Fishing - J. Percy Priest Night Life

Charles Summers called me the other day to see if I wanted to share a final
fishing trip on his Nitro, and how could I resuse? With daytime temperatures
pushing one hundred degrees the last few days, we waited until 8 PM to put
in at Elm Hill Marina on J. Percy Priest to take advantage of cooler night
temperatures. The city lights of Nashville, LaVergne, and Smyrna reflect off
the nighttime clouds and

At dusk, we combed the submerged roadbed that runs along the south side of
Hamilton Creek with buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastic worms, but we met
with no success until we moved north to fish the around the Elm Hill Park
ramp. Bass frequently move from the nearby river channel to the shallow
flats around that courtesy dock and ramp, attracted by the minnows and shad
fry that are drawn to the parking lot lights.

Our first bass of the evening, a four-pound largemouth with a six-pounder's
frame, looked like it could use a few good meals to fatten up, and it
crushed my Secret Weapon 5/16-ounce Midnight Snack spinnerbait with a black
#5 Colorado blade. We snapped a quick photo (posted on ABPF), released the
fish unharmed, and fished on around the point, working northward along the
bluffs with jigs and 7-inch Berkley Power Worms.

Fish repeatedly pecked at and grabbed the baits and stripped our worms off
the hooks several times. Although most attempts to connect resulted in a
swing and a miss, we managed to pick up for more largemouth bass -- two more
of them over the 15-inch minimum -- before reaching the mouth of Elm Hill
Marina cove at 11:30 PM.

Joe