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Need help on Old Hickory

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waynesworld

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 13, 2012
Messages
3,212
Location
Shelbyville, Tennessee
I have just rented a slip at Cherokee marina and put my boat in. Now I have one year to see if it is worth keeping a boat and a slip. I brought the boat new three years ago and hardly used it the first three years. The reason before was the time it took to take to lake and spend time trying to find fish was more time then I had. I have since changed jobs to one with not as much time needed and flexible hours. Now I need some people that want to go fishing because I have no idea how to fish this area. I use to live in SD and MN where we would troll the river using bottom bouncers and plugs or fish with plugs in weed beds and it has been many years that i use to fish much. My boat is a 18ft Alumacraft with humming bird electronics that i am still learning to use. I will take any input anyone has even if they can't go fishing. I would love to here of some great places to go with grandchildren that would be able to keep them entertained, even if they are catching small fish. I am not asking for anyone's honey hole that holds their tournament winning bass just some idea on where to have some fun and put some fish in the freezer. PM me if you are interested in helping :super:
 
Be careful running on that end of the lake. Lots of shallow water ones you get out of the river and creek channels. You should be able to find panfish for the kiddos fairly easy in Spencer and Station Camp creeks
 
I'm sure that you have already covered this issue, but just in case it hasn't come to mind, you need to check into the maintenance issue of boats in slips (unless you also have a lift that gets the hull out of the water). Even though it isn't as bad as being in salt water, bad stuff will grow on your hull unless you pull it out on a frequent basis and clean it. I found this out years ago when I docked my patrol boat at a marina on Douglas Lake for 5-6 weeks before putting it back on the trailer. It really saved time responding to calls to not have to trailer it to the lake and put it in. But, I certainly didn't realize the mess I was going to have to deal with. When I pulled it out, the hull that was in the water was covered with crud. Even going straight from the marina to a pressure washer, the algae and crud almost didn't come off. It was not a fun afternoon.

If it will link, here is an article on bottom paint if the hull is going to be in the lake for long periods of time: https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/ ... _-BANR1001

Bottom paint is largely associated with saltwater docking and a variety of marine growths you deal with in the salt. However, the article also talks about issues in freshwater. I'd hate to see your almost new boat get degraded.
 
To be honest it really isn't a good idea to keep a small boat like that in the water, if you become proficient in loading and unloading a boat it won't add but maybe 10-15 mins to your fishing trip.

Sent from my moto g(7) play using Tapatalk
 
Joe, thanks I did notice that it was a lot shallower then I thought it would be. I will try those two some time when I go out. I can get to the channel easy and from there can fly to the fishing spots. SCN I did see two of the TWRA boats are in the docks next to the one i rented. They have lifts guess the state learned off your hard work :) i did hear that this lake is real dirty so i know i will have to pull it our and wash every other week. But the one nice thing about alum is the power sprayers work on most crud. I know I did see a noticeable issue in salt when i took it down to FL and had in slip for 10 days. Aqua i understand some people have a place for their boat at the house and can load and unload real easy but if i didn't keep it there i would have to keep it at the farm in Shelbyville and i stay in Nashville during the week so then any fishing during the week is out. Also the slip is covered and has water and elect to maintain the boat. If we like this boat after this year we may get a lift to keep it out of the water. I use to live in MN and we would keep our boats in the water all summer. One question though is with the water being so dirty would you all put the muffs on and run the engine after use?

Any other suggestions on fishing? I was watching some people fishing for strippers on OH and they had what looked like a plug with a roster tail attached behind it. Any of you run that? and how? It looked like he was trolling off the motor.
 
@SCN, you just need to run aground at full throttle every once in a while like a real googan. Scrubs the growth right off.

I used to keep my old 24 Morgan in the water in FL. One of the best boats I ever owned. If it's still around it probably still has tarpon slime stuck to the deck from when it was common practice to bring them in the boat for a picture.

To the OP, I'm no help on OHL or in freshwater at all for that matter but I'd enjoy hearing your reports, successful or otherwise.
 

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