6.95 LB SMALLMOUTH - NEW OLD HICKORY LAKE RECORD!





Wow what a heart pumping night. Denny Krogh and myself fish a Thursday night tournament series on Old Hickory sponsored by Michael of www.midtnmarine.com .  Going in the weather had stabilized some and water was starting to clear.  I had a plan for the night and felt very good about it going in.  I thought with the temps of the main lake still at 58 and pockets at 60 the fish should be moving along a little ditch I knew about to a flat in the back of Shutes Branch.   I told Denny just before take off to hang on because I feel good about tonight. 
Water was a bit stained about 2ft, wind calm, clear full moon lite night.
We started off on the shallow flat throwing some rattle traps with nothing happening.  I finally caught a couple fat dinks on a jig off rip rap.  We moved on down the bank with little action as we fished the deeper portion of a ditch. We got up to the next flat and I caught a few more dinks on a black jig.  Denny tied on a Spring Craw Bandit 200 and began catching 6 or 7 13.5" bass, good fish but not keepers.  7:45 the sun had gone down and I switch back to my jig and caught a nice 2.5lb'er.  We caught several more fish that were short, about 30+ short bass.  With 45 minutes to go I said lets run out to this main lake point just to check things out.  We pulled in and Denny said " Billy lets just catch a couple 5lb'er and be done with it. But can you let me catch one of them".  It was kinda funny looking back on it.  We were fishing a little rock point and about my 5th cast and with my jig almost back to the boat I felt a slight tick on my jig.  I reeled down and set the hook on my toad! The fight was on, the smallie came straight up out of the water to me what looked like 3ft and tail walked the whole time. It was breath taking.  I was scream at Denny to get the net the whole time.  We finally got her in, and Denny guessed her at 6.5 lbs and I thought she was smaller then that.  Nervous and shaking we continued to fish.  I told Denny it was not his turn.  It wasn't a few minutes later he is yelling get the net.  His largemouth came in at about 4 to 4.5 lbs. A very nice fish indeed and again the jig was the ticket.
Back at the weigh-in I seen a lot of fishing being weighed in and a lot of 4-6lb largemouth. I though we might have had a top 5 and didn't think I had a chance at big fish.  We weighed in for 2nd Place at 13.6 lbs and I got big fish at 6.95 lbs.  Then the guys brought up that it might be a new lake record.  So scrambling around to find out last night we still did not know.  I called the TWRA for information and indeed I broke the old record of 6.11 lbs in 2003.   I am filling out the paperwork to have it certified and my name is heading to the record books!
For those that don't know I threw back a 8.5 lbs smallie state record in Minnesota in 1998 and missed out on the once in a lifetime chance at a state record.  Well this might not be a state record but just the same my name is going in a record book.  How many people can say that!
Special thanks to one of my sponsors Michael of www.midtnmarine.com for bringing me that bait before the tournament.  Without that jig who knows!

Billy 

        

 

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