Lake Guntersville

[mike234]

Can anyone give me some information on Guntersville. Am planing trip the first of next week and want to fish swimbaits. Huddleston and hard baits like Bull Shad. 6" and up. Water temp?
Also does anyone know if game department stocks trout into lake like some lakes in Ga and Tn.

Thanks
Mike

[WTL]

No trout. Closest trout are browns and bows stocked on the elk river below tims ford in tennessee.

Went last friday, it was a terrible day for it. Wind blew me up river, tried to hit the grassbeds with a spinnerbait, fluke or frog. Managed 1 dink. Did have some fish playfully slap at the frog, but they werent the type you are looking for.

Keep in mind this was the day after a cold front, blue skies and 25 mile per hour winds.

[lilmule]

Actually trout closer than that the Hiawassee and tribs near Cleveland,im a tad farther north fish are not hitting topwater but are things just under try the swimbait anyway our larger shad often have rosy hues and for some reason even in areas where not stocked they hit them readily.

[WTL]

Lilmule, not to argue, but its about 60 or so miles from scottsboro to the tims ford tailwater, a little closer from bridgeport....

Where do the trout start on the hiwassee? Either way, they are both close, like 60ish miles.

[lilmule]

Your right its a ways from gville but has little to with if bass hit trout swimbaits and they do even though may or may not be present.
Its a color popular in spring in many lakes that do not contain trout.
When you think gville you also think scottsboro,I think just south of south pittsburg to nickajack dam as a small part of it is in Tn,but still a ways to where trout are stocked.Tn often places raceway trout below dams but dont think nick is on the list.
Actually have my nonresident bama lic so be going tad father south this year,mostly on pickwick however.
Wheeler is about as far east as I generally go,on one to three day trips.Prefer one day ones anymore.

[WTL]

You know, I thought he was thinking of fishing for the trout, not matching the hatch (trout)...

Yeah, trout swimbaits, if they work, wont work cause bass are keying on trout. But they will probably work. If you have a haddock swimbait, or a swai swimbait or a peacock bass swimbait that too will also probably work. They arent that picky.



It would be interesting what trout would do in the tennessee. I dont think the water below nickajack stays below 73 year round, which is really the temperature where trout start doing pretty poorly. The lakes tennessee stocks at all have huge deep lakes where the intake draws unnaturally cool waters into the tailrace. The TVA dams are of a different breed.

But given how the smallies like it, if a trout did survive the temps, I bet he would get big quick.

[lilmule]

Dunno many streams that empty into tva lakes are stocked,they figure put n take but some survive by going into the lake at depth.Ky lake has at least half a doz streams that are generally within 1/2 mile of the lake itself and at times a rainbow is caught out in the lake not often but ive seen it one came in the weigh in as guy didnt know they were there and wanted to prove it.mar,april even may sometimes and the water temp is ok then.
I caught a small blunt nosed stocker the mouth of standing rock creek in mid july,within sight of fat daddys.
As for why they hit them dunno maybe one of the colors they like,deer creek lake ohio they love 3 and 4 in jerkbaits in any trout color be it rainbow,brown or brookie,far as I know no trout near there.
If memory isnt failing me the record state trout came out of the tn river,bit farther up,beaten in 2002 with a fort patrick,Hiwassee River 3 lb plus bookie,and brown the clinch.Its but a short drive out of cleveland for trout.
As far as trout colored baits they work cant say a Huddleston or Castaic will as never have used one that large.
I did get one a huddie on trade and will try it.

[WTL]

There are lots of anomalies in our lakes. Wilson used to have muskies, as does many tennessee lakes. Trout have been caught in the black warrior river, as have smallmouth, despite no official presence. In some part, bucket stocking has done the trick, but there is a difference between a few isolated individuals deep in the depths, and a fish able population.

It would be cool if every few years the state of Tennessee dropped a few loads of trout into the tennessee river lakes, give us a chance of catching an surprise trout every now and then. I do think Gville, which has a max depth around 90', or pickwick, which is deeper, might have some depths at which trout could survive. Probably its mostly an expense thing, they put the trout where they have the best chance to provide distinct fisheries. That means the midsized rivers that have the super cool water from large convex dams, not the large tennessee river dams which arent as cool, and are so massive that people will probably never even encounter most of the stockers again as they disperse into the deep.

[lilmule]

I went and looked the stocking maps up,its surprising .
Scotch is tailwater,green is res or lake,red is a trout stream,purple is yearround trout.
Div 3 only ,Several empty into gville,tn portion.

3,38.39.24.32

[WTL]

Where did you get that map from? That is a more extensive stocking program that I thought existed.

