I was able to join Ronnie in Paducah. We had a relaxed morning, getting on
the water well after daybreak (and the dawn topwater bite). He had explored
the lower stretch of the Cumberland River -- between Barkley Dam and the
Ohio River, on Tuesday, so Wednesday we pointed Ronnie's new Skeeter ZX 225
toward the mouth of the Tennessee.

First stop was a riprap pile on the lower end of one of the islands below
the mouth of the river. No takers there, but it looked like it should
produce sometimes, and we agreed that point probably got pounded during
tournaments by competitors that make it back to weigh-in ten minutes early.

We ran up the TN, stopping regularly to explore side creeks and structures
that blocked the river current. After noon, a fellow running the banks
searching for artifacts pulled up, and we spent some time soaking up tips
he'd picked up by his 1,000+ days of fishing this stretch of river. Armed
with his advice and with our navigation chart marked with fish-holding
structure, we skipped from one spot to another, studying the contours and
marking waypoints on the GPS. Usually we dropped the trolling motor and
spent a few minutes testing the bottom with TX- and Carolina-rigged creature
baits.

We made a good start in learning the river's secrets yesterday, and had we
hunkered down on any one of five or six areas we located and worked it
thoroughly, we probably would have scratched up more fish. As it was, we
ended the day with only two bass in the boat. On one submerged wing dam,
while Ronnie was taking a cell phone call, I felt a tug on my Carolina rig
and ripped the rod across and upward to set the hook. In mid hook-set, the
rod snapped, sounding like a gunshot. The break was under the front cork
grip above the reel seat, and some fiberglass strands on the left side of
the blank remained intact, so I grabbed the rod up near the first line guide
with my left hand and wound the dangling reel with my right. I was surprised
to discover the fish was even hooked since I really didn't get to drive the
hook home, but I was using 50-pound Spiderwire Stealth (12-lb diameter,
Teflon coated), I guess even my halfway sweep was sufficient. I could tell
immediately that I had a decent smallmouth on, and in a few seconds, Ronnie
lipped a 3-pound+ beauty into the boat for me. This was close to the size of
another he had caught below Barkley Dam the day before, and it encouraged us
both to know that the structure could yield good fish, if worked steadily.

Ronnie is keeping with it today (Thursday) and will return in two weeks for
the BASS Federation southern regional tournament as part of the GA state
team. I think he has a whole lot more confidence after yesterday. That new
Skeeter really smoothed out the chop on the river churned up by wind and
barge traffic! What a great day it turned out to be. We avoided some major
rain systems sweeping through the region, accomplished our goal to learn
something useful about the river, and caught a few fish to boot. We swapped
a few stories, congratulated each other on having survived our early days as
school teachers, and traded some few bass-fishing pointers, and I'm looking
forward to our next outing one of these days.
--
Joe Haubenreich
www.secretweaponlures.com
First real spinnerbait innovation in decades

"RGarri7470" wrote in message
...
I will be in Padauch staying at the Executive Inn next week checking out the
rivers - fishing Tues, May 18 - Thurs May 20. Anyone want to go out with me
one day? I will be doing a lot of riding and looking, and some fishing.
Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com