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It can be even worse that that video beneath big dams like T.V.A.'s. Folks have drowned who were wearing PFD's. A hefty hydraulic effect can still hold you underwater. I almost drowned in a meek hydraulic on the Hiwassee River, the de-watered part above the Apalachia Powerhouse. When I was a teenager I went on float trips with my church group. We'd already been down the Little T a a couple of times, so, somebody decided we should try the Hiwassee River. Nobody understood how de-watered the stretch between Apalachia Dam and it's powerhouse was. We had to drag our canoes over nearly every shoal. I was pushing the front of the canoe over a shoal. My partner had the rear. Thinking the dried up shoal was meek, I jumped in holding the rail of the canoe but the water pulled me right down into the deep hole the river had dug out. I'm 6 feet tall and I never touched bottom. I was held under for about 45 seconds. I kept trying to swim up and I could see arms reaching down for me. On about my forth attempt to swim up I got up enough to have my wrist grabbed and was pulled out...I had drifted a few feet downstream and the pull was lessened. You'd never think it could be this dangerous in an egregiously de-watered river but that was a close call! Water is so much more powerful than than many folks can apparently conceive.

At about 1:36, you can see someone come out of the dam house and watch. I thought they were working on taking all the low water dams out of the river systems?

I feel your pain getting a whuppin from the back of the boat.but if my boss wants to fill the livewell...i just say " get out the knife sweety"...i didnt clean all these,heck no....you forgot putting the seat down..

Yesterday, Gary W.& I GOT 12 crappie. Today, I took the "boss" & she put me to shame, at least for the first half. I couldn't throw her out of the boat, so I had to ENDURE IT! Then, I got my bearings again & pulled ahead. We put 28 in the livewell. Now, IF I COULD ONLY GET HER TO BAIT HER OWN HOOK & LEARN HOW TO FILET THEM----- dada 3-27-18 6:23 PM

Made through the tornadoes and caught my pb 7.0 even thanks for all the great info red traps jerkbaits and swimbaits worked best caught one dink on a frog also

I am retired, move a little slow, looking to fish more often. Retired so I can fish any day of the week. Rigged for stripers on Cherokee, wanting to learn more about Douglas crappies. Every now and then might drive a little further. Can take of leave bass fishing, but would like to target all the big stuff at one time or another, making check offs on the bucket list. Musky one day. Looking to have fun on the water, easy going floating, catch some or not, throw some back some time and then sometimes put my Cajun background in cooking to the test. All the time being respectful of this areas great and bountiful resources. Message me on this site, we can meet up for coffee and talk fish and set up a trip.

Dave is currently in the hospital with heart related problems. He is having some tests done today, should know more soon. Please keep him in your prayers for a speedy full recovery.

They didnt have pfds on and was anchored. Just asking for trouble.

The water temps are low for this time of year. I think that a lot of fish have been delayed in spawning because of all the high water the past 6 weeks. Now, Fontana has cut it's releases the last few days to fill up the lake. The temps will go up. Fontana is a refrigeration machine. It's releases very seldom go above 50 degrees even in the summer. I was really encouraged by how many baitfish I saw. You can see one in the picture of the Rainbow with the hoochie. It coughed up a minnow when I got it in the boat. It's right below the fish's stomach in the picture. I saw very few blips that represented large fish feeding on the bait. There were hundreds of small pods of bait in the mid lake area.

Those folks who fish with me, like dada, know that I make my own flies. I vary size between 1/16oz, 1/32 oz, and sometimes 1/24 oz, depending on conditions. I usually tip my jigs with minnows, however, sometimes when fishing brush piles I use a grub instead of a minnow. The problem I run into is that even adding a little superglue to the hook, the grub works it's way down the shank of the hook. Soooooooo, I do what smart folks do when they want answers (when dada is out fishing, and isn't available), I go to the internet for information. I found a little trick that seems to work pretty good. I apply a little gel type superglue to the shank of the hook, wrap dental floss around the shank, add a little more superglue, then slide the grub up onto the hook. This is the best method I have found to be able to keep the grub up tight cast after cast. Even mister crappie won't normally pull the grub down from it's original position. Hope this tid bit helps. Graham

I finally had gotten a day off first one I've had in 22 days. I went up to the hiwassee with a really good friend of mine and we had a blast. We fished a leach pattern tied on a size 14 streamer hook. I released 44 fish myself. My buddy did just as well. I did manage 1 rainbow 18 inches and fat. All in all it was a really good time.

