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?

Visit North Alabama
Fish Pickwick & Wilson Lakes
Jimmy Mason, 256-762-0014

Industry Updates & Weather Watching

Deadlines, distractions and a fast-moving clock kept me from finding my way to the blog world yesterday, but it was an interesting day in the fishing industry. Two new ventures by bass pros were announced, and while there's a bit of overlap in names and faces, the two companies seem to be otherwise unrelated.

Timmy Horton announced Profound Outdoors, a new lure company with lures created by a team of bass pros that will utilize a grass roots approach to sales. You can read the release on Timmy's facebook page, and if you look there, you'll see by the comments and shares that the announcement created a lot of buzz and a lot of questions. Timmy also reported on his page that he hopes to have the Profound Outdoors website live today, and I suspect that will answer a lot of questions, both about the structure and about the lures themselves.

The other announcement by a team of noteworthy pros was the creation of Pro Web Live, which brings home delivery of pro seminars via the internet. These are specific seminars at slated times, delivered with an exclusive feed and with the opportunity to ask questions live. This is the news that Dave Lefebre had mentioned a couple of days ago.

Related to Dave, I've been watching the weather in western Pennsylvania because I'm supposed to do some ice fishing with him in a week and a half. They are finally getting good, cold temperatures, but too much snow is keeping the ice that exists pretty insulted, which makes it tough for it to thicken properly.

I've also been watching weather around the Santee Cooper lakes, where I would have been catfishing yesterday had it not been pouring rain. I might get to try that one again next week, but if I'm going to do that, I'd better get back to writing fish stories.

Double Dose of Douglas

The PAA season opener began yesterday morning, and bright sunshine and warming water caused the lake to produce very well for many anglers. PAA photo.

East Tennessee's Douglas Lake is spending two weeks in the national tournament spotlight, hosting the the PAA season opener right now and a Bassmaster Southern Open next weekend. Quite a few pros will fish both events, so it will be interesting to see how much the two tournaments have in common in terms of the patterns that dominate and the names that top of the leaderboard.

One significant difference in rules that could affect that very question is that BASS does not allow multi-rigs such as an Alabama Rig, and those are apt to play a big role with the water still cold in a steep, clear lake. It's also spring, and conditions are changing quickly, so the fish are apt to be moving and changing behavior almost daily. The PAA pros practiced in snow and very cold temperatures, but yesterday was sunny and fairly warm and the next week or so is supposed to include highs ranging form the high 50s to the 70s.

Douglas produced well yesterday. Day 1 leader Timmy Horton brought an impressive 28.04 pounds to the scales, and Brian Snowden and Ott Defoe are close behind, each with 27 and change. The top 12 all weighed in more than 20 pounds on Day 1. Stories I read this morning suggest that the leaders are moving a lot, running patterns, not fishing key spots.

Douglas, which remains low from winter drawdowns, is a deep, clear lake with steep rocky banks that sits at the edge of the Smoky Mountains. It's water is fairly fertile for a mountain lake, and it supports a great bass population. Largemouths predominate, but a strong population of smallmouths make a heavy showing during the cooler months. That said, lake regulations only allow one smallmouth with an 18-inch minimum in a daily bass bag, so the smallies add kickers but cannot be primary targets.

A Whole Lot of Catchin' Going On

For starter, I probably ought to ackowledge that I'm not talking about myself. If you happened to read yesterday's blog you know that my 2013 fish tally catipulted from zero to a whopping two yesterday afternoon. Fish story deadlines, rain and family plans have pretty well kept me off the water for the first few weeks of the year. That will change soon, but that's a different subject.

Today's social media madness makes it pretty easy to see when folks are catching fish, and the bass fishermen really have started to light up the boards. Lots of pictures of big largmouths, smallmouths and spots from bass waters all over the place. Like the Oklahoma tournament catch that's believed to hae been the biggest ever brought to the scales in that state; the school of giants Timmy Horton found while filming Timmy Horton Outdoors on Lake Seminole; a bunch of big bass being caught from stops along the Alabama Bass Trail...

I've been sharing many of these on the Jeff Samsel Fishing Facebook page, so be sure to visit and to like the page!

Some of this is attributable cabin fever. The first sunny weekends of the new year draw a lot of fishermen to the lakes, and simple math says that more fishermen fishing typically leads to more fish being caught. I think it's more than that, though. Those same first sunny days trigger a bit of movement among the biggest bass in the lakes, and they get into a mode of trying to store up calories for the spawn. The fish and their forage are still winter-slowed and won't be out chasing food everywhere, but if you can put the right bait in the right place, it's a fine time to catch a very big bass.

Umbrella Rig Season

It's been about a year now since the Alabama Rig leaped into the limelight with a few of major tournament wins and bass fishing was changed forever. Many new castable umbrella rigs emerged and pro anglers made a quick study of these unique rigs' best applications. Much of that story remains to be written, but for now the favored application is cool-weather fishing on main-reservoir structure.

In this video, Bassmaster pro Timmy Horton, whose home waters of Pickwick and Wilson lakes are in the heart of umbrella rig country, explains exactly how he uses a YUM YUMbrella Rig to enjoy some of the best fishing of the year. Prime season is just beginning and will continue until spring, so if you want to try out this technique, now is the time to gather your gear and plan some time on the water.

