<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: neutral88</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

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Fourth of July traffic shouldn't deter local anglers

George Thwaites is a sports and outdoors writer for the Times-News. E-mail him at [email protected].

For more information on fishing in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina, be sure to catch Johnny Wood's Fishing Report on WCYB-TV5 Thursday mornings at 5:45 a.m., 6:15 a.m. and 6:45 a.m.




Fourth of July weekend? Let's call it Fourth of July week.

"We have two holiday-type weekends and a whole week in-between,"? observed Johnny Wood at WCYB-TV5 in Bristol.
"That means lots of folks out on the waterways enjoying all the summer recreation, including fishing."?

Sure, lake levels are 10-feet lower than normal. But that won't scare anybody away. There's still plenty of water to keep lots of boats afloat.

John Slagle at Lake View Dock on South Holston Lake agrees, and it already seems to be gearing up. He's observed a lot of families already camping at the lake. He anticipates a big surge in recreational boaters over the next 10 days.

The increase in recreational boat traffic will probably make daytime trolling a bit more complicated. Some anglers will brave it anyway: The trout and walleye action has continued to turn heads.

Anglers trolling Sutton Spoons and Super Dupers have been picking up nice rainbows at 28 to 29 feet, while chunky 1 1 /2- pound lake trout are turning up regularly at 35 feet. Lower lake levels have been a boon to walleye anglers, who are picking up nice fish trolling Cat's Paw spinners over submerged islands.

Anglers who'd prefer to avoid crowds can still get into nice trout and walleye action after dark. Anglers downlining Berkeley Power Bait, meal worms, nightcrawlers and assorted natural baits under the lights have continued to pick up good fish on the hoot owl shift. Walleye anglers have been casting bone-colored Long A Bombers and white spinnerbaits after dark.

Most bass fishermen have already transitioned to night fishing. Some smallmouth are being caught on straight up-and-down bluffs on black and rootbeer pig-and-jig combinations. There has also been some success using four-inch plastic worms on a drop-shot rig.

"My thinking about the drop shot is that a three-inch grub will probably do the same thing as that four-inch worm,"? Slagle said.
Being centrally located to all three of the so-called Tri-Cities, Boone Lake stands to see more boat congestion than any of our local reservoirs.

Kenny Harville at Kenny's Bait & Tackle on Highway 75 near Boone Dam warns boaters to be extra wary on the water this weekend and into next week.

"It's going to be tough. You're going to have to get out early ... and leave early. That's a busy time on the water if the weather permits,"? said Harville, who noted that Boone boaters needn't let their guards down after dark.

"There will be people still out cruising after dark. And you have to be careful around the banks. There will be people shooting fireworks. Especially up in Friday's Hollow. They have a big fireworks display every year."?

Harville said he'll probably stay off the lake until the holiday crush subsides. If he does go out, it'll be with a bucket of crickets to fish on the bluffs for bluegill and catfish.

Most Boone bass anglers are fishing the rootbeer pig-and-jig after dark. But FLW pro Craig Powers spent a couple days on the lake filming early in the week and showed why he's angling for the big bucks.

"Monday and Tuesday he was fishing some topwater and he caught a bunch. Not just early. All day,"? said Harville. "He fished a rodeo (Wednesday) night and won it. You know how those pros are. They come in here and just wax us."?

On Watauga lake bass anglers are having the most luck fishing finesse worms and plastic grubs. Action on Cherokee is holding up both day and night on big deep-running crankbaits and flippin' jigs.

On the fly fishing beat, Wood has high hopes that the rain forecast will be good for area mountain trout streams.

"Despite afternoon storms, most of the mountain streams are running very low and very clear. Maybe Friday's rains will help out,"? Wood said. "Meanwhile, downsize those yellow sallies and yellow caddis flies. Send a small nymph down those deeper runs."?

Ben Walters at Fly Shop of Tennessee in Johnson City reports that terrestrial patterns "? ants, 'hoppers and beetles "? have been the go-to flies during low water on the South Holston tailwater.

"When it was up and running on Tuesday when I went it wasn't that great. But there has been a good sulphur hatch on high water. It's a PMD color, kind of a greenish-yellow Size 14-16,"? Walters said.

"Streamer fishing has been incredible ... Wooly Buggers and bigger stuff that imitates sculpins, minnows and crawfish."?

Guitou Feuillebois at Mahoney's Sportsman's Paradise in Johnson City recently caught a 30-inch brown on the Watauga tailwater streamer fishing. Everyone is talking about it. It was a truly awesome fish, he admitted.

There has been a strong sulphur hatch on the Watauga, which ought to suit dry fly fanciers, he said. But streamers, nymph rigs and terrestrials are catching trout in that river. As is the San Juan Wo r m .

"Some people will not fish them just because its a worm. But the thing works,"? said Fueillebois. "They are natural. They are in the water."?

If Thursday's cloudburst hasn't already muddied up the North Fork of the Holston, that river probably will be worth visiting before it does.

"I fished the North Fork Tuesday afternoon before and then after a rain. I noticed that the fish were loafish before the rain. We caught a couple of 16-inch fish but we saw several larger smallmouth and they didn't hardly move as we walked past them. After the rain, the fish went on a rampage,"? said Bruce Wankel at The Virginia Creeper Fly Shop in Abingdon.

"Over the years I have noticed how much happier river fish, both trout and bass, are after a good rain during a long drought period. Seems like the rain freshens up the water."?