This entry was posted on 4/19/2007 6:20 AM and is filed under APRIL 2007.
Rob Kennedy and I went out to J. Percy Priest Wednesday evening around 5pm. I worked all day and let a good overcast, slight sprinkle, and no hint of a breeze go by. At 3pm I said the heck with this and called Rob, let's head to the lake. By the time we got there the conditions changed a bit.
Conditions: Sunny to partly cloudy Calm waters Stained to 3ft visibility
As I thought the conditions were perfect for my little finesse jig. We went to you 1st spot around the 4-corners area. We quickly hit a double, the 2 fish pictured. I hooked up 1st with my jig and caught the fish pictured, about 3.5lbs and it wasn't until I got my fish in, Rob hooked up on his with a Carolina rigged lizard. Both of these fish were Post-Spawn. Their tales were healing but still pretty beat up. We got these fish in about 7ft of water near a sharp drop. We went to several points after that and caught probably 20 bass between us with maybe 1 or 2 more keepers. We also managed a couple Smallies. All in all it was a good 3 hours of fishing.
Saturday, Denny Krogh and I plan to hit Priest early for Bass and then taking the rest of the day to hunt down some crappie slabs.
4/22/2007 7:51 PM
Toby Kemp wrote:
My brother and I went to Priest today around 5am. We started fishing a Jig/Pig and also a War Eagle spinner bait. I caught three right off the bat, with the biggest coming in at 7/14. After while I noticed tons of Shad and after that the fishing died. We went to several points and tried about everything in the box until I tossed a Yamamoto 5" green/black pumpin seed. I caught six in a 30 minute span with the biggest coming in a 4/11. It then died again so we thought we would just go spot some future points. Would love to hear some comments and also some ideas on what is the hottest bait out right now. I fish Priest 3-4 days a week and always looking for a partner so I can learn. Reply to this
4/23/2007 6:17 AM
Billy Harris wrote:
Toby, Sounds like you had a good day. Sounds pretty common, catch some from an area and it die, then move to another area and do the same thing. These fish are still in all 3 stages of the spawn but they are moving quickly. I fished this weekend and caught bed fish sight fishing, a smallie at that, post spawn off of points and pre-spawn fish that were just staging in fairly deep water, 14ft. You can catch fish from 16ft to matter of inches of water. Just pick your poison. I plan to post on this past weekends nubmers later today.
I also have a forum site you can post to anytime you like. There is a link at the bottom of my home page, www.billyharrisbasspro.com for forum. Feel free and let me know how it goes.
4/29/2007 8:14 PM
Toby Kemp wrote:
Billy, Went to Preist today ( before all hell broke loose...skiers that is)..Started off with a blk/blue pig and jig. Caught several right off the bat, then turned to a Yamamoto green/blk 6 ", caught one good keeper off of that that went 4.6. We caught about 30 today but keepers were rare. Can you give me any insight on what you would use this time and also the depth you would fish. I was also wondering and what is best for Old Hickory. I have been using blk/blue pig and caught a 5.1 smallie, but very few others. Thanks for any help you can give, and as always I enjoy reading your columns...Toby Reply to this
5/9/2007 5:54 PM
anthony wrote:
on old hickory fish smaller plastics. hit and run channel banks until you find some fish. then slowwwwww down. Reply to this
4/30/2007 5:58 AM
Billy wrote:
Toby, I have to agree Priest is hot for numbers and a few good fish right now. Between Denny Krogh and myself we caught between 75 and 100 bass on Saturday. I had 1 at 4.85 and another @ 5.11 lbs. We also had 7 or so smallies. We caught fish from 1ft of water to 20 ft of water. Some fish are still on beds, some yet to go on bed and some heading to summer time ledges. Right now I think color is more then bait selection, watermelon seed anything seems to be working.
Old Hickory, I have not been over there in a while, typically I would use a white chatterbait style lure, black jig/pig combos and Bandit 200 in Rootbeer. Work the emerging grasses and wood in the backs of creeks and work your way out. let me know how it goes. Billy Reply to this
5/3/2007 8:32 PM
Toby Kemp wrote:
Billy, Went to Priest today around 11 and stayed until 8pm. Caught around 50 or so. Started with a watermelon and red jig/green mini pig. Caught one 5.7 and one 4.7, both were on bed and their tails were dripping with blood. They must be wearing the beds out. I also threw a spook in shallows and caught several in the 1.5 to 3 lb range. I also tossed a pumpkin tube with several small ones. I think that I saw several jumps today but just couldn't get to them in time. Hey by the way, have you heard anything about Joe Wheeler in Alabama? I had a buddy tell me that the fiching was really hot there right now. Anyways, good luck at Priest and thanks for all of your advice....Toby Reply to this
5/4/2007 6:47 AM
Billy wrote:
Priest is really hot right now. You can catch fish on several patterns. You can still catch pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn fish. I have yet to get a good bite on top water, a few blow ups but nothing worth mentioning. Still for my big fish bite it is a jig in watermelon with a matching trailer. It is awesome, if you are trying to learn a new technique, now is the time to go, fish are biting. 50 fish a day is common. Pretty awesome.
I hear Wheeler is the same, but ending the spawning cycle. A friend of mine told me they are heading deeper toward ledges and the main channel, but can still find plenty of action in shallow water. He tells me chartuese double gold willow leaf blades are working best. Keep posting and let me know how you are doing. Billy Reply to this
5/6/2007 7:20 PM
Toby Kemp wrote:
Went to Old Hickory today with not much luck. The water was muddy and extremely high. caught a 4.5 sauger on jig/pig and 8 other small bass. I'm going to go to Preist on Tuesday, any certain areas or baits that you can reccommend? Would like to know if you have heard of any day tournaments on Preist? I'm really new to fishing tournaments but have alot of experience on fishing Preist. Always greatful for your advice....Toby Reply to this
5/8/2007 2:13 PM
Billy wrote:
Well, Priest is pretty hot about everywhere. My best bite is from 4-corners to the dam area. Hamliton and Suggs have produced some good bass and a couple smallies. Old Hickory has been very tough on me lately. Not sure why, but I think it tends to be more of a junk fishermans lake instead of a pattern lake. Although you will have some guys say it is a pattern lake, just my opinion. You can get in tournaments almost everyday on Priest this summer. Sunday mornings out of Fate Sanders, Monday evenings out of Elm Hill, Wednesday evening out of Fate Sanders and Thursday-Friday nights out of Fate Sanders, just pick your poinson. Billy Reply to this
9/13/2007 8:08 PM
Toby Kemp wrote:
Billy, Was just wondering how Priest has been lately? I haven't been out in about three weeks, and was wondering what has been hot? I was also looking at camping on one of the islands and doing some Catfishing. Any Ideas? Toby Reply to this
9/14/2007 6:01 AM
Billy wrote:
Priest has been good to me. I have not had a lot of time to fish it but each time I have caught big fish. I have 4 fish over 5 and one right at 6.9lbs. Most of my fish is coming way up the river on jigs and pop-r. Some days they are on chunk rock and other days they are on wood and mud flats. I am hearing reports of catfish around Hong Kong island on cut type bait - live shad fished on the bottom. Billy Reply to this
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