Back to 'Bama

In just a couple of hours I'll be hopping in my truck and heading back toward Alabama to spend a couple of days fishing and doing photo and story work with bass pros from Vicious Fishing and Phoenix Bass Boats. I always enjoy the fishing, the fine meals and the time spent with other writers and fishing pros on these trips. Even more so, though, I appreciate the great opportunities to learn tips and techniques that I can share in magazine stories and on websites and to shoot photos to help tell those stories.

Last week's trip Alabama's Shoals Region yielded a load of great story material and hotos, plus a few fresh video clips. Nathaniel just posted the first video from the trip, which features Tim Horton talking about  fishing YUMBrella rigs on the Tennessee River.

I'm not sure how much phone or computer access I'll have this week. If it's possible, though, I'll share some of what I learn soon after I learn it. So check back!

Fall Fun in Colbert County

Trading stories over giant Rustler Burgers at the Rattlesnake Saloon on the outskirts of Tuscumbia, Alabama, a small group of pro anglers and outdoor writers talked about three days of fun fishing on the Tennessee River. The action ranged from largemouths smashing BOOYAH Pad Crasher frogs over Pickwick grass flats to smallmouths attacking YUMBrella Rigs beside main-river bluffs.

Variety is one of the greatest virtues of Wilson and Pickwick lakes, according to B.A.S.S. pro Timmy Horton, who lives in nearby Muscle Shoals and has fished the Tennessee River all his life. Largemouths and smallmouths compete for top billing among bass fishermen, although other groups of anglers would contend that heavyweight catfish, stripers or crappie are the best thing going (each with a good case to be made). Meanwhile, the waters themselves range from swift tailwaters to open-river ledges to dock-filled coves to grassy backwaters.

Colbert County, which includes Wilson and upper Pickwick and the towns of Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia, has long been one of my favorite places to visit on fishing trips. That's largely because of the fishing itself, but it's also because I've rarely been any place where the local community better appreciates the significance of their local fishing or is more welcoming to visiting fishermen. Whether at the boat ramp or gas station or out to eat, local folks always seem happy to have visitors in town enjoying the great fishing - and I truly appreciate that.

Timmy's favorite thing about fall on the Tennessee River is the topwater bite. Whether he's hopping a frog in grass or walking a spook below Wilson Dam for jumbo smallies he typically has some type of surface lure on this time of year. As the fall gives way to winter and the water temperature continues to drop, he'll switch mostly to YUMBrella Rigs and YUM Mud Minnows, which he'll fish along main-river bluffs. That bite will last all winter long and continue into the spring, and that's the main thing he'll throw throughout the cool months.

Don't go on my word, though. Find out out for yourself. For information, visit www.fishpickwicklake.com.

Timmy Horton Goes Old School

Timmy Horton chose the "Old School" look over his modern tournament jersey for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Classic. Photo courtesy of Lurenet.com.

Plenty of big bags crossed the weigh-in stage on Day 2 of Bassmaster Classic, but the highlight for me was Timmy Horton's throwback uniform. Horton's wife Melanie found and old-style jumpsuit, and his sponsors jumped right in to help by sending him traditional patches. Horton, who attended many Bassmaster Classics as a boy and has always been a huge fan of the sport, wore the "old school" outfit as a tribute to the anglers who paved the way for him and his contemporaries in the sport of bass fishing.

There's something seriously cool about a lifelong fan of any sport ascending to become one of the sport's biggest stars and never forgetting what it was like to be a boy in the stands of a championship event. Just meeting those childhood heroes when Horton first became a pro must have been such a thrill. Now he is friends with many of them and has earned their respect. What a great way to say thank you on the sport's biggest stage.

Oh, and Horton also brought in a big bag. After struggling on Day 1 and finishing the day in the lower half of the field, he caught 17 pounds, 14 ounces yesterday and jumped to 12th place. He's 7 pounds behind the leader, Chris Lane, but found something that worked really well yesterday and seemed very confident on stage. "It could get interesting," Horton said with a big smile on stage.

Want to keep up with Horton? Follow him on Twitter @TimmyHortonBass

More Questions Than Answers?

Eleven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals, Alabama reported that the Red River fish are healthy but that bites are hard to come by. For live updates throughout the Classic, follow him on Twitter, @TimmyHortonBass

With the first three days of Classic practice in the books, the general word coming from competitors is that a lot of questions remained unanswered. Cold, muddy water made bites somewhat scarce over the weekend, and when the fish are tight lipped it's tough to learn exactly where they are concentrated.

Of course the fishermen themselves are understandably tight lipped when they are fishing for half a million dollars and the title of Bassmaster Classic champion, so some probably learned a little bit more than they want to talk about with too many people.

That said, the Red River reportedly looks very different than it did the last time most pros fished it, and conditions are changing quickly. Most comments I've seen on facebook and twitter and the Bassmaster Classic Live Blog suggest that pros expect the river to "fish small," meaning that the limited amount of legitimately fishable areas will force a lot of anglers to fish close to one another. That means that finding the right lure and presentation and executing well might be the key to this Classic, more so than finding that magical "spot."

The 49 Classic qualifiers got three days of practice over the weekend and will be off the water for the next two days. The final practice day is Wednesday, two days before the competition begins.