I went to Chilhowee this past Tuesday to fish and run my new outboard some towards my break-in. The fishing was slow. I managed 2 very small Rainbows on a pink & purple hoochie and a Smallmouth on a plug. I saw very few fish on sonar. I saw lots of baitfish on sonar in the mid lake area. One of the little Rainbows coughed up a minnow when I got it in the boat. I'm wondering if some of the bait I saw was schools of small Rainbows...? I think that fishing has been extra slow because most of the adult fish have been trying to spawn but had a hard time doing so because of so much high water....??? I suspect most of the fish have been up either Abrams Creek or above the Calderwood Powerhouse looking for love...??? The surface water was 48 when I arrived in the morn and went up to 49 by late afternoon on this very cloudy day. I may head to Watauga next time out. Chilhowee is gonna need a few seasons to get back in it's groove, it would seem....

Way back in the 70s, I saw this same scene in Wilmington, Ill, Kankakee River & thought it was a close friend. With just a boat & no bodies visable, I waded in & pulled the boat to slack waters downstream. Tho I waded these waters & knew every stone, I was told by an officer that I was "stealing" the boat, at which time I almost cussed him out, but didn't. Then the Fire Chief there chastised me for wading there & pulling the boat in. I never told him that I was in charge of water rescue at my own fire Department & knew the risks. The fishermen on that boat were killed & I tied the boat up & left. As a footnote, dams will spill boats , logs, people over & over & not let go!!!!! Be safe. dada 3-29-18 6:06 PM

Been very busy with test and Doctor appointments. More to go. Thanks to everyone for the Prayers Remember, you only have one Mother, enjoy them every day

Hit Watts Bar last Thursday and Friday. Marked all kinds of bait in Caney Creek on Thursday but got skunked had a few small pickups and runs but would spit it out the minute the line tightened up. I figure they were off due to the severe cold front that had passed through Wednesday. I went back Friday and the action had picked up considerably I caught one 34 pounder and several dinks.

Muskyman, Not much of a fly maker, but the ones I get are thin hair rather than the pictured Doll flys . Seems the ones with less will catch more crappie. Remember that crappie will change their color preferences in less than a day, so have a few colors available. Last week, pink was catching them. Friday, green/chartruse did, AND they wanted plastics rather than hair with a minnow . Finally, some crappie are being caught right against the bank. ( per other fishermen) Now, if we can slow down the rain for Monday------ Water temp Friday was 50.7 below Dandridge ramp. dada 3-25-18 8AM

Tried Indian today, early , it was chilly early. All we caught seemed to be in 10-17 ft of water. Tried the banks early with no luck, long lining in an outside the bridge brought in 27, only 1 limit though.

Yes minnows long lining

Gary W. & I fished down from Dandridge & put 22 in the box. Not as good as the 30 from last week, but the 50+ water temp slowed things down some. Long lineing with minnows . dada 3-23-18 10 PM

That is a good choice, with the larger hook giving more room for plastics & minnows on it. I get them in bulk, 100 at a time. When I got the smaller ones, I had to use pliers & bend the points out in order to properly hook the crappie. Sometimes, I dip the heads in yellow or red fingernail paint. After Thompson Doll Flies were invented & produced here in Knoxville years ago, (also known as :pinky jigs) these red hooked jigs are the best. dada 3-14-18 8:50 AM

Thanks to thoughtful fisherman friends for comfort and shared beliefs.

This explains all the squirrels I see hitchhiking on Norris Freeway. I have stopped several times and picked them up. I ask where they are heading and they always tell me back to Dave’s place. I guess you don’t want me dropping them off anymore?

Thanks for the prayers fellas. The MAN UPSTAIRS is shakjng HIS finger at me for not taking my pills as the doctor ordered. The tests said no open heart surgery or more stints at this time. Even my wife said I wasn't ALLOWED to go fishin' today----Shucks. dada 4-16-16 3:30 PM

Just talked to Dave, he is now home. He had some blood pressure issues that got corrected. He is in good spirits and wanted to go fishing tomorrow, lol. I think his wife talked him out of it, he needs to stay home and rest a couple of days so he can be back to 100%. The crappie had better look out, dada is coming for them soon.

Fland49, Wrong side of the state, made a lot of tracks out that way chasing oilfield pipe in late 70'and early 80's, but never dropped a line on that side of the state. My tracks on hard ground, soft ground and water...are on a 100 mile…a little larger than 180 degree arc… going east of Barataria…Lafitte…20 miles south of New Orleans Upland, Bayou, Marsh southeast La…and a little ways out in the open water…I brought fear into anything that was edible