Summer Time Bass Fishing on Douglas Lake

One of my favorite past times has always been Largemouth Bass fishing on Douglas Lake here in East Tennessee. On any given night from May till October you will find the boat launch completely full of trucks and trailers from the avid fisherman that come to this fine fishery. I have fished on Douglas Lake for 38 years. During this time I have gained a substantial amount of knowledge dealing with the Largemouth and Smallmouth that this lake is known for. During the hot months of summer I usually don't even launch the boat until about an hour before dark. When the surface temperatures are consistently above 80 degrees the Bass will school up well below the thermocline layer and will venture up to the shallows to feed after the sun goes down. Of course there are some factors to always consider when dealing with summer time bass.

CURRENT:   These groups of schooling bass will wait until the current picks up during water
                       generation times at Douglas Dam. Always check with TVA for generation times
                       and amount of turbines they will be running. When they are running 2 or more
                       for any length of time your bass fishing will be more productive because the
                       current around the main lake points will cause the bait fish to stir which will make
                       the Bass start to feed.

MOON:         The Moon Phase is a very important part of the Bass Puzzle during feeding
                       times. Bass like all living creatures on this planet we call earth, relate to the
                       gravitational pull of the moon on the earth. There are Major and Minor times
                       relating to this gravitational pull. These times when combined with these other
                       factors can make a good recipe for a successful Bass fishing Trip.

STRUCTURE:  Structure is defined as any change of contour in the stream or lake bottom.
                       Bass use and break or change in the area structure of the lake bottom for relief
                       from the lake currents as well as a staging point for their feeding schedules.
                       Bass like for their home to be close to deep water, close to usable currents, and be
                       close to large amounts of bait fish. So that is why I concentrate on the Main Lake
                       Points during the hot summer months that have a very defined structure difference.

COVER:       Allot of people confuse Structure and Cover as being one in the same. Cover is
                      items or areas that a Bass can use to hide and ambush prey and bait fish when feeding.
                      Bass like to hold near a defining change in Structure that has the ability to provide
                      ambush cover and includes all of the other recipes for success.  A good Topographical
                      Lake Map will help you locate and find these areas that are close to the main
                      current flow on any major reservoir. Keep in mind to always call TVA to get the
                      latest water levels for any Lake your going to be on so you can make the best
                      guess on areas to fish based on all of the items I have mentioned above.

LURES:            Here is where I will differ in my thinking from the rest of the thousands of loyal
                      Tournament Anglers that fish Douglas Lake in Competition. Tournament Anglers are
                      fishing for (5) five bites to catch five tournament fish. They will use big baits and
                      will concentrate on a specific area for along time for those five bites. As a fishing
                      guide and past Tournament Competitor I have mixed emotions about Baits and
                      Lure selections. As a Tournament Competitor I would throw mainly Large Jigs
                      in Watermelon Flake or Black and Blue or would spend the night throwing a
                      Big Black and Blue Spinner bait with a large Black Blade. I would only get about
                      10 bites per night but they were usually money fish for weigh in. As a Guide I
                      had to do the exact opposite because my clients wanted to catch numbers of Bass
                      and if they got into a few big ones they were extremely satisfied. Over the years
                      myself and my Associate Guide Donnie Ball of Pigeon Forge, perfected the perfect
                      bait for catching numbers of Bass on Douglas Lake. We use lighter lines, 8-10 lb test,
                      a 1/4 ounce Lead Head Jig with a 2/0 Hook,  put on a Baby Brush Hog in Green
                      Flake or Watermelon colors and install (1) one glass worm rattle behind the
                      hook curve. Cast to the main lake points or along the bank and make small sweeps
                      combined with several quick hand shakes to make the rattles sound and your gonna
                      either feel the bump of the bite , see the line twitch and jerk or they will just grab it and
                      run for deeper water. We consistently catch big numbers of Bass on this rig because
                      it looks so much like the Crayfish that abound around the rocky points on this lake.
                      From mid-June on until late August the Bass will start to ambush and feed on the
                      huge numbers of Bluegill that have started to grow from Fry that hatched in the spring.
                      These Bluegills will be about 2-3 inches long and will be right on the bank around
                      Rock Structure along the shore line. During these times we change up to a Electric
                      Red or Black/Blue colored Worm on the same Lead Head approach. The Paddle Tail
                      Worms move allot of water and these fish are gonna feed of the vibration of the lure
                      best acting like a swimming Bluegill. Remember that these Bluegills will be from
                      0-5 feet deep during bright Moon Phases so keep the bait swimming and don't waste
                      allot of time in fishing the bait to deep. During those darker Moon Phases we will fish
                      the same bait down to 35 feet  on the same Lead Head Rig.

