Old Hickory Lake
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Old Hickory Lake Fishing Reports
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Species
Smallmouth Bass
Season
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Soft Jerkbaits
Structure
Ledges
Forage
Minnows
Was fishing with soft jerk baits with a free rig using a pegged drop weight. Minnows were on the move and the smallies were feeding up. Winds were up but the weather was nice with a few drops of rain mixed in. Only caught a few keepers and a ton just shy of that. Lost a few that were much larger, but all in all it was a great day on the water. Again, the reel I used is the ark gravity bfs reel. Great for light baits, and they are tired of seeing the bigger stuff.
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Grass Jigs
Structure
Docks
Forage
Shad
Fish grass around docks
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Laydowns
Forage
Shad
Water temp is in the mid 60s and even 70s so go shallow and start flipping
Species
Smallmouth Bass
Season
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Wacky Rigs
Structure
Rip Rap
Weather was partly cloudy with light winds gusting to 10 mph. Fished 3 days, 1 practice day and 2 tournament days. Practice day we were able to find smallmouth on beds using a 4: wacky rigged Senko. They would pick it up and move it off the bed and drop it. would not set the hook except for one 3lbs 9oz Largemouth that hooked itself. Found probably 20 beds with fish on them throughout the day. 1st day we never made it to our spot due to motor issues, so we worked the bank heading back toward the launch. was able to boat a few non keepers on the wacky rig. lost 1 keeper on a nose hooked 4" Caffeine shad in Green Pumkin with tail dipped in chartreuse. had a few bites with a 3/8 oz Swim jig working it through laydowns but they were typically hitting the pinchers.
Species
Smallmouth Bass
Season
Spring (Post-Spawn)
Technique
Bladed Jigs
Structure
Points
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
68°
Wind has been unrelenting but not crazy. This has the small jaws pushed up off of main lake points. You will have to run and gun until you find them, but it will be worth the gas money if you find the right ones. The water clarity has dinged a bit, but this has seemingly enhanced the bite. A secondary pattern and a reliable way to catch numbers of largies is running docks. When you find them with the moving baits, it will pay off to circle back with something slow (wacky rig, shakey head, drop shot, Ned rig).
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Spawn)
Technique
Texas Rigs (Worming)
Structure
Laydowns
Water Temperature
60°
Covered lots of water in a large creek mid lake. Water temp was 57 in the morning and up to 63 by late afternoon. Lots of small bass are up shallow in spawning areas adjacent to deeper water. We had to sort through the small ones to scratch out decent keepers. The larger fish seemed to be buried in wood cover, possibly due to the recent front that moved through.
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Hard Jerkbaits
Structure
Flooded Brush
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
55°
On this day, I targeted submerged timber on transition areas in front of shallow flats off the main lake. Medium retrieve speeds with the occasional long pause. I looked for softer bottom areas with sand/mud. 6-10ft was where I found them stacked but I would catch the occasional fish moving up onto the flat. Wind was moderate and variable (5-10 mph NW) with blue bird skies. Outside temp was in the upper 50’s.
Species
Largemouth Bass
Season
Spring (Pre-Spawn)
Technique
Bladed Jigs
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
56°
Went out to Old Hickory Lake with my buddy and he was able to catch a nice 3 lb largemouth and 2.8 lb smallmouth on a green pumpkin z-man chatterbait close to rip rap with some grass off a point. Had about 2 ft water visibility with a little wind coming from the east.