Nice TN river smallmouth

[coldfront]

out last saturday just trying to stay alive...

forecast was for some really bumpy weather to be around.  On the water at 6:45 am and got about 40 minutes in before lightning started getting close.  docked the boat and went to sit in the truck.  sat there for 2.5 hours or so just waiting and watching the weather.  it was 'eventually' going to move on...

here's doppler radar image...



and the lightning strikes..



back out about 11am...  found a backwater eddy off the main channel and went to work with a 1/2 ounce wareagle spinnerbait.  first fish was a drum (estimated 10 lbs)...  big headed old dude with the scars to prove it.  unhooked the large animal in the water and went back to tossing the spinnerbait.

managed this nice smallmouth.  not huge, but solid and a darned good one.  they're all good, most of them just not quite this large.  4.0 lbs on the rapala scale.



fishing was tough, possibly due to the hours of heavy thunder and lightning.  felt good to be out though and get rained on. 

air temps were mid-60's to start and just over 70 when I put the boat on the trailer at 4pm...

TVA was running about 27,000 cfs.  Water temps were 54°F main river and up to 58°F in the creeks.  that's about a 5°F rise from last Saturday...

managed a little 2-2.5 lb largemouth on a jerkbait and a nice white of about 2lbs on a 4" keitech easy shiner swimbait (1/8 ounce jighead)...  not a lot of activity out there ... and I stayed close to the ramp in case I needed to be off the water for personal safety.