Take it one fish at a time!
See you on the water!