Tillery Cats

Had a good weekend fishing Tillery. Got caught in that bad storm so didn't get to fish that long Saturday night. Friday night my buddy Jay lost a monster 3 mins into the fight, the hook pulled. We ended up catching 20 plus cats, a good mix of blues and Flathead. Then Saturday we went to same spot and as soon as we got setup a big Flathead was hooked up, 37lbs first fish. Then Jay hooked into another nice fish to make up for Friday, it was a pig blue. Then we landed a small flat. After about 2 hours of no action we landed another pig. Then the storms hit and we were hammered with lightning bolts raining down around us, too scared to reel the 10 lightning rods up we sat there and prayed...after a hour of that it let up for ten minutes, just enough time to get back to the dock. I backed the trailer down the ramp and here come the storm again. We sat there for three hours with trailer in the water. When it finally stopped I got in the boat to find about 6 inches of water in the bottom. We got lucky, I don't think I'll let another storm get that close to me again.

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Using large chicken for bait most likely. :LOL:

Yep, how you know lol. I don't use nothing but live bait in the warmer months, I'm after trophy cats. I use chicken some in winter while drifting just as a back up, it's a good bait for people who don't have the time or the means to catch there on bait. I put a lot of time in catching my bait so rarely use prepared baits. Live white perch was my bait this weekend.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Yep, how you know lol. I don't use nothing but live bait in the warmer months, I'm after trophy cats. I use chicken some in winter while drifting just as a back up, it's a good bait for people who don't have the time or the means to catch there on bait. I put a lot of time in catching my bait so rarely use prepared baits. Live white perch was my bait this weekend.
That (perch) is my bait of choice on the yadkin chain because it is the most abundant and I figure what they are used to.
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
I was raised down in Richmond County and I remember when Tillery was made. Some of my dad's friends from work got in early and built places on the water. We used to go visit on weekends and water ski. Good to see some good fishing coming from it.
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
didn't realize you were a Great Depression baby,,,,,,good to see someone 90+ years old on the ol' internet,,,,,,,,

Tillery Dam was built in 1928 I do believe,,,,,,,,
I remember the first time we were going up to somebody's place there I was told we were going to a new lake. It looked new to me when I was around ten or so. I guess I took it to mean the lake was new rather than that it was a new place for us to go. Nobody ever told me different so all this time I thought the lake was built when I was a kid. Guess I need some grits to go with the egg on my face.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
It was for the same reason as your trip and the storms and amount of rain I always had a extra pump In the boat.
Back about 1986 I was in a storm and about lost a boat, would have been really bad for me also.
From that point on every boat has had an extra pump on a hose and back up bilge pump.
Been in many a storm and had water build up fast. Bad pump or overloaded maybe manual switch pump can cause problems.
When my boat goes in the water there is a auto pump that gets plugged in to the backup battery direct. Will work and pump on its own even with main battery and swith turned of. It works as an extra or backup. Works great for what I do.
I do miss the self draining deck of my old Key west....
 

deerhunter28

Ten Pointer
didn't realize you were a Great Depression baby,,,,,,good to see someone 90+ years old on the ol' internet,,,,,,,,

Tillery Dam was built in 1928 I do believe,,,,,,,,
I remember the first time we were going up to somebody's place there I was told we were going to a new lake. It looked new to me when I was around ten or so. I guess I took it to mean the lake was new rather than that it was a new place for us to go. Nobody ever told me different so all this time I thought the lake was built when I was a kid. Guess I need some grits to go with the egg on my face.

What year was your time on Tillery?
Not trying to be a smart but.
Just curious?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Funny about the lakes...
I started fishing Jordan in the early 80's everyone said it was a new lake....
Even at the stores and bait shops they were saying it was going to take years for it to grow and be worth anything because it was new...
For an outsider why not believe. .. there was no internet or much printed that I was able to get my hands one to prove different. Guess I could take a Dam tour to learn more about it back then......
Whsn out on the boat you could see the road beds and roads that were cut off along with building stuff in low water. Some areas you needed to worry about the old US 64 road so you did not run up on it.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Funny about the lakes...
I started fishing Jordan in the early 80's everyone said it was a new lake....
Even at the stores and bait shops they were saying it was going to take years for it to grow and be worth anything because it was new...
For an outsider why not believe. .. there was no internet or much printed that I was able to get my hands one to prove different. Guess I could take a Dam tour to learn more about it back then......
Whsn out on the boat you could see the road beds and roads that were cut off along with building stuff in low water. Some areas you needed to worry about the old US 64 road so you did not run up on it.
The locals will tell you that place was a deer poacher's paradise when they were clearing it and prior to filling it. There were several cases made in places that is under water now. And most if not all the officers that did it are retired or gone.
 
