any suggestions on ramps near the dam.
boat ramps near Watts Bar dam?
- Thread starter WTM
- Start date
larry ipock
Well-Known Member
Above or below?
below, tailwater.
larry ipock
Well-Known Member
Coming from Spring City, go across dam. I think its the first right as soon as you cross the dam. You should be able to see the ramp from the dam as you go across . Its not that far downstream, less than a mile from the dam after you put in if I remember correctly. Been a long time. LOL Use to sauger fish in winter, white bass in spring, and fish for cats in the summer. Just got tired of the 83 mi. one way drive from, and then 83 mi. trip home. Good times tho.
Smo
Well-Known Member
WTM, while your there .... Uncle Gus's BBQ in Ten Mile, ( just up the road) is a great place too eat.
I recommend the brisket sandwich with fried chips and their homemade jalapeño ranch dippin' sauce..
It's only a few miles (<10) from the ramp mentioned. They have a web site... closed Sun& Monday if I remember correctly.
Enjoy your trip!
I recommend the brisket sandwich with fried chips and their homemade jalapeño ranch dippin' sauce..
It's only a few miles (<10) from the ramp mentioned. They have a web site... closed Sun& Monday if I remember correctly.
Enjoy your trip!
The ramp Larry mentioned is a TVA ramp. It is the one most people use to fish the tail waters, as it is just a short ride up stream to the dam....you can see the dam from the ramp.
A few words of warning about it though. That ramp is off the main road and you don't want to be the last vehicle in the parking lot if you catch my drift. Vehicles are bad about getting broken into there. Certain times of the year, the vultures will come roost there around the parking lot. I don't know what it is about them, but they like rubber and they will land on your vehicles and eat your windshield seals, wipers, etc. The ramp itself is a steep ramp. I've seen many a vehicle end up down in the water right there from the ramp getting slick and inexperienced drivers trying to pull their boat back up it. If they are running flood gates or a lot of turbines, the way the current angles toward the ramp, it can make it hard to load and unload there if you've never done it. The current will want to push you sideways.
There's another ramp at the Hwy 30 crossing of the river but that would be a decent far run to get to the dam from there.
Some people will put in at the ramp above the dam and just lock through...it is a much nicer ramp with a dock, and the Meigs County police do patrol it quite a bit BUT then you have the hassle of locking thru twice if you are fishing the tail water. Your best bet is to go early and fish while the thugs are still in bed lol. They don't start stirring til the after noon.
A few words of warning about it though. That ramp is off the main road and you don't want to be the last vehicle in the parking lot if you catch my drift. Vehicles are bad about getting broken into there. Certain times of the year, the vultures will come roost there around the parking lot. I don't know what it is about them, but they like rubber and they will land on your vehicles and eat your windshield seals, wipers, etc. The ramp itself is a steep ramp. I've seen many a vehicle end up down in the water right there from the ramp getting slick and inexperienced drivers trying to pull their boat back up it. If they are running flood gates or a lot of turbines, the way the current angles toward the ramp, it can make it hard to load and unload there if you've never done it. The current will want to push you sideways.
There's another ramp at the Hwy 30 crossing of the river but that would be a decent far run to get to the dam from there.
Some people will put in at the ramp above the dam and just lock through...it is a much nicer ramp with a dock, and the Meigs County police do patrol it quite a bit BUT then you have the hassle of locking thru twice if you are fishing the tail water. Your best bet is to go early and fish while the thugs are still in bed lol. They don't start stirring til the after noon.
k thanks guys. found that ramp on my maps. got some time off the next few months. hopefully i can get up there before the water temp hit 45 or i will wait until march and april.
larry ipock
Well-Known Member
WTM, don't know if you like to Sauger fish, but it should be getting good there anytime.
larry ipock":y54e2e5t said:
yeah i do but the last few years have been tough, maybe it will get better. the last limit i caught was 4 years ago and hadnt been able to fish for them much because of flooding. so i hear twra has been replacing them with walleye and they do pretty good on chickamauga and watts bar. some have been catching limits of walleye the last couple of weeks so i figure what the heck. hopefully this spring will be better but i dont know, we got about 4" of rain yesterday.
Smo
Well-Known Member
There's some good crappie fishing spots over that way as well...
I worked with a Guy that could wear em' out during the cold months.
Soddy Daisy area..
I worked with a Guy that could wear em' out during the cold months.
Soddy Daisy area..
One of my good friends at work is a walleye fisherman. He can catch them when nobody else can and he mostly fishes the tailwaters. He caught one over 8 lbs earlier this year. That may not be big for a walleye fisherman but that's a big fish to me. He said last week they were catching a bunch of them below Watts Bar but they are mostly throw backs. Last year at this time, he said it was the opposite...nearly every fish was keeper size and very few throw backs. He said a lot were fishing for them at the arrival point if that helps.
