Tennessee River Largemouth Bass
Vernon Summerlin
TVA and the Corps of Engineers began building dams forming reservoirs on
the Tennessee River and its tributaries in the 1930s. These dams have saved
our state untold dollars and property loss to floods, but these reservoirs
did harm to some of the fisheries - but they were a boon to the largemouth
bass, which prefer slow moving water.
Going upriver from Kentucky, Kentucky Dam began construction in 1944 and
Pickwick Dam was begun six years before. Skipping three Alabama dams, the
next one in Tennessee is Nickajack near the Tennessee-Alabama-Georgia
border begun in 1967, Chickamauga in 1940, Watts Bar in 1942, and Fort
Loudoun in 1953 - completing the dams along the Tennessee River.
Fort Loudoun Reservoir
Fort Loudoun Lake filled from the waters from the Holston and French Broad
Rivers that form the Tennessee River. Later, in1980, the Little Tennessee
River's water mingled with Fort Loudoun's via a canal above Tellico Dam.
Only two other lakes are connected by an open canal like this, Kentucky
Lake and Lake Barkley.
Fifty-five-mile long Fort Loudoun Lake is a riverine reservoir with
largemouth and smallies. The aforementioned half-mile long canal has rock
piles that hold smallies. But it's the heavier largemouth bass that
tournament anglers seek. Doug Plemons of Kingston is such an angler and one
of the winningest on Fort Loudoun and Watts Bar lakes.
Plemons says, "Anglers should fish points, humps, main channel drops, and
creek channel ledges at night in summer. I recommend pumpkinseed,
watermelon, and green/pumpkin colors for plastic lizards or worms on a
Carolina rig. Of course, spinnerbaits work too. Silver Colorado blades seem
to be best for nighttime fishing."
Humps, or river bars, are probably the best largemouth holding areas. They
become more numerous above river-mile 617 where Sinking Creek enters the
river. Your sonar will help you locate these structures.
Anglers would do well to follow Plemons' daytime techniques. "I cast DD-22s
for bass down to 15 feet and switch to Mann's 30+ for deeper bass.
Largemouth usually hold between 10 and 15 feet in summer."
Look for riprap, sloping banks with deep water at their bases, outside
river bends, islands from river-mile 617 upstream, creek mouths, and bluff
points for daytime action. Points in and the mouths of Fork Creek near the
dam, Gallagher Creek at river-mile 612, and Little River near Knoxville at
river-mile 635 are areas to fish during the day.
Watts Bar Reservoir
This lake is next downstream from Fort Loudoun. Largemouth bass angling is
better on Watts Bar than most of the other lakes in this region. Its waters
are nutrient-rich, providing an excellent forage base for bass. Wood cover
is plentiful along the banks, many submerged structures (such as humps,
sandbars, islands), and backwater provide superb habitat for bucketmouth
throughout the year.
"In summer the fishing can be exceptional in the upper end from the
Kingston area to Fort Loudoun Dam," says Doug Plemons. "The warmer the
water, the farther up the river, the better the fishing." Watts Bar is
Plemons favorite lake.
He says a friend of his makes a crankbait called the Little Petey. It's a
flat-sided, balsa crankbait with a lip made out of computer circuit board.
"Pete Reynolds and his son Tony make them and I've used them for years and
won a lot of money with them. It's a shallow runner. And I think what
distinguishes it so much is the sound that circuit board makes. They make
them one at a time and they can't make enough to meet the demand. I'm
lucky, I've probably got more Little Peteys than anyone."
Lime Coach Dog is Plemons favorite color. It has chartreuse sides with a
lime back and a lime coach dog (spotted) pattern on the sides. Next he
prefers the White Shad that has white sides, a black back, an orange throat
with a chartreuse belly. "This color is one that the smallmouth love," he
adds.
Plemons cast the bait on creek channel banks, making it bump into rocks
and stumps. "Occasionally, if there are shad over clay-nothing banks, where
there is no cover, I've caught some big stringers of fish there. You have
to get out on the water to see what structure and cover the largemouth bass
are using. Some of the better strings I've caught have been from these
nothing-banks. A lot of fishermen believe bass have to have rocks and
stumps to hold on, but it's the food the bass are after."
He says in summer anglers should fish the humps, creek channel ledges,
and sandbars. "The long tapering points and humps are best in the middle
and lower part of the lake. In the river, most people are fishing sandbars
and creek junctions. The Tennessee River has better largemouth fishing than
the Clinch or Emory Rivers.
