2021 09 11 TN River Chickamauga

[coldfront]

nice day on the water... big boats didn't come out until much later, and then not in the usual 'summer recreational' numbers.  shared the boat ramp with a tournament this morning (looked to be about 150 of them or so...)
Clear skies.  Light and variable winds.  Water Temps were 79°F for the most part (front transducer on the TM - so it's about a foot below the surface).  Water has that slight stain common in the late summer with the changing of phytoplankton-diatom blooms.
Threadfin shad schools continue to grow in size and with no wind they're easy to see pushing along the surface.  they're growing and up to around 2 inches in size for the most part now.
TVA was pulling current (33000cfs) as they're now basically in fall drawdown and will stay here until about mid-november ... so falling water (6-8 feet down from summer pool) and cooling water for next 45 - 60 days...

Schooling activity is picking up and fish are early in their push to backs of pockets.  Still fish to be had on the deep weedlines, but with shorter days and decreased sun angle weeds are starting to die back and fish can be a bit nomadic to say the least.

spent the day trying to contact fish.  not a lot of outcome to show for the effort... the most productive bait for me today was a walking topwater.  weedbeds are starting to set up nicely for the fall frog bite, but I am struggling with the patience to fish that technique right now.
a view of the lake at noon.  with fall transition, getting lots of fog/early morning mist that doesn't always burn off early.  often there's a heavy, dense patch of fog at some point on the lake where visibility goes to 100 feet or so...that's not very far if you're trying to run a boat on plane.  good time to consider safer options.

[Mike Cork]

Thanks for the great report. I think we will all be looking at falling water temps here real soon. Can make the fishing tough until the migrations are over...


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