Old Hickory Lake Guide Service Fishing Report- February 1

Posted by ian on February 2, 2016

Fishing on Old Hickory has been inconsistent over the last several weeks to say the least. Wild weather swings combined with fluctuations in water temp and clarity have made catching challenging at times.  Strong winds have also made it tough to fish spots thoroughly and slow enough to get bit while trying to keep from getting blown off an area. The weather forecast for the upcoming week shows some stability in temperatures which should help the bite. I will take the cool weather as long as things remain somewhat stable overall.

The bass seem to be in their typical winter patterns for Old Hickory with fish being caught shallow and deep for us. We have been catching bass up on shallow flats adjacent to deep water with the key being the deep water close and a pretty quick depth change. If the fish are not up on the flat they have been suspending right off the drop and paralleling the edge with jerkbaits and a rig being most productive. Water depth has been anywhere from 3-10 foot on top with a depth change of only a couple feet to 10+ in other areas. Depth is going to be relevant to the area that you are fishing and don’t think you have to be in super deep water to catch fish. If you are fishing a fairly shallow area a depth change of only several feet can be all you need as long as you are close to the channel, whether it be a creek or ditch, running out of an area being most important. 

The crappie bite has been inconsistent as well but the good days have been good. Crappie have been caught surprisingly shallow this winter and have been willing to eat better closer to dark. If the shallow bite isn’t there we have been tightlining over deep water in 20-30 fow with minnows and jigs being equally effective.

Jerkbaits and A Rigs have gotten 90% of the work for us over the last several weeks and natural colors with chartreuse have been the top producers. When crappie fishing we have had to change up colors about every day and relied on the crappie to tell us what they want. Our most consistant colors have been white/chart, blue/white, blue/chart and black/chart fish on an 1/8 or 1/16^th oz heads.

Winter can be some of the best fishing of the year if you know what to look for and its awesome to basically have the lake to yourself most days! Spring days are starting to book up now so call and get the preferred days now!

Here at OHGS we use brand new high end fishing equipment from Denali Rods, Lews reels, Vicious Line, Fish Terror Baits, Bass Kandi Baits, Eco Pro Tungsten and other top of the line equipment. I am a United States Coast Guard licensed captain and 100% dedicated to making your trip the trip of a lifetime.