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A Little Dam’s Variety
By VERNON SUMMLERLIN
I love the variety of waters we have to fish in Middle Tennessee. Today I want to tell you about the variety of fish you can catch below one of our smaller dams - Cordell Hull - a place that gets little pressure from us who live nearer the Nashville area.
Bank fishing is excellent! Several sets of concrete steps lead to the water on both banks and you can walk along the riprap below the dam. Generally, the west bank is best for trout, catfish and rockfish and the east bank is good for the other species. Let’s let an expert, Jerry Fisher from Gordonsville, tell you more about the fishing.
Jerry likes fishing below Cordell Hull Dam from the catwalk on the western side for catfish, rockfish, sauger, stripe, and anything that’s biting. He says, “When there is one generator running, I fish for stripe and rockfish. I use spoons, small shad, anywhere from one-inch to four inches long, and Slug-Go’s work real good for rockfish. Spoons, minnows and live worms are what I use stripe.”
Jerry says the same species are active when two generators are running but when the third one comes on, “I catch walleye and sauger. I don’t catch many trout up here; I think the rockfish keep them run out.”
Minnows, worms, liver, shad guts and cut baits are the enticements he recommends for catfish. “I catch more on minnows.” Jerry moves to the other side of the river to catch cats in the backwater by the lock wall. “I usually catch catfish in front of the generators when they aren’t running, but my best luck is on the other side of the river.”
Crappie, sauger and bream are caught on the backside of the lock too. Jerry pointed to the corner where the dam and catwalk join, “That’s where you can catch a lot of bluegill in the evening.”
The sun goes behind the bluff early afternoon and the shadows seem to bring the fish close to the generators. It’s easy fishing from the catwalk but you can walk down the rocks to and fish the riprap.
There are three launching ramps below the dam. One is accessed in Carthage below the TN 25 bridge and is a five-mile trek upstream to the dam but is very close to the mouth of the Caney Fork River. The other two ramps are on opposite banks below the dam. Go through Carthage on TN 263 and follow the signs to access the west bank ramp. Go east from Carthage on US 70N and turn north on Horseshoe Bend Road and follow the signs to access the east bank ramp.
The mouth of the Caney Fork River is between Carthage and the dam and is a productive fishing area. The same species of fish are caught at the mouth of the Caney Fork as below the dam.
The dam is 769 feet wide with three generators. The spillway section is 291 feet wide with five spillways. The last section is the lock, 168 feet wide.
The water level varies with generation. With that in mind here are a few relative depths. In front of the powerhouse you will find depths of 30 feet. At the junction of the powerhouse wall and the spillway there is an abrupt rise to 17-foot depth that continues to the lock wall. There is a two-foot step up from that 17-foot depth that runs from the lock to the powerhouse.
The lock wall bulges out irregularly toward the discharge area. It is 20 feet deep next to that wall and rises to 14
feet deep toward the main channel then falls back to 20 feet deep. Fish hold where the bottom makes these changes. The end of the lock wall is also 20 feet deep and an excellent place to fish, especially cats and stripe.
All these big and little step-ups and walls are road signs to the fish. If you drop your bait in the 15-foot depth in front of the spillway you may not entice the fish holding below the lip at 17 feet to rise for a bite. Small drops and scooped out pockets in the bottom’s gravel and mud will hold fish.
During generation a big eddy forms in front of the spillway. Drifting and jigging the eddy is a productive tactic. Dropping anchor and fishing the ends of the walls is also productive. Much depends on how many generators are in operation.
Beware during times of no generation or low flow. Some areas are less than two feet below the surface and have done considerable harm to outboard props and lower units, including mine.
Night fishing is very good below the dam too. You may want to try this smaller dam for some Happy Hooking!
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