CRAPPIE COMEBACK: DOUGLAS LAKE
Hot Fishin' and Hotter Eatin'
By Mike Faulk

We fish Douglas Lake several times each year. Consistently, there are more and better crappie caught each year. TWRA and all who have worked to see the comeback of crappie on this east Tennessee reservoir are to be applauded.

On this hot early summer weekend, catching this tasty game fish was challenging but manageable. Friday night fishing was slow. We used four rods each tipped with minnows - two with flies and two with number four hooks only - at varying depths. A floating light generated sufficient schools of bait fish. The depth finder showed most fish in the 30 foot range although a second layer was occasionally observed at about seventeen feet. Most caught were keepers but a few were less than the size limit.

Saturday, hotter than blue-blazes at 90 degrees, was without a breeze. Plenty of cold beverages, a good sun hat, and trolling up and down selected coves created as much cooling as was possible. Most crappie were caught on red-tipped, white doll flies with minnow attached.

Earlier in the day Killer and I had some success tight-lining submerged points. When it got too hot, we headed for shaded, deep coves where we fished with floats for bluegill and catfish.

Saturday supper consisted of a smorgasbord of crappie, bluegill and catfish along with store-bought broccoli salad, homemade hush puppies, and country fries smothered in onions. The fish was special. As if we needed to heat things up, we laced the milk in which the fish fillets were dipped before breading with Laughing Bull Hot Sauce manufactured by the Pinola Pepper Company. Not only was the fish delicious; but it also left a bead of perspiration across our upper lips. Ample quantities of cold beverage made the the meal a gastronomical delight.