Place is crawling with walleye. I've watched them spawn a lot. I think the fluctuations in the lake kill the eggs. I firmly believe they would reproduce if the lake didn't fluctuate 10' right after they spawn.
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TN Walleye
- Thread starter UTgodevil23
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Setterman
Well-Known Member
EWC likely knows better than me, but I think the walleye spawn
Biggun4214
Well-Known Member
The hoop nets on the Clinch may have a bearing on walleye reproduction.
PickettSFHunter
Well-Known Member
One of the hardest parts of catching walleye here is to not be directly upstream of a net stretched from bank to bank. It's a big deal, they'll have scouts on the roads watching for the wardens and assembly lines to run all the fish up the hill fast. You basically just have to let all those guys fill their freezers and be done with it then the legal fisherman can catch what's left. TWRA tries enforcement but you can't beat the locals teamed up together, they'll have grandma and grandpa watching the roads and the kids helping haul, just how it is.
Walleye spawn on the upper Clinch and Powell. Above 34 on the Clinch and above 17 on Powell.
Check water flow. That's the key.
Above 2,000 cfs on either catch rates went to zero.
Clinch @ Tazewell
Powell @Arthur
Put in at Beech Grove on Clinch
Earls Hollow on Powell
I was the last to net on the clinch. You're completely out of the loop. TWRA asked me to shock instead of netting. Get better info. TWRA actually cares about this fishery.
PickettSFHunter
Well-Known Member
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
they try. i've caught walleye up past Kyles Ford on the Clinch.
Wrong. Walleye reproduce robustly.
Rockfish need 3-4 days of flowing water to reproduce. That doesn't happen. Zero reproduction of Striped Bass.
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
i used to think that the Holston might hit that mark, but they've started filling Cherokee Lake up earlier & earlier each year. last two years, there were boats trolling where i used to wade below the steam plant after turkey season... gotta keep boaters happy. used to see jet boats bottomed out on gravel bars below the "bridge that aint" trying to get upstream early on. steam plant boat ramp back open now though.
I took a guided trip last year. Captain Scott Lilly said the best fishing was just before and just after a full moon. We hit just right. We trolled crankbaits below Watts Barr, and they hit different ones all day. No color preference. This was my best fish:
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
fellow employee says the bite is on below Loudon, trolling Rapalas. multiple fish over 22"...
killingtime 41
Well-Known Member
Are you talking about Rogersville steam plant. If so I haven't fished it since they converted to natural gas. Is it still good for walleye/sauger and crappie now that they converted it. Use to be a hot spot back in the day.
Kevin Snook
Well-Known Member
Back in the 80s I fished there at the steam plant and the river down to the "Booty" hole probably 5days a week year round.. I loved fishing the wall.. Caught a lot of big saugeyes back then but I don't reckon they do them anymore
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I've watched plenty of walleyes moving up just downstream of Grissom Island.
My neighbors tells me stories of when they would dynamite, net guys down river, and sold in Knoxville.
My neighbors tells me stories of when they would dynamite, net guys down river, and sold in Knoxville.
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
i haven't been there since the conversion either. been meaning to paddle up in my canoe and check it out. they filled in the little backwater on the town side of the river, it used to be the most reliable spot for crappie.
unsure if converted plant still sends warm water into the river via the canal. walleye/sauger really concentrated there, along with the stripes & rockfish in cold weather. if i can get there this weekend, i'll post a report and let you know.Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
didn't make it (WAY too cold) but have been informed that the new steam plan set-up with natural gas does not generate heated water as the coal plant did. cool water in, cool water out... should make the river below there much better for aquatic life in warmer months. used to see rockfish rolling on surface dying trapped between the outlet canal and what little cooler water was coming over the dam itself. hot water doesn't hold much oxygen, and stripers need cooler water anyway...
