where and how to catch walleye in tn???

[78mudbug]

where and how would you go about catching walleye in tn.?they have walleye in dale hollow and center hill i think but how do you catch them and when?i would appreciate all help

[logs]

Hello, I don't know anything about the two lakes you mentioned, but I do fish Watauga Lake for walleye and lakes here in North Carolina. In the spring I usually use bottom bouncers with crawler rigs and night crawlers and pull them along the bottom just fast enough for the spinner to turn. You can also do good by throwing crankbaits to the bank and pull them back to the boat just like you were bass fishing. Walleyes will go into shallow water especially early morning or at night. One of my favorite ways is to ease along the banks at night and throw Long A's and work them back to boat slowly on topwater. Bone is a good color at night. Minnows will work good on a jig from the bank to the boat. I troll a lot for them trying to match the forage fish thats in your lake and the hotter the water gets the deeper they go. The hardest part of walleye fishing is to find where they are. Are they on flats, riprap, dropoffs, rocky points, creek channels etc. Hopefully someone who fishes the area you are in will help you with the type of structure you should be fishing for that lake at the time of year you are fishing. I hope I have helped a little and hope you get into them. Good luck and good fishing.

[Drum_Master]

Hey Muddy,

You don't have to go to Center Hill or Hull to catch walleye. They are right in your backyard on Ol Hick. There's alot more sauger than walleye, but they eat good and are a blast to catch. TWRA stock's alot in the Hick and many other area lakes that many folks don't take advantage of.

All my time spent sauger fishing is in the winter, after duck season, and before crappie season and turkey season. They can be caught year round, though.

I fish from Cordell Hull dam down to a several miles past Carthage, but sauger/walleye can be caught in the river near Spring creek, the mouth of station camp, steam plant, and 109. Just a few places I know of, anyway.

Sauger and walleye can be caught many different ways. I've caught several by accident while bass fishing and catfishing, but I vertical jig for them in deep river holes. However, don't rule out catching them on lighter jigs, crankbaits, or spinners in shallow waters such as riprap banks below dams.

We generally fish near the deepest holes in the river (45-60+ ft) several miles downstream from Cordell Hull dam. At times, fish will be in the upstream end of a deep hole before the drop, or in the deepest spot, or past the deep water where it shallows up. I usually run to the upstream end of the hole, and drift with the current through the hole to the downstream end i.e. about 25 ft down to 50 ft or so and back up to 25 ft.

Sometimes fish will stack up on the inside bank of the river out of the current, and sometimes seem to be near the outside bank in deeper water. If I find fish, I like to mark the spot and concentrate on that location. Sometimes they will be scattered, and other times will be stacked up in one area. Having current in the river is good.

We use .75 to 1.25 oz, depending on amount of current, "sauger jigs" tipped with minnows or artificial trailer. If using articficial, I use scented trailers or bait spray. Sometimes color is key, sometimes not so much.

Presentation is vertical jigging. Use the trolling motor and match the speed of the current to keep your line vertical over the jig. Drop down to the bottom, reel up the slack, jig up, and let it fall slowly to the bottom while keeping tension on the line. Soon as you feel the slightest tap of the bottom, jig up and repeat a few thousand times! The fish seem to hit as it falls. If you feel any "bump" on the way down set the hook!

I use 20lb braid to keep from losing too many jigs, and the sensitivity is great too. The smaller diameter also creates less drag in the water, which helps in strong current.

Buy alot of jigs if you try this method! I lose tons at new spots were I haven't located the big snags the hard way!