[lilmule]

All over the state its more extensive than most think,on my own lil web space I list the local ones,many are put an take in local parks in towns.Several around clarksville that empty into Barkley or the cumberland.More down around I40,including an upper part of duck river,bucksnort etc.But each and every region including region 1 from miss river to region 2,think their are 4,but each one with its own stocking program.Cleveland 1/2 hr east plenty including a lake and a yearround.
Its on the twr pages but being moved to tn.gov org harder to look up there,type in tn trout stockings on a search engine you will see a map on several links that come up.
Trout by the way for wintering migrate to deepest water downstream,and so a few that are not caught not prey for something get into the main lakes and yes unknowingly so but deep.Suspect stripers do take a toll on those that migrate but they do exist in the lakes.
The one brought to a weigh in at paris landing came from way up west sandy arm deep water on a dd22,thats ten, twelve miles from nearest stocking stream which would be standing rock creek,caught in late july as well 87-88f main lake,they can survive rainbows to 82f,at about 20ft its below 70f,around 30-36 ft it would optimal,if oxy present.About where the stripers are that time of year.They tend like many fish to find seeping springs,bubbling up from the bottom or overhanging sheer rock walls.
One at the mouth of birdsong creek goes from 4 ft to 45 ft in one pace,with two nearby streams that are stocked white oak and duck river.
Suspect the reason many more are not caught average size bait is to large and most dont fish quite deep enough.During feb,march,april even may can be caught at those stocked creeks to the mouth rather shallow on normal trout gear.
And yes can live in Jackson and fish for trout,local stocking small park lakes,its a wide spread program for all.
Last years local from my web site which included only streams each x is another months stocking
http://www.freewebs.com/kylaketn/app...rout-stockings
Sorry if I took this away from original thread the trout swimbaits should work,key word should.

[WTL]

Thanks, that is good info. We did hijack it a bit, but he asked about trout...and we kinda murdered the question.

[mike234]

WTL and lilmule do not think anything of highjacking thread. The info I learned from reading you two was more interesting than the question I asked. Thanks alot for the info.

Mike

[lilmule]

Rainbow hatchery fish can be found almost anywhere,my dad told me he caught one in the mouth of big sandy where it meets the ohio river.For years thought he was pulling my leg,then spotted several in the spring, below galipolis dam(ohio river) on more than one occasion.
Turns out state of WVa was stocking shasta variety they had gotten from cali-sea run trout so they tried to migrate it became known when two tags were sent back via Louisiana commercial fishermen.
The WVa state record came out of a stream that hadnt been stocked in 30 years and was considered marginal with water temp.With no surviving trout in it.
Biologists actually posted it off limits for a bit to figure out what they did wrong.,a natural reproducing population in a marginal stream?
I suspect other than landlocked lakes most fish even in a warm water environment during a cooler part of the year have seen a trout or know what it is.
I prefer brookies (really a char)to other species then german browns.
Do let inquiring minds know if the large trout swimbaits work,suspect they will but may attract wrong species like as in striper or white bass.I know the smaller ones do captiva,rapala etc on black or white bass.

[mike234]

Stripers hit the Bull Shad more than the Hudd. Hudd in Norris Lake will work on most every species. Sometimes Stripers get to be nusiance on the bull shad if you are fishing for LM. They are eating machines. When first started fishing swimbaits lost a few bull shad to big stripers. Can get Hudds in colors that make it look more like blueback herring and if patient can catch some nice LM.
Thing is with Hudd must retrieve slowly and Bull Shad can use a moderate retrieve. If you stick with the swimbaits can boat some nice fish. Not as many as with other baits but usually larger.
By the way where is Buchanan in relation to K-town?

[lilmule]

Lol long ways try Paris Landing Ky lake(am a W.VA. transplant),your about 41/2 hrs east,but do make it over there bought my allison now gone over in cleveland,and a motor recently up at watts bar.East to west its a long state but all covered by the big T.
I am glad someone responded that uses larger swimbaits,who also lives closer.
My own experience with smaller ones they eat them but havnt had much luck with large ones somewhat I thought my own problem.Kind of a like the large basirisky soft crawler takes a large bass to eat it and a larger one to want it.

[mike234]

Just be patient and stick with it. There is a learning curve I believe to using the larger baits. It took me over 6 months to catch first fish on large baits but once it happened I was hooked. Thats is all I throw except when fishing a tournament. I do not think it is for everyone but if you like the pull of big bass it is only way to go.
If you can catch them on swimbait bite it is not uncommon to have a 30# limit(5 fish).