Dr. Louis Stern came up to Chattanooga, Tenn. from Orlando, Florida to visit his in-laws for the New Year. Doc Stern opted not to party last night... instead we partied on the Tennessee River (Chickamauga Dam Tailwaters) on New Year's Day. It was bitter cold and bad windy this morning, but the man from Florida toughed it out well... perhaps better than me.
Brrrr! We did not catch a lot of fish... however what we did catch was quality. We had three good smallmouth in the 3 to 5 pound range. All caught on 4 lb. test which translates to longterm, give & take, nip & tuck battles. Doc Stern got a very good taste of hardcore, wintertime Tennessee River smallmouth. We had a few obligatory spotted bass, yellow bass, rock bass and one solid largemouth. All the quality fish were hanging out in 20 feet of water, and fell victim to shiners. The smaller fish were shallower. We probably could have caught a few more of those if the wind had let us. Actually the "quality fish" hole was about the only spot on the river that was semi-protected from the wind. And that semi-protection ended by about 10:30 or 11 when the river turned to whitecaps. Happy 2008! Life is good and gettin' better every day!
Richard Simms
Scenic City Fishing Charters, Inc.
New Year's Day Smallmouth
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