"I also catch bass on deep diving crankbaits that work between 8 and 15
feet and Carolina rigged lizards and centipedes. I place my boat in 30 feet
of water but cast shallow - the fish will be on the edge of a bar, hump, or
ledge.
"To fish a sand bar in the river, cast upstream and work the bait with the
current, keeping you boat in 20 to 30 feet of water. Bass position
themselves on the ends of bars or on points facing the current. You've got
to figure out which parts of the bar the fish are using. Are they using
something as a current break, like a stump field, or does the current
create a cut? You've got figure where the bass are to catch them."
When the dam is generating is when you usually get your best bite, he adds.
"The shad become more active in current and move to the tops of the bars
and humps, and the bass follow them," concludes Plemons.
Guide James Blair from Mt. Juliet says, "The secret to catching big
largemouth bass on Watts Bar in August is to fish the drops and humps in
the middle portion of the lake. I fish up the creek channels that are 15
feet deep and cast to the drop banks or at least steep banks. Out in the
lakes, the bass will be on the humps, that's what I like to fish most."
James says the best largemouth fishing is mid-lake to the dam. At Fooshee
and Gillespie Bends, where the river makes a backward "S" are many humps.
An angler can do as well in this 10-mile stretch as anywhere on the lake.
"Anglers need to get a map of the lake. That way they can see where the
creeks and humps are as well as the main channel.
"The best way to fish the drop-offs to catch a big bass is with a 7- or
9-inch worm, a jig and pig, or extra deep running crankbait. I've found
that a black or grape worm works best for me. If the water's clear I'll go
to a blue worm, but that red shad worm is good. I'm partial to black and
blue jigs, black and chartreuse, and solid black with a number 1 or 11 pork
chunk rind. You wouldn't believe the big fish I catch on that black and
chartreuse jig!"
"If you cast parallel to the creek channel, the drops and humps you're
better off," he says. "I find the creek channel hump or drop-off with my
sonar, keep my boat in line with it and cast straight ahead, making sure my
lure gets down and stays on the drop-off. Early and late, I fish about 10
feet deep and 15 to 25 feet during the brightest part of the day."
James says, "I'll tell you one more secret then I'll be quiet. You can
catch good-sized fish flipping the shoreline at night. I use a 14-foot
Hawger pole that the line runs up the middle. I cut 6 inches off the tip to
make it stiffer. I use 25- or 30-pound test line on the little reel that
comes with the pole. This is deathly on bass. I've caught plenty of 5- to
8-pound bass with this method. You just flip a 1/4-ounce bug at the edge of
the bank and hold on."
Chickamauga Reservoir
Joe Bakes of Chattanooga says his two favorite baits are the six-inch,
black Jelly Worm and the green pumpkin Zoom finesse worm.
"I haven't found a reason to fish anything else. It's catches more fish
than a jig and pig in any season. It's more reliable than a crankbait and
easier to cast - bass just don't ask for a better bait!"
Joe has become a structure fisherman since TVA killed the grass in
Chickamauga. He regularly fishes just a few miles of the lake from Chester
Frost Park up to Skull Island.
"There are plenty of bass from one end of this lake to the other. I've
found a section that has structure that fits the way I like to fish, the
fish cooperate, and we all have a good time; they bite, I set the hook,
they jump, and I let'em go so we play again another day," he says smiling.
"From Lakesite Marina I go to the main channel and start fishing sunken
islands. My favorite humps are about eight feet deep in summer."
Joe's technique is a Texas rigged worm on a 2/0 or 3/0 off-set hook,
12-pound test line with an 1/8-ounce slip sinker cast deep, and worked
shallow very slowly. He says it's perfection and you don't mess with that.
"Bass hold on the steep drops. I anchor on top of a sunken island and cast
against the wind if there is any. I let it hit bottom and work the worm
back to the boat. This way I drag the worm up the drop, giving me a better
feel of the drop-off."
Sunken island ledges and creek drop-offs are the best places to locate
bass in Chickamauga in summer. "Over the last decade I've sunk a small
forest of brush piles on these drops. I know where the bass are, given two
or three guesses," says Joe.
There is always some current in Chickamauga but there is more when TVA is
generating. Bass seem to be more active when there is some current, that
may be because it makes baitfish move.
Nickajack Reservoir
Tennessee River's Grand Canyon runs from Chickamauga Dam 47 miles to
Nickajack Dam while only one place reaches a width of a mile. Unlike
Chickamauga Lake, Nickajack is embellished with milfoil, largemouth bass's
favorite cover.
