Norris Lake Question(s).....

[Bushrod]

....Does anyone here fish Norris for crappie? I've fished Douglas for a couple of years, and have noticed reports from Douglas, Cherokee, Percy Priest, Watts Bar, Kentucky Lake and others, but none from Norris...can anyone give me the rundown on the overall fishing at Norris...not necessarily just crappie, but other gamefish...thanks for any info....

[tnvol]

Bushrod:

I can't tell you much about Norris crappie fishing. My old source
there quit the business after fighting TWRA for years about stocking
stripers there. His take was that the crappie have gone steadily
downhill since that started..and that it was a waste of time to crappie
fish there. I'm sure there are some still being caught, tho. I wonder if
there are other lakes around that seem to have been affected by striper
stocking??

[fiddlefarter]

I'm not sure I buy into the "stripers eat all the crappie" theory. Naturally they eat some, but rockfish/hybrids eat mainly shad. They follow the shad year round. Percy Priest lake has a strong rockfish/hybrid population and also a good crappie population. I personally believe largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and catfish eat way more crappie fry than rockfish. Think about it this way bass, catfish and crappie all tend to relate to cover and stay in different areas of a lake than do rockfish/hybrid which are more prone to be found schooling suspended in open water, where the shad are. There are a lot of variables to why some lakes are better crappie lakes than others.

On another note I've never fished any lakes east of Dale Hollow in TN. Norris would be about 4 hrs' from my home and KY lake would be 1 hr 15min I know what I'd do faced with that decision. Plus I was always taught if you go east of Cookeville, You're in the land of Yankees and are not welcome. Although I've thought about heading up that way to fish someday.

[fishin3]

So you know Norris is a deep lake with little structure from what I have seen and been told. That might explain why the crappie that has no cover to relate to are being eaten.
Now as far as calling people yankees on this side of Tennessee. You might want to look toward Nashville and see how many YANKEES are there trying to be country boys and girls. Just what I say in the 5 yrs I was over in middle Tennessee and I have been east of Cookville alot longer. Just food for thought.

[bobber stopper]

I Have Fished Norris For Years.but Have Never Fished For Crappie Over There.but In The Spring I Fish For Walleye Over On Cinch River Which Runs Into Norris Lake .ihave Caught Some Then And They Were About 12" To 15". I Talked To Some People Just The Other Day That Fish For Crappie In The Fall.they Said They Fish Around (lone Mountain) And Do Pretty Good.and As Far As Being Yankees.most Of The Yankees I Talk To Call Them Croppie Not Crappie.have You Ever Told Someone I Am Going To Take A Crop. I Always Say Crap.

[fiddlefarter]

I know thats right fishin', I was just funnin'. Actually from the number of posts that get put on the TN forum, I didn't think anyone would see and/or respond to my comment. I would like to come up east sometime and fish, maybe ya'll (you'ns) could help me out.

[east_tn_angler]

hey bushrod,
if you are familiar with baylor's bridge and indian creek(the next bridge after you get into grainger county) then those are the hot spots right now. yesterday i went and my buddy caught 6 stripe and 3 crappie. i only came away with 3 though cuz i couldn't the right color jig. they were hitting the top of the water like crazy!!! there wasnt one second that there wasnt a ripple in the water from one jumping, and thats no lie! i'd say there were at least 20-30 people down there fishing the crap out of the banks. true, out lake does get pretty deep and they're not alot of structures, but just find some brush and i'll bout gurantee they will be there. or just a good point off the main channel at night. people also have been fighting with twra for years about the rockfish eating up everything, but theres still plenty of crappie out there. you can reach your limit easy any day if you got the right stuff on the end of your line. i usually use jigs during day and minnows at night. good liuck!

-east_tn_angler