2021 06 09 TN River Nickajack

[coldfront]

out for a few hours after work.  dodging rain showers.  mostly cloudy with light winds from Northerly direction.  When there was a ruffle on the water to tell.Water temps at 7PM:  76.5°F.  Clear.Chickamauga dam was spilling at 32K cfs.  Nickajack dam at 30K cfs.  water levels were slightly up and rising slowly. 
mostly small spots tonight.  on the PopR.  mostly on wood.
found a good one, a real bug-eyed monster, on down-current side of a dock.  Looked like a late spawner.

[Mike Cork]

Congratulations on a great catch, seen the photos in "Catch of the Day" that big girl has the genes to be a double digit bug-eyed monster...

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[coldfront]

mike,
when she came up, I thought she could be.  just the size of the head and throat were amazing.but she 'tapered down' fast from there.
talked to a few folks through the years here on Chick.  tough to really know if a fish is 'just and 8' or if it goes 10 by looking.  body frames, lengths are just so similar.
that's why I put her on the scale.  and it's also why it's so hard to get double-digit fish.  they all seem to lose a bit of size when an actual scale, ruler is involved   

[Mike Cork]

LOL yep they shrink fast when the scale comes at them 

But she's got the right demotions that after a winter of shad feeding, a spring of craws and right before the bed, I'll bet she's a double digit. She's already got the length, now it's all about getting fat. There is not a creature on God's Green Earth that doesn't strive to get fatter  even fisherman... If she lives long enough she'll be a giant girl one day.