It was for the same reason as your trip and the storms and amount of rain I always had a extra pump In the boat.
Back about 1986 I was in a storm and about lost a boat, would have been really bad for me also.
From that point on every boat has had an extra pump on a hose and back up bilge pump.
Been in many a storm and had water build up fast. Bad pump or overloaded maybe manual switch pump can cause problems.
When my boat goes in the water there is a auto pump that gets plugged in to the backup battery direct. Will work and pump on its own even with main battery and swith turned of. It works as an extra or backup. Works great for what I do.
I do miss the self draining deck of my old Key west....


I will be buying a auto bilge pump now, the boats a Mckee Craft so doubt it would sink. They are full of foam and suppossed to float even if you cut the boat in half but would rather not test any of that lol. This boat has the plugs for the deck but they sit just under the water line so you'd have to be driving to pull the water out then put plug back in. This storm taught me alot lol. When I pulled the hulls plug there was zero water in it so that made me feel alot better that it was only the deck that held the water.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
jordan was cleared and ready to go but the flooding was delayed while pea ridge road was built on the south side of the lake. lawsuit was brought and won by citizens demanding a route around the lake.
That baby clean lake bottom grew up for years in the best deer/fish habitat imaginable while the road was constructed. I am sure there was a ton poached cause you could drive the old road beds and shine the lake bottom where they were eating the browse growing.
When it was finally flooded the fishing was beyond belief. If you weren't there you can't relate. Glad I was there from the beginning.

Even have photos of the lake bed before it was flooded.

also have a wilsonville store t shirt that reads "Ski Jordan lake and Never Drown" Pic of a horse pulling a skier. That store was tired of the delays in the gates being closed. :)
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
Funny about the lakes...
I started fishing Jordan in the early 80's everyone said it was a new lake.
Now I know for a fact that I was alive when Falls Lake was created. The local tv news was obsessed with the story about the blowing up of a bridge on I think Six Forks Road. They covered the history of the bridge, the placing of the charges, and all sorts of side stories. Then the day of the big explosion................BOOM!!! And you guessed it the bridge was still there. I can't recall the year it was but I'm sure someone on here can enlighten me (I better add a lol to show I am kidding).
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
I will be buying a auto bilge pump now, the boats a Mckee Craft so doubt it would sink. They are full of foam and suppossed to float even if you cut the boat in half but would rather not test any of that lol.
That reminded me of the time long ago when a buddy and I rented one of the small wooden boats on a lake around Raleigh. Can't be sure, maybe Lake Johnson? Anyway, one summer afternoon we were as far from the dock as you could get bream fishing using a small trolling motor my buddy had. Luckily we took paddles too because one of those real frog choking thunderstorms snuck up on us and we didn't want to leave cause the fish were biting like crazy. Long story short the rain was filling up the boat and we had nothing to bail with but our hands. The boat must have had foam under the seats because it soon was completely submerged just a few inches below the surface. We were fairly close to a road so we paddled that way and got within a few yards of it before the boat was sitting on the bottom. Well, we didn't want to have to walk all the way to the dock so I told him to get out and take everything with him but one paddle. He waded to the bank and when everything was out of it the boat rose from the bottom but was still under water. I was already soaked so what the heck, it was slow going but I managed to paddle that sunken boat back to the dock but surprise nobody was there any more. I struggled but I pulled it out of the water and turned it over on the bank. Then I got in my van and drove to where my buddy was and loaded up and headed home. Other than actually swimming I don't remember ever being wetter than we were that day. By the way, did I mention it was a storm? Yeah lightning was popping all around and while paddling back I crossed paths with several snakes that were going somewhere. But once I got started I was determined to make it all the way back. I was much younger and apparently dumber back then. But hey we had a good story about fishing in the rain. And we had fish for dinner.
 

catfishrus

Twelve Pointer
Late 50s maybe early 60s. I was born in 49.

You should remember when tuckertown was built. My dad said he does and he was born in 48. Some where in my family there is some old video taping that my late grandpaw took when the dam was being built.

I fish Jordan the beginning years...some of the best bass fishing I ever done. My dad and I set on a point several days catching over a 100 bass a day 14" and less. Went back the following year same point and my dad caught a 8 lber first cast. It was the only fish we caught that day. Fish had to come from one of the ponds that was flooded when the lake was built.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
You should remember when tuckertown was built. My dad said he does and he was born in 48. Some where in my family there is some old video taping that my late grandpaw took when the dam was being built.

I fish Jordan the beginning years...some of the best bass fishing I ever done. My dad and I set on a point several days catching over a 100 bass a day 14" and less. Went back the following year same point and my dad caught a 8 lber first cast. It was the only fish we caught that day. Fish had to come from one of the ponds that was flooded when the lake was built.
that is the legend but i dont think it is true. I know they busted the dams of some of those ponds before flooding. seaforth lake being a prime example.

now dont ask me where the big ones came from cause we caught them the first year it was impounded. i guess morgan creek and the haw river had plenty of bass in them.
 
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