TnRiver46

I guess I'm too late but I would come across the mountain and fish watauga lake

Guntersville is a tva lake. It will be crowded but most are saying find a creek full of shad and the bass will blitz them at some point

Water is 57-59 here right now and I think they will hit anything. Saw one bust a shad a couple times on top today

Yesterday was a good day for smallmouth but I seemed to lose all the big strong ones I hooked. Today was kind of the opposite, I got lucky. Maybe the clouds made the fish eat the hook better, who knows but I got a 20" and a 19" and a some smaller ones. I also got a couple "Alabama smallmouth" (drum). A big smallie ate my lure and I fought it forever and ever with a flimsy spinny pole and 6 lb line. The thing jumped then bulldogged hard and just pulled loose. This fish had all kinds of head shaking moves that felt crazy on the end of the line. No biggie I lose giant smallies all the time. I took a little while to relax and catch my breath, even texted all my buddies that were out on the water that I had lost a donkey. I trolling motor back to the same spot and I think (not 100% sure) that the same durn smallmouth hit it again!!! This time the thing takes off like a rocket and pulled some drag (that I thought I had locked down after losing it the first time). I finally got clicked over to backreel and let the fish go way out in the middle. Took my time and finally boated it, nice 20" fish. That was in clear water medium current, hence the spinny pole. Back down on the main channel stained and raging current, I'm thinking I should go home because I'm just lucky and my buddy eric calls. As I'm jigging a big creature bait and drifting along my line starts swimming away. I dropped the phone and set the hook and boated a 19 inch fish! my lucky day!

Thanks man! I will be headed to Norris soon also if the water will hurry up and cool off

Next time you come through TN, let me know!!! Hahaha

This gives away my location but oh well! I rarely take good pictures but I like this one. We never seem to catch anything downtown so I was pleasantly surprised.

The hooks don't grab the line

Wish I could help, i winterize mine by driving it down the river all winter. You can drain the gear lube yourself if you have a giant flathead screwdriver. Don't use a regular one, you can get another 1/2 turn if not more with the giant screwdriver

You already named the best one. The only other option that I have had success with are homemade

If a bass caught me they would say my torso is too long and I'm a little too thick in the middle

Menace

I've done that twice. Luckily I lived 2 miles from the ramp, walked/ran home and got the spare. Spare is in my wallet now

Who cares why they are there if you found them and can catch them!!! Hahaha

They all work great, they sink a lot slower than a silver buddy so it's not my favorite in windy conditions. 1/3 oz is one of my favorites, my preferred color is the one that looks like a spoon out of your silverware drawer

We call them Tennessee redfish or Alabama smallmouth to make it sound like we accomplished something haha. In all seriousness though they are fun to catch and hit about any lure.

Vols could potentially have the worst team since the 1800s

One time I only took a spinnerbait to the lake. Fished it exclusively for hours and hours and didn't get a bite. I still hate spinnerbaits

Nice boat paddle size bass!

Heckuva bag of smallmouth! you cracked my code of hints with ease! I would think soho would be much better the colder it gets so that will be good timing

Nice one!!!!! You better pack 2 lunches if you plan on wrestling one of them

Oh Lordy look at that. Is that a lake that you fish sometimes on a state line (hint hint)?

The fish and the trees in the background? D*%# I love this time of year! If only my football team wasn't the worst in over a century....

I agree with @WRB, the pole is the problem. A spinny pole has no place in the world of spooks in my opinion. That being said, I have thrown them on spinning gear plenty of times and had success, it just isn't ideal. You can gain line much faster with a baitcaster. I can throw a Zara puppy a long way with a cheap baitcaster, which has to be the lightest walking bait on the planet. Even with all the best gear a bass can throw a treble hooked plug at any moment, especially a big bass. They come off your hooks because they are extremely strong and jump a lot. Keep practicing and you will get the hang of it, sometimes we can overthink the whole process. One thing I would try is Texas rig a floating worm or fluke and fish it like a spook. The odds of losing a fish on a single hook are far less than with treble hooks

They will eat up those little swimbaits all winter long down here! We don't have sunny beaches but we have hungry bass