Old hickory this week
 

I've caught a few small keepers on a white spinnerbait this week. Has anybody figured the fish out? You guys think they've pulled out to the creek channels? I'm going this weekend hopefully so maybe I can bring back a better report

From what I have seen, there's been some better fish move shallow. Last Sunday we tried fishing deep and shallow, ended up with the better fish shallow on rocky banks with laydowns on them. For me the fishing this year has been tougher than the last 5. I don't know what my problem is, but some people have them figured out and their lips are sealed! Lol good luck to ya


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I fished Tuesday and had about 20 keepers fishing bluffs in the main lake. Mid lake to upper lake. I had one bluff in particular where I pulled up and had 3 over 2.5lbs on 3 casts. I left that spot knowing it was gonna fish a tournament last night. I started there in the tournament and there was a boat that had already fished through there and they were sitting on the "juice". They never moved from there. I went to different bluffs and never caught a fish. The water was down from the day before so I started fishing cover out in front of grass beds and had 3 that went 9.16lbs. With a 5.45 kicker. The trny is only 3.5 hours and only had about an hour left to fish when I gave up on the bluff pattern. My thinking was any fish in the grass would move out to the first available piece of cover since the water had dropped so much. It paid off just ran out of time.

My son and friend went Thursday and had 12 with 2 keepers. Lost 5 one of witch his friend lost was a toad. Fishing jigs and shakey head around docks mid lake. They are both 19 and honest as they come.

I fish OH about 5 out 7 days a week and where I fish they are in the grass and relating to grass edges. No big fish in the last couple weeks but catching 14-16" fish is consistent. They have been hitting spinnerbaits and lipless both burned along edges.

When you say "bluffs" is that underwater or the actual bluff walls?? I'm not looking for coordinates or any of that. Just a little info to point in the right direction. Lol

Main lake bluff walls. I was catching them where there was a lot of current. Also the points where a bluff might start was a key spot. The bluff needed to have kind of a stair stepped feature down to about 10-15 foot deep at least. If not then the best targets were little cut ins or anywhere a bass could sit just out of the current

I have never been on Old Hickory and my son and I are going to give it a whirl next Friday. I plan on putting in at Drakes Creek cause it is closest to Franklin and Bass fish our way out,,,, I guess. LOL any suggestions would be appreciated. It sounds like,,, work the grass or weeds if any? Priest has no grass and I miss that from living in Florida and South Mississippi.

Man sounds like junk fishing for sure lol. If you guys don't mind me asking what type of lures are yall throwing at the bluffs?

I prefer a 4 inch twin tailed grub with a 3/8 to 1/2 oz tungsten weight

For me it's either a 1/4 ounce jig or I like to get up tight to the bluff and wake a spinnerbait just under the surface. The Spots and Smallmouth lose their minds!!

Now I've always been curious as to where to catch smallmouth on old hickory. Is it way upstream or down stream? I'm gonna try and go Wednesday for a few hours anyways

I catch more Smallies down lake. Say from Cedar Creek to the dam.

x2 on the spinnerbait part.

I replace the first part with a 10.5" zoom worm and 3/8 oz weight texas rigged. Also on the spinnerbait, once the shad have spawned and the minnows are relating to about any cover I will flip a spinnerbait along creek channel banks with overhanging brush or brush that extends into the water. Treat it like a jig (no trailer keep it compact and shad colored prefer double willow) and put it back into pockets then crank it out about 2 ft past the brush then repeat. Fish will crush it right about the edge of the brush.

Thanks guys! I'm just trying to learn the lakes around here as nobody in my family bass fishes so it's very much so a trial and error. I may be going Wednesday before all this rain gets here so I'm gonna try a few new tactics

Try "Avondale Recreation Area" will actually be a better ramp with bluffs on the H'Ville Side and all sorts of humps, channels and grass beds across the lake. Pretty easy to access from Viet-Nam Pkwy. Drop me a PM if you want to discuss this further.

I'm gonna see if I can find some cranking fish Friday. Anything I should know about trying to find some post spawn crankbait fish?

I dont bass fish but a few select times of year, and post spawn is my favorite time. Im no expert, but ive had my best success working backwards from the spawning grounds. Try your first major depth change (ledge) and your first major point away from the spawning grounds. Depth is a relative term here...if you caught spawners in 2', try fishing the 4-5' range. Find a good spawn bank and fish the next deepest point or ledge and just run that crank from all angles. Then as the water temps warm, use that same idea and just go a little deeper and so on. I caught my biggest bass last year schooled up on a rock pile in 24'...the rock hump was about 4' tall with scattered brush. I was rip jigging 3/4oz blade baits off the bottom and i could see the bass chase my bait up On the the bow mount fish finder. Now granted, that was in july with almost 80 degree surface temps, but that spot is just off a main point coming off a channel edge, which was very close to a spawning flat. Same principal applies.
Then ofcourse always try to keep in mind where the bait is. If you find bait in a shallow cove but no feeding fish, they will be very close by.
Give that a shot, it should work out good for you!

Piggy backing off of what TNBrozeback said, think of the main river channel as an interstate, creek channel as a main road the secondary creek channels and ditches as side streets to neighborhoods. Fish will move from the interstates to the neighborhoods to spawn then travel the same routes back out like you would. Most don't jump from neighborhood onto the interstate. Rocks, points, brush are all resting/ambush points along the route. You just have to find out where they are in travel.

This is not iron clad. OH has fish shallow all year even in cold weather. But typically fish winter in deep water usually main river channel areas and spawn shallow. They have to be somewhere in between.

I'm pretty sure SIRI gave bad directions recently and the bass on OHL are lost. At least they are not to be found on any of the streets on the map I use. I expect fishing to be much better right now than it is and I'm not the only one. I honestly believe the bass fishing has been in decline for a few years.

Can someone please plant some grass? (not the shore grass stuff) We all know from history it will grow out there.

Ok I am going to give out hot info on Old Hickory all I ask is be respectful to folks around you and give them Space on grass beds
and any hole they are on. " fish will return to areas within 30 mins"

Sunday I caught over 20 Bass average 1-2 lbs with a couple in the 4 lbs range. "left lake about 10:30 am"

All in Grass running a slow blade spinner " Silver to clear looking" on the fringe of the grass line, I do use a stinger.

Remember Spinners are more weedless than worms if they don't stop.

Parallel with grass is also important.

What the water looked like before I moved into cove.


http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a78...psnz0u5l2v.jpg

Boys I'll be headed to the lake tomorrow to give it a try for a few hours. Be around the Davis corner area in a big yellow boat. Wish me luck

Good luck sir. I think I will try also I will be in station camp area or drakes creek in old maroon/silver stratos. Just depends on weather. Hope to see you out there. I haven't been in 2 weeks.

Well I went to drakes and stunk it up. Fish some river bluffs. Friend threw spinnerbaits as advised by you guys on here and I am to dang stubborn to do it. Lesson learned. Will be on rest of weekend. Thanks guys for info

Only got to fish for two hours but had a 14" keeper on the square bill. Will be out tomorrow at day break

I will prolly go tomorrow also but not on lower end with that crowd. Going to be crowded on that lower end of the lake. Probably go from 5-11 on upper end of the lake. You guys be careful this weekend and enjoy your self. Thanks to all the veterans out there.

I'll be out there tomorrow night. Or I may go below the dam Sunday morning after some smallies. Haven't decided yet.

I am wanting to go below dam this summer. Where are the better/safe ramps

When I go to the river; I put in at peeler park. It's right across from the mouth of the stones river. If that gives u an idea where your at. I usually fish from there all the way up to the OH Blvd bridge. Excellent smallmouth fishing there