Crappie Abroad Cherokee/Tellico

[Pantastic]

Spent the past three days fishing abroad with each day being better than the one before. Went from Tellico Lake to Cherokee Lake and then back to Tellico Lake again. That last stop was almost a trip over to Watts Bar but in the end I opted to go back out on Tellico. Late start on Tellico day one. Around 12:30 before getting out on the water. Checked out some late fall / winter crappie areas without any rewards. Moved on to some other areas and managed to persuade 9 crappie into my vessel. One observation though, the black crappie are really starting to come on in this lake. I've never seen these numbers on Tellico in the past.



Day two. Made the trek (100 miles or so) to Cherokee Lake with Mr. Jump N Shack himself (Scott B.) to find the lake water was lower than the ramp we intended to put in at. Hmm this little detail sent us onto searching for another ramp but we finally made it on the water. We managed to catch 23 crappie out of Cherokee with 9 of those winning a free trip back to madtown.



Another crisp ride on Tellico this morning. 28 degrees on the water will sure wake you up in the mornings. If you want to get some strange looks just get you one of those salt armour face shields and you'll be in business. I mean they'll look for a long time. But what a difference a few days have made. Went back to the late fall/winter crappie locations again this time and sore lipped 45 crappie with 16 keeps. A big turn around from just two days ago.

[Kingfish1]

Thanks for sharing the report and pics. First class.

[brucec]

Great report, thanks for sharing!

[rcnickparker]

Thanks for the report. Good trip..

[CrappiePappy]

I got 5 of those Salt Armour face shields, but none of the "faces" versions. It took them over a month to get all 5 of them mailed to me since they sent 1, then another 1, then the final 3 over that time period. I contacted them after the 1st one was sent, because I thought all 5 were coming & feared the order had been messed up. I was told that they ship them "as they become available". I almost asked why they didn't have a warehouse full of them, but decided to wait it out. But, for less than $5 each, they won't break the bank.

Wish you had gone to Watts Bar and reported back that you slayed'em there ... might have tempted me to head down that way next week.

... cp

[Pantastic]

Got my Salt Armour order right away without any issues CrappiePappy. Perhaps you ordered when demands were high.
I hear you on Watts Bar. Some nice fish to be had on that lake. Just one thing scares me. Not many short fish being caught over there. This cant be good for the future.

[tenncrappie]

Good post thanks for sharing.

[BassERT]

good deal

[sailfish1]

good job pan, thanks for sharing

[CrappiePappy]

Got my Salt Armour order right away without any issues CrappiePappy. Perhaps you ordered when demands were high.
I hear you on Watts Bar. Some nice fish to be had on that lake. Just one thing scares me. Not many short fish being caught over there. This cant be good for the future.

Pan ... I believe the TWRA is still stocking (Black) Crappie in Watts Bar. The estimated time it takes a WB Crappie to reach the 10" size limit is 3yrs ... so there are going to be cycles & low year class numbers on account of Spring flooding, when it happens. This will especially affect the White Crappie population, more so than the Black Crappie population (since they are being stocked, plus they spawn earlier).

... cp