Footballs

Today I decided to not go to the Smokies. I've had a bad cold and wasn't feeling that well but by afternoon, I was feeling good enough to make the short drive down to the Caney Fork. I arrived and immediately noticed that a lot of gulls were flying around below the dam and on downriver. The first thing I thought of was a shad kill.

I started fishing below the dam and soon caught a brown. After working the run thoroughly, I finally decided to go up to just below the dam where I saw numerous fish rising. I waded out and started casting. This area is somewhat like a shallow lake with almost no current. Fishing here is a waiting game. You try and cast in the vicinity of where the fish are working but then you just let the dry and dropper sit until a fish discovers it. Usually a take is fairly obvious with the dry sucking under. After a few minutes of casting, I finally had a hit and immediately had a strong fish on. After a nice battle on the three weight, I brought to hand a VERY chunky football shaped fish.

The rest of the time continued in much the same way. I caught several fish including a few more footballs. The last one I caught was spitting up half-digested shad in large quantities, losing a lot of girth in the process. There were plenty of dead shad in the shallows as well. The fish that are eating the shad are extremely fat and should put on a lot of weight quickly which is good news for those of us that fish this river. I have seen some pictures of very large browns caught in the last few days so this is an excellent time to be on the river.

If I am feeling well in the morning, it is off for the Smokies so hopefully I'll have another report tomorrow afternoon or evening!!!