South Chickamauga, Citico, Chattanooga (too polluted to fish), and Lookout
Creeks are the major tributaries (all near the city of Chattanooga) with
numerous mountain streams pouring in from Williams Island at river-mile
(r-m) 455 to Bennett Lake at r-m 433.
Mullins Cove (r-m 435.5), Bennett Lake (r-m 433), both sides of the river
at Rankin Cove (r-m 429), and the area at the dam (r-m425) are the four
wide spots on Nickajack.
Benny Hull, host of Stump Bumper TV and radio says, "Look for specific
features that attract fish. Largemouth are usually under milfoil in
Nickajack. Locate milfoil over breaks and stumps on these breaks and you'll
catch fish."
For largemouth bass Benny fishes three- or four-inch curlytail grubs on
ledges that stair-step to the bottom. Smoke/glitter, chartreuse/ glitter,
and pearl are his suggestions for grub colors. He uses a spinning tackle
with six- to eight-pound-test line and a medium-action rod for casting
1/4-ounce leadheads.
Benny is the past master at trolling for smallmouth bass. We trolled
between three and five miles downstream of Chickamauga Dam. We put out Hot
Lips Express crankbaits and slowly trolled with 30 to 40 feet behind the
boat. Most of the smallies hit between 8 and 12 feet deep when the bait
crosses a shoal. The bass are waiting for food to drift their way.
Pickwick Reservoir
Only the lower eight miles of the 53-mile long Pickwick Lake are in
Tennessee. Your Tennessee license is valid upstream, a little over 10
miles, to the mouth of Bear Creek at river-mile 225. Although largemouth
swim in Pickwick and are caught with regularity, its golden child, the
bronze back, that is most often sought.
"The smallmouth summer pattern will be humps and ledges," says guide Lou
Williams. "They'll feed in the shallowest water in the area they're using.
If it's a hump, they'll feed on top of the hump. Smallmouth don't feed in
20 or 30 feet of water but they can be caught there. "The time of day they
feed depends on the current. If there is current, then the odds go up for
feeding in middle part of the day, from 11o'clock to 2 o'clock. That's what
brings the big boys out. If there is no current then the best time will be
early and late in the day. My best days are when the skies are high, with
an eight- to 10-mile per hour south wind, and current. If I can find those
conditions, I'm going to catch some fish! You may have to hit the sweet
spots several times during the day. In the summer they'll feed more often
but for not as long. They may feed 30 or 40 minutes and then they're gone."
He uses a jig and curlytail, Bootlegger jig, and Hugh Harville's Sassy
Shad-type bait in summer.
For catching largemouth bass, fish the submerged irregular topography area
near the dam, the island along the main channel, creeks, especially the Dry
Creek embayment, Yellow Creek up to Mississippi 25 Bridge, and the mouth of
Bear Creek.
Williams says, "To catch bass, it takes time on the water. I could tell you
there is a hump right over there where I catch a lot of fish but you may
not ever get a bite. Time on the water means a lot and you need to be by
your self. The most important thing I can tell you is that you need a
mental picture of where you're fishing. A topo map and sonar help."
Kentucky Reservoir
TWRA fisheries biologist Tim Broadbent says the best largemouth bass
fishing is from New Johnsonville north to where the Big Sandy enters the
Tennessee River. Guide Steve McCadams concurs.
Steve says, "For hot weather bass, fish early, fish late, and fish deep.
But you can catch some bass in the bushes early in the morning when they
are feeding on minnows around bushes and other wood cover.
"Bass follow shad along creek channels and into deep water. What you're
looking for are secondary ledges, drop-offs, and creek channels that lead
to the main channel. These places give bass the structure they need, along
with cooler, better-oxygenated water in hot weather.
"Any summertime angler can use the current to their advantage," Steve says.
The bass move on the river points when there is current.
Many years ago Steve taught me how to fan cast deep points. He would locate
the point's drop-off and place a marker buoy on top of the drop. He'd back
off and fan cast around the buoy. Then he'd move his boat, stopping at
points along the circle he made around the buoy, covering shallow and deep
water with fan casts. This systematic approach put bass in the boat.
"I like a big, deep-diving crankbait on a long rod with 10- or 12-pound
test line. That'll get down pretty fast. I'd say most of the bass
tournaments during the summer are won with a crankbait, worm, or pig-n-jig
working deeper ledges, drop-offs, and creek channels."
Bottom Line
So many lakes, so little time, but here you have tips from some of the
best bass anglers on their home lakes. Take their techniques and put them
to use on your home water, after all bass are bass.