On a recent trip to Douglas Lake (8/3/12) myself, my son Andrew Noland and Donnie Ball fished
the lower end of the lake near Douglas Dam. We had been marking some good schools of bait fish
near the Dam and decided to target these specific schools for Bass. We had allot of competition for
fishing spots until the 2 am weigh in from the Friday Night Tournament. From 2am until 6 am we had the lake to ourselves. We brought home our 3 Limits of good Tournament size Bass and they now
reside in the Freezer with the other 40 or so bags already frozen for the off season. We fished the
above mentioned baits and concentrated on the main lake points where the current flow was most
noticeable. I urge all of my fellow anglers to get out and have some Black Light Fun during the
summer months. Its too hot to fish of the daytime and the peacefulness at night makes it allot more enjoyable.

Everyone give thanks to the Lord and above all,,,,,,,GOOD FISHING !

Springtime Walleyes in East Tennessee

Springtime means a couple of things to East Tennessee Anglers, Crappie and Walleyes filling up their livewells. For the last 2 months, Walleyes have been biting at the head of Douglas Lake in the river channels near Newport. Persistance pays off jigging a large fly or grub tipped with a minnow. Just keep hopping that jig off the bottom and before you know it, fish on. Another solid technique is to slow troll a Rapala Shad Rap on 6 lb line. Sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesnt but don't be afraid to change up those baits.

Last weekend myself, my son Andrew and Donnie Ball of Pigeon Forge headed below Douglas Dam for a day of fishing. Armed with 10 dozen minnow and a box of Verlin Whaley Crappie Flies we started bouncing jigs off the bottom. We caught alot of Bluegill's and several big Crappie. The smaller Saugers were biting hard but we knew if we stayed at it we would find us a larger fish. Andrew was fishing one of our famous Dott Ball homemade fly rods, spinning guides on a 7'6" 4 weight blank with a spinning handle installed. Andrew noticed an odd feeling and then a monster bite......and the fight was on. After a good 5 minute fight on 4 lb test line, Andrew eased a monster Walleye to the surface only to have Donnie gently place it into the boat as the hook slid out. Talk about a close call. Attached you will find a picture of Andrews Walleye, his largest to date.

Up on Douglas Lake the Smallmouth and Largemouth are both biting with several caught by us on Jigs and small Worms. We have caught some numbers on smaller Rattle Traps near shallow water where the sun has warmed the waters to over 58 degrees and the shad are very active. With the coming 80 degree weather for all of next week you can expect the lid to blow off the Lake fishing. Bass will move shallow, Crappie will move even shallower and good numbers will be caught.

Dale Noland

Building Fly Rods

For Christmas this year I thought it would be fun to build a couple of fly rods for two of my favorite people in my family. My son Andrew and my future son in law Stan. I have been building rods for a number of years and although it sounds very complicated the process is actually very simple. First off decide what type of fishing your gonna be doing with your new fly rod, size it accordingly and call up either Jann's Netcraft or Cabela's and order your components or kit. This year I ordered a kit for Andrews true fly rod and components for Stans Hybrid fly rod. Yes , there are such animals as Hybrid Fly Rods, here in the Smokies we have adapted to tying a Fly Rod with Spinning Guides so we can fish straight monofiliment line without the backing or fly line and we often use either spinning reels or antique Johnson Century reels. Its far easier to "shoot" a fly with a split shot up under the hanging brush than wade the river and false cast for hours to hit the same spot, thus the creation of the Hybrid.

I ordered up a 5 wt 7'6" flyrod for andrew and a 4 wt 7'6" for stan. I find the stiffer action of the 5 wt is alittle better when teaching a new flyfisherman how to "push" the line when casting. I installed a rosewood reel seat, western tapered cork handle and snake guides to complete andrews rod. I used bright blue and yellow for the wrappings since these are andrews football colors at Gatlinburg Pittman High School in Gatlinburg Tennessee.

