Muskies.... UGH

[younggun308]

im sure they taste good but in east tn i bet the mercury or pcb levels are fairly high in them, if you watch out for that kind of thing.

Why does East Tennessee have it so bad with river water quality? Runoff from the old copper basin?

 

[WTM]

Why does East Tennessee have it so bad with river water quality? Runoff from the old copper basin?

power generation mostly, mining operations, pulp mills, etc.

 

[Safari Hunt]

FWIW, I don't eat anything from the Tennessee River complex or any other body of water that has inlets from who-knows-where. Don't eat anything from Chattanooga Creek but if a bass is caught on Chickamauga, how do you know where it had some from originally? Farm ponds or isolated lakes as the TWRA lakes which are too far away for me.

 

[Doskil]

I didn't know muskies were in Watts Bar

 

[Harold Money jr]

Believe this or not.....I accidentally snagged a 53" musky in Bull Run creek a few years ago. I pitched a Bobby Garland grub under a dock and thought I was coming over a crossmember. I "hung" my lure on the crossmember and it swam out into open water, it half way jumped a couple times and gave up. I pulled it alongside the boat and we couldn't get it in the net no matter how we tried. I had my hands all on it's head and halfway into its Gill plate. It kept twitching it's head and In the heat of the moment didn't have the nads to just man up and pull it into the boat (one that size looks just like an alligator to me and I'm not Steve Irwin). We measured it and just before I got my wits about me it jerked and slid out of my hands forever. Btw, the keys getting it that close on 6lb line, I snagged it beside it's eye so it's teeth didn't cut my line and the water was 41°. Also as it slid out of my life I screamed a couple almost cuss words mother!! Son of a!! I didn't say the ending. Then I heard someone say that's awesome and I looked up, about 12 people were standing on the dock a few feet away along with kids. I'm glad I didn't fully cuss in front of them. The Dad said he wouldn't have blamed me. Lol
That's my top "One that got away" story

 

[Crow Terminator]

I've seen a couple videos of people having close encounters with them on Parksville lake too...following lures but not committing, etc. I've only fished Melton Hill below the dam and not above it. I'd like to hang into a Musky but I half wonder if it would be like catching a gar. I've caught plenty of those and I always ask myself afterwards "why did I do that".

 

[7mm08]

Got it on the list for this summer along with a bunch of others. Looking at the regulations, several lakes in Region III have muskies.

The warm water discharge from the steam plant is were you want to be now!!!!

 

[moondawg]

That's awesome! We don't have those here in West TN, as far as I know. I've never seen one, or heard of anyone catching one over here.