Lunchtime again...

[AtticaFish]

Went to fish tinkers dam today for the 1st time this year. talk about bad timing Hays - river has dropped back down 8" or better since you were here. :-/ still muddied up tough... we should have just fished darn it!

I hid in the back room for a few minutes just before lunch and tied up an 1/8th oz. jig with some new black pearl cactus chenille i got a few days ago, drk. olive rabbit zonk and a few black silicone legs - tied it on my line when i got to the river. very first cast to the edge of the white-water at the bottom of the dam, caught a 13.5" smallie! never jumped but it ran like crazy!!! pic:

About 5 casts later, caught another that ran 11". this shows the jig a little better... only one i tied and lost it to the rock monsters today. pic:

I had another hooked that shook loose very shortly after. then...... my phone started beeping... and beeping... and beeping. was my wife on the way to the Doc with my 5 year old who was projectile puking everywhere!!! and wouldn't you know it, i was DUMB enough to tell her i was standing in the river fishing. :beat-up: needless to say, i packed it up and walked back to my car. finished up enough work for the day and headed home a few minutes early. oh well... guess where i'm fishin' tomorrow.

BTW - kido is fine, damn they bounce back fast at that age! he was bouncing off the walls by bedtime since we kept feeding hime jello, popsicles and gatorade to keep him hydrated.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Great looking smallie hole,nice looking smallies. You'd better tie up a half dozen more before hitting it again. It's working so keep throwing them. How deep is the hole below the whitewater ? That place looks like it would be loaded with smallies.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I have some bunnys tied up right now,just need to start fishing them. They do have great action in the water.

 

[AtticaFish]

Not very deep. if you look at the first pic, the large flatwater area in the middle of the pic is all only about a foot or so deep. there is a ledge right at the edge of the water coming down that drops to about 3' deep right now, and is that way for the most part across the whitewater. right in the foam and in the eddies on each side is where i get most of the fish from. you go anywhere else in the river, you have to find the bigger rocks in deep water, sometimes catch several fish from just one rock.

Edit - I'm sold on the zonkers for smallies, LMB and crappie! they hold up for a lot of fish. my river jigs, i've been using alot more material than what i use for crappie jigs. this one had 3 zonker strips out the back... looks very thick and fluffy when dry, but slims down alot in the water. the 3 strips will flair out when it hits the bottom similar to how fat tube jig does.

 

[Ron Don]

Man you get to fish in some amazing places! Doesnt look like that round here. Nice catch!

 

[ragged edge]

Nice looking water.............

 

[ScottV]

That's a pretty place to go even if you're not fishing. Looks like somewhere you would hike to in the smokies. Congrats on the catch. Fish are no match for the bunny. LOL

 

[JSC]

Love those kind of places ... Curious .. how old is that dam ?? Looks like it was quite a project whenever it was made.

Looks like that jig is doing its job on those "Lil Mouths" ... Rocks keep U makin jigs and the suppliers of material in business ..

Have A Good One
JSC

 

[flatsrat76]

That's a Damn good looking Dam... =) heeh heeh

 

[AtticaFish]

Ron Don, Ragged Edge & ScottV - You would never believe it from that pic i took, but this is with-in city limits... literally a 1 minute drive from downtown Tiffin. it is a really cool pic now that i look at it, you can't see a single house around. this hole is frequented by many fisherman as well as kids who come to walk across the top of the dam.

JSC - 1921, if you look at the 2nd fish picture, you can see a leak coming through the stones!! here is a link to some info i found about the dam. The Pioneer Mill of Tiffin - it is the website to the restaurant that now over-looks the dam. if you ever come to Tiffin.... i really can't recomend eating at this place though! haha! it's waaaaaay over-priced for the stuf they try to pass off as food. have gotten a good steak there once, but tough to screw that up!

FlatsRat - Damn Right... or is that Dam Right?

 

[JSC]

I will check out the link .. not looking for over priced resturant ... saw to many of them when I was on the road all those many years ....

Thanx
JSC

 

[papaperch]

Attica- as my one signature says 2 best days to fish - The day before you get there and the day after you leave.

I went to a family reunion near where Atticafish lives and I decided to try and squeeze a couple hours fishing in durind the 3 day span. Well mother nature did not co-operate as the river was a mud spa. I had not fished there since the the late 60's real early seventies. My cousin's husband was my guide back then and we wore the fish out back then. Kinda hoped I could re-visit my youth so to speak.

Might be able to hook up in the future as my cousin wants me to visit him again and he does not fish. Sooooooo to be continued.

By the way Atticafish ( Russ ) was as enjoyable in person as he is on the web. But I will still try to kick his britches off on his home waters. Being the competitive jig flinger that I are.

 

[StumpHunter]

Good catch and great pics. I have just started tying with rabbit but I'm not sure I am using enough on my jigs. Have not got to try them out yet but if this weather ever cools down they will get a work out. Thanks for the post and congrats on the catch..

 

[JSC]

Hi
Checked out the link ... Great history of the place ... my kinda stuff ..

Thanx

JSC

 

[crazy angler]

Love it Looks so inviting could set there all day certianly in a hammock!

 

[Lost Pole]

Ha, you sound like me, 'cept I spend a lot of time in my vehicle. Rigged up a vice to the ashtray and no moment is wasted. Even brought a mirror and clippers for beard trimmings when times are rough.
Awesome looking jig and beautiful scenery in your pics.........just gotta look past the carp.

Adam

 

[AtticaFish]

An ashtray vise... that is a new one to me. Could drive out and park by the river and have a much better view than the back room at work.

Thanks for bringing this up - spring fever has me bad and it shows me what is to come. Drove out by the river twice this week just to have a look and take a few pictures. It was 11' higher than the normal flow due to a fast melt of heavy snow and T-Storms all at once. Could not see the dam at all, just a 'bump' in the muddy water with a little extra white-water behind it.