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

A Bigger Ghost Minnow

Rebel's 2 1/2-inch TD47 Tracdown Ghost Minnow has long been one of my absolute favorite lures, especially for trout streams, but also smallmouth streams, ponds and assorted other settings. It casts crazily far, offers super versatility in terms of how it can be worked and has a narrow profile that matches a minnow and looks like an easy meal. It's pretty small, though, so it's limited to settings where I'm content with a fairly small offering.

Last year, Rebel delivered a bigger version of the Tracdown Ghost Minnow. Everything about the TD57 matches its little brother, including the six colors it comes in, but this Ghost Minnow is 4 1/2 inches long. I snatched some up as soon as I could get my hands on them, and have been using them ever since. So far, I've been delighted and have used the bigger Ghost Minnows to catch a lot of fish in wade range of situations. They cast great, even on baitcasting gear, and the weighting allows them to manage current extremely well.

I'm actually the most excited about throwing one of these dudes during high flows in a big cold-water tailwater that's home to big brown trout. I haven't gotten to do that yet, but I have caught a couple of bass on them from the tailwaters of Wilson and Kentucky dams, so I've seen how nicely they perform in the big water.

Either size of Tracdown has a tight wiggle with a straight retrieve but gets very erratic when you jerk it, so the possibilities for presentations are virtually limitless.

I leave today for a trip that will include several days of fishing, and you can bet that I'll have plenty of TD47s and TD57 in the car!

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.

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.