Floating the Caney

[Grandslam11]

Anyone have tips on what to use while floating the Caney below the dam? Ill be fishing out of my kayak and depending on the generation schedule will either be floating to Happy Hollow or Bettys Island. This will be a first for me. I have never really trout fished in my life. I will be using light line and pole, not fly fishing. Thanks for any help.

 

[JimFromTN]

Small spinners ( I prefer inline like panther martin and the vibric rooster tail), small rapala crank baits (I prefer the floaters because you don't have to fish them fast in order to keep them off the bottom), and rebel teeny craws. If you are not too much of a purist and don't mind using bait, night crawlers, corn, and trout magnets. My bait of choice is night crawlers and I ether run them weightless or with a slip sinker behind a tiny split shot about 10 inches or so above the hook.

 

[Grandslam11]

With the crawler do you just throw it out and let it float as you drift with the current? Do my bait of choice need to change depending on the generation schedule?

 

[JimFromTN]

You can do that but you need to keep an eye on it in case it gets snagged on the bottom. You may or may not be able to fish it weightless depending on the speed you are going. You don't want to pull it along the surface but then again you never know what might happen if you do. Bait choice would not need to change in the case of generation but presentation would. If the generation is fairly heavy, you would not be able to fish it weightless.

 

[shorefisherman]

best bet on a kayak right now... i would fish righ when they turn the gens off up by the dam in the morning and float some worms n corns...meanwhile cast spoons like kastmasters...which you can control its depth easily and cover a lot of water...ther some big bows up there now...good ruck

 

[shorefisherman]

also when the water has completely fallen up there....try some corn or rainbow power bait...roll it up like a sperm with a treble hook in the head part and space it with a split shot (adj. according to depth..usually a foot)...the key is to keep the bait off the bottom!!!!

 

[Grandslam11]

Thanks for the help. We will be floating down, due to having my wife with me. I haven't seen the generation schedule yet. So I will want to go when they are not generating?

 

[shorefisherman]

no, time it just right..right when the gens stop...usually few min after the hour thats schedualed to turn off...but there not sluicing now, so you can launch at the left side of dam(facing it) and fish the calm waters while they are generating....when they stop ...float on down..just keep the bait and artificial bait bout 1 ft to 6 inches off the bottom, small marshmellow tipped on a live worm will keep it off the bottm.

 

[MidTennFisher]

Don't even go with out some 2# test line and Trout Magnets! I floated yesterday and caught about 40, one being a 19" Rainbow, all on Trout Magnets. In a kayak you can float it safely with one generator running.

If you float it with a generator running Trout Magnets won't work since they're so light. In that case throw jerkbaits, that's what you catch the real big trout on. Shadow Raps, X-Raps, Trout Cranks, Rattlin Rogues, all work very well for this.

 

[Grandslam11]

MidTEnnFisher: With your trout magnets, do you use a particular color? Do you use a sinker at all? What size hook with the trout magnet? Do i just throw it out and paddle like normal and wait for a bite?

 

[RUGER]

Grandslam11,
This might help ya.
They have videos on youtube too.

http://www.troutmagnet.com/

 

[MidTennFisher]

MidTEnnFisher: With your trout magnets, do you use a particular color? Do you use a sinker at all? What size hook with the trout magnet? Do i just throw it out and paddle like normal and wait for a bite?

Get the Trout Magnet jigheads, they're 1/64 oz. That's why you need 2# test. Use a size B splitshot no more than a 18" above the jighead. You can fish it under a float and drift it over deeper holes and watch for the float to go down or use the twitching method where you cast and give the lure rapid twitches as you're slowly reeling it in. This method is a bit more advanced. I found that slow hopping it on the bottom, only if you can see the lure (don't want to get snagged on 2# test, you'll lose the lure everytime) was working great yesterday. You can see the trout pick it up and set the hook.

My most productive colors are chartreuse, mealworm, bison, and pink.