I wrapped stans rod with purple and yellow gold for LSU colors (although it was tough on a Vol Fan to do so) using Fuji Spinning Guides. There are some simple steps to building rods.
1. spine the rod to see where the rod droops. look down the blank and when the tip drops mark the top
    with tape and you will install the guides directly below the drop.
2. you will have to sand the inside of the grips and graphite arbors to make them fit your rod
    at the base. I use a round file and rasp. Just keep sliding them on and off as you file until you get
    a perfect fit.
3. make sure your aligned with your spine and prepare some 5 minute epoxy mix. glue on your arbors,
    glue on your handle and reel seat and winding check at the top of the cork handle. Allow to dry.
4. go online to find the guide layout for the rod your building and either tape or glue the eyelets into
    place before wrapping, making sure they are straight with the spine.
5. go to youtube and watch someone wrap a guide, its the easiest way to learn how to wrap.
    Pull the tag line back through the windings for a neat finished look.
6. After wrapping then its time to finish the threads. If you don't have a drying setup then just be ready
    to apply many thin coats and spend the time to turn the rod slowly until the finish tacks up.
7. Allow everything to fully cure before final sanding of the cork handle. Your now ready to put
    on the finishing touches. If you want to apply a name or the stats for the rod you have built,
    use either modeling paint and small brushes or a Silver Sharpie to write down you stats.
8. Now the most important step............go try out your new rod and enjoy catching fish on a rod
    that cannot be bought.....and that they do not produce.....

Options for a true custom East Tennessee Fly Rod is to install a Spinning Handle with Spinning
Guides so to fully make a true Hybrid fit for a King. Install a small ultralight reel and some 4 lb test with about 3 feet of 3x leader , a number 6 aberdeen hook and 2 split shot and hold on.......

I hope this has allowed a bit of ease when thinking about building a fly rod for you pleasure. Its actually pretty easy to do and the rewards are great.

Spinner Fishing For Trout

Over the past 35 years I have witnessed just about any type of bait being used for Trout. I have seen the usual baits such as Corn, Dough Balls, Worms, Crickets etc etc   along with a myriad of plastic baits such as rubber Hellgramites and Grubs down to the lowly Spinner. Of all of the above mentioned baits the most misused and misunderstood baits is the spinner. In line Spinners come in a variety of sizes and shapes and colors as well as weights. I figured out years ago that they make all these different sizes and colors to be more appealing to the customer not the fish.

I started out using a Spinner as a child in Washington State. The tried and true Rooster Tail was made not far from where I grew up and the bait was a standard in the Wenatchee River for Trout and Steelhead. After moving to Tennessee in 1974 I soon realized that there was many different ways to fish a spinner. In Washington State most anglers Jigged the Spinners up off of the rocks in the larger pools to get the big Steelheads to bite, mostly on instinct of the flash. In Tennessee most anglers retrieved the Spinners so as to cover allot of water and not get hung up so much on the bottom. After many years we locals here in the Gatlinburg Area found a very nice in between Spinner that could be jigged, retrieved and even casted upstream and would not hang up when fishing with the current.
This Spinner is the "Joe's Fly Spinner". It is a copy of a Mepps In line wire Spinner with a nice Trout Fly attached on the end. This Spinner has no weight to it so you must attach a couple of BB size split shot up the line about 8-10 inches. This Spinner can be cast upstream and fluttered with the current in a more natural presentation. It can be retrieved much slower than a weighted Spinner so it is very fishable in colder water such as in the middle of winter. When it comes to colors there is one basic rule of thumb, Black Body, Gold Blade. A number 8 size Spinner Blade in Gold seems to draw out the most strikes and we all know that a Black Body is the best color to be highlited against the sky. After all, Trout eat for two reasons, hunger and natural reaction. So, like Henry Ford, you can choose any color you want as long as it is BLACK.

With the advent of many different weighted spinners most anglers only knew to quickly retrieve them from across the current and hopefully a trout would catch up to them to bite. There is no greater shame than to see a misinformed angler reeling a Spinner at a very fast pace and the Trout just can't catch up.
The next time you head out to the river to catch some Trout take along a few Joe's Fly's and rig them up on some 4 lb test with a couple of spit shot and see if they work as good for you as they do for me.

dale noland

Trout Report for 11/26/11, 11/27/11

Friday 11/26/11
This is the first of many articles to come concerning Trout Fishing in and around the Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge area.

