Favorite Fishing Destinations Countdown: No. 10 - Tennessee River, Alabama

Jimmy Mason with a couple of Guntersville chunks during my most recent Tennessee River outing.

I'm not going to narrow it that much, though, because that would exclude some crazily good bass action on Guntersville, watching Nathaniel wrestle a 60-pound blue catfish from Wheeler when he was about 12, hammering schooling bass on Wilson, side-pulling for Pickwick crappie and much more. I've simply had too many great experiences on all four of these impoundments to not include the entire Alabama run of the river on my favorites list.

I suppose I might be cheating a bit with this one. The Tennessee River is a vast and diverse fishery that truly encompasses many destinations. I am at least narrowing it to the Alabama impoundments. That says nothing against classic waters like Kentucky Lake or Chickamauga, which are themselves among the nation's elite fishing destinations. I just have far more time logged on Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson and Pickwick, and that time includes dozens of legitimately outstanding fishing days.

Pressed to pick an actual top spot, it would have to be the tailwater of either Wheeler or Wilson Dam. I love the diversity and dynamic nature of the waters below the big dams, and I can quickly think of at least 10 species I've caught below both dams. Catches in those tailwaters have included 5-pound-plus smallies, double-digit hybrids, jumbo blue cats and stripers (salts, as they call them locally) up to 20 pounds.


Big-fish potential is certainly part of the Tennessee River's draw. When I'm throwing a swimbait for smallmouths in one of the tailwaters, I have an ongoing awareness the next fish to hit legitimately could be the smallmouth of a lifetime, and any bass that hits on Guntersville could turn out to be a 10-pounder. Of course, the same idea applies anytime catfish baits are down on any of these lakes.

My fondness for the Tennessee River begins with the fishing itself, but it certainly doesn't end there. I've also gotten to spend many days in the boat with great anglers like Jimmy Mason, Tim Horton, Brad Whitehead and Jerry Crook and have first met many longtime friends at media events held on these lakes. I also love the settings, from Guntersville's grass flats to Pickwick's bluffs to the tailwaters themselves, which are always alive with diving birds and baitfish busting on top.

Another excellent thing about the Tennessee river, from my standpoint, is that its story continues to be written. I'll be back at Guntersville to fish with Jimmy Mason in a little more than a week!

Want to Go?

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Jimmy Mason, 256-762-0014

Driving in the Rain

Seems I'll be driving in the rain tomorrow morning. Forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of rain here and a 70 percent chance of rain where I'm headed, five hours away. Hard to imagine I won't hit some good rain showers along the way.

The good news is that I'll be traveling opposite the direction the rain normally moves, and that it's supposed to be pushed through by Monday morning, when fishing plans officially start. Whether we'll end up sneaking out for a while tomorrow afternoon upon arrival, I'm not sure. If not, I'll be good and ready, come Monday.

Plan is to fish a day on Lake Wheeler or Wilson and two on Guntersville, where the 2014 Bassmaster Classic will be held in February. I'm looking forward to a few days of good winter bass fishing on the Tennessee River.

I have my camera batteries charged and plenty of memory cleared, so watch for reports here, on my facebook fishing page and on Twitter (@jeffsamsel).

Bama Bass, Come Monday

All the big bass pictures I've been seeing and sometimes sharing on my facebook fishing page have me really looking forward to a few days of fishing the Tennessee River next week. Plans include a day on Wheeler and/or Wilson and a couple of days on Guntersville.

Word is that the bite has been very good of late, with YUMbrella Rigs, Boo Rigs, jerkbaits and jigs all producing good action. Along with fishing a couple of different lakes, I'll be fishing with five different pros in three days, and I suspect that each will fish a little differently, so I'm guessing I'll get to try several different things.

I actually might sneak out to the Wheeler tailwater on Sunday, after driving to Alabama, and do a little fishing on my own from the rocks, just to mix it up a little and get a headstart on things. That depends a bit on weather. As of now, the forecast is calling for significant rain on Sunday, and if it's coming down hard, I might just settle in and wait to fish from a boat on Monday morning. On Monday, I get to fish with Jimmy Mason. Jimmy guides full time on the Tennessee River, so he's out there every day and pretty well always has the fish dialed in.

The weather appears it will make a cold turn this weekend. High around there today was supposed to hit 72 degrees. Tuesday temps are supposed to top out in the mid-30s. That's part of making fishing plans during the winter, though, and what warm clothes were made for. I'm glad I'll be out on the lake to get cold instead of sitting at my desk.

Mark Rose Fishing his Comfort Zone

Wheeler leader Mark Rose and his daughter Hannah Grace show off part of Rose's Day 3 catch. FLW photo by David A. Brown.

This week at the FLW Tour Open at Wheeler, Mark Rose is getting to do what he does as well as anyone on tour -- studying offshore structure and fish with his electronics and figuring out which ones will bite and how to catch those fish. In recent years Rose has made a study of offshore fish in big-river systems, and he seems to catch them every time the tour makes a stop on a big-river impoundment. Wheeler is actually the Tennessee River impoundment where Rose has the least experience, but it fishes much like others in the system and during this week's tournament he's fishing as if he were on home waters.

The tournament's not over, and Rose is not getting many bite each day so anything could happen. However, he has brought in a big bag on each of the first three days and leads the event by 7 pounds going into the final day. He's catching his fish on a few different baits, with the specific choice varying according to how the fish are positioned on the structure. Rose's biggest stated concern is that he has been fishing a couple of specific areas and has worked them hard. He'll try to milk the same spots one more day, but he might have to go looking for new fish.

Closest behind Rose is Blake Nick, an Alabama angler who is targeting feeding fish near Wheeler Dam. Today Nick was hindered by wind and necessary boat positioning that gave his co-angler a better casting angle than he could get for the fish he was targeting. Today is forecast to be calm and there are no co-anglers, both of which could be good things for Nick.

Rose Picked Pieces for Strong Day 1 Lead

Mark Rose 21-pound, 7-ounce first-day catch at the Lake Wheeler FLW Open gave him a 3-pound, 7-ounce lead. FLW photo by David A. Brown.

Based on Mark Rose's dominant first-day catch at Lake Wheeler and his history of dominance on big-river reservoirs, one would assume he had figured out a really solid pattern. Rose reported otherwise, though. He actually is moving a lot, fishing both deep and shallow, battled to collect his 21-pound, 7-ounce Day 1 limit and used several different lures to catch the fish he brought to the scales.

Most other angers' reports were similar. It seems Wheeler's bass are scattered from very shallow water to deep ledges and that shad are everywhere, making the fish difficult to pattern and to catch. Several pros reported moving frequently, mixing it up and finding little rhyme or reason in when, how or where they caught their best bass. Rose's big catch put him 3-pounds, 7 ounces ahead of local angler Blake Nick. Luke Clausen, Russ Lane and Greg Hackney are holding the next three spots in the standings after one day of competition.