My name is Dale Noland and I am a semi-retired Guide from the Sevierville Tennessee area. I have been writing Freelance articles about fishing and the great outdoors for over 20 years. This past weekend myself and my son, Andrew Noland, 14 yr , decided to hit the river for some early winter Trout fishing. We found the water alittle on the high side but perfect for this time of year. We decided to start on the spur (road between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg) and proceeded to one of our favorite holes to see if there was any feeding going on. We found that the majority of the Rainbows were setting at the lower end of the pools of water and they were actively feeding.

We were using 7'6" flyrods with spinning reels spooled with 4 lb Trilene XT. We were using approximatley 30" of 3x leader and a single #6 Aberdeen Hook and 2 split shots for weight. Today we were using our old standbye for bait, Dough Balls, hand made from bread and finished off with Garlic Salt. In the first hole of water we caught and released 23 Rainbows with a Large Trout in the 25" range. That one is the cover picture for my Blog home page.
We proceeded up the Spur, stopping at about every hole of water and at each hole found the same response. We caught about 20 or so in each hole of water we visited and finished up with approximately 135 or so Trout caught and released.

On Saturday 11/27/11  Andrew and I had the priviledge to fish with Lance McQueary  who is a pilot for the Tennessee Air National Guard in Nashville Tennessee. Lance was sent to me by my niece Danielle who is also a pilot in the Guard. She wanted me to show him how to catch fish here in the mountains and we were happy to ablige him. Andrew showed lance how to bait up and where to throw and in just a few casts Lance was reeling in a very nice 15" Rainbow. Lance was very excited and asked if all of our Trout were gonna be this big and we both told him no, he would probably catch some even bigger on this trip. He was eager to move on so after catching 8 nice Trout in the first hole we were up the river to another hotspot. Keep in mind that on any given Saturday in the Gatlinburg Area you will find someone fishing in just about every hole of water in the river. Fortunetly for us, most of those out of state anglers are not as proficiant at catching Rainbows as we are.

We fished hard for about 5 hours and Lance ended up keeping his limit for dinner, he caught and released about 30 or so Trout and had a very good time fishing with our light weight tackle. I am sure he was impressed with Andrews ability to find and catch good quality Rainbows but after all, he did have one of the best teachers around, me. 

On Sunday 11/28/11 I received a call from Donnie Ball of Pigeon Forge (long time fisherman and my best friend) wanting to go catch some trout for a local resident that can't get out and fish due to health concerns. Myself, Donnie, Andrew and my future son-in law Stan Morris headed up towards Gatlinburg for some friendly competition.  In the first hole of water we fished I took andrew downstream with me to show him one of old dad's secrets. We fished one of the many rock wall curves between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and I showed andrew how there is always a big hold over Trout in one of the pockets beneath the walls. On Andrew's first cast he set the hook only to find a very pretty 15" Rainbow with all of its fins and color fighting on the end of the line. Talk about a proud dad, seeing my son pick up on one of my many secrets so quickly and then seeing him swing that large rainbow up onto the bank. 

In the next 2 hours I witnessed about 40 Rainbows caught and released along with 20 that went into the cooler for our family in need. We all kept a limit of Trout and had a blast trying to out do the others. I find allot of fun can be had in teaching someone new how to Trout Fish, but, theres even more fun when you keep a few tricks to yourself and catch several good trout out from under your son-in laws feet while he scratches his head. All in all we had a banner weekend, lots of fish in the river and the best part is the majority of all of these Rainbows were released to fight another day. I encourage everyone to get out and enjoy a day on the river, light line, light rods and a little luck and you to can catch some of our local Rainbows.

One last thing to remember,  starting December 1, 2011 , the river is shut down to catch and release only , single hook only and Artificial Baits only. No Corn, DoughBalls, PowerBait etc...etc.....only spinners, plastic baits or hand tied flies can be used and DO NOT KEEP THE FISH ! 

I hope everyone gets out and enjoys the areas many streams and rivers, give thanks to the Lord, and above all, GOOD FISHING!