Ivey

I was fishing Dale Hollow once and saw a big Smallmouth on top struggling, went over and netted it. The fish had a bream so big in it's mouth it wouldn't go down or come out. After a few minutes snipping the fins off the bream I finally got it out of his mouth. That Bream was bigger and longer than my hand. Point is, Smallmouth will eat big baits.

I get mine online. https://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/Dressed.html

River fish normally take smaller baits, downsized Spinner Baits, Crankbaits and Jigs are my go to in smaller rivers. Top water is good too, but if you can get your hands on a 1/4 oz or less Black Bear hair jig tipped with a craw imitating plastic trailer like a zoom craw will catch just about anything that swims.

I tie my own jigs, have for years. Black bear hair is probably my best producer. I've caught up to a 7 pound 4 oz small on these jigs. The fish pictured came from Tim's Ford where I live but Pickwick Lake is my all time favorite place to fish and holder of My personal best. I tie my own jigs, have for years. Black bear hair is probably my best producer. I've caught up to a 7 pound 4 oz small on these jigs. The fish pictured above came from Tim's Ford where I live but Pickwick Lake is my all time favorite place to fish and holder of My personal best.

Went out for some after dark fun last night, a bright moon and decent bit made the short time out well worth it.

Fished Friday on Tim's Ford between rain showers, about two hours. Had four of these fat pigs. Two came from the back of coves and two from main lake bluff banks all on a white spinner bait. water temp generally mid 50's

Had 4 of these pigs Friday, two as far back in the coves as I could go, two came from bluff banks. All on a spinnerbait white and chartreuse

I met Westmoreland at Horse Creek Dock one evening. We were cooking Walleye we had caught the day before and Billy came by and ate with us. He told the story of that fish and saiid he had it beat until the last minute the fish took a deep run and pulled free of a pedigue spinirght. The next morning we were out for a couple hours of Silver Buddy instruction, he was a very nice man. Also had the pleasure to fish the Billy Westmoreland invitational Tournament for many years. I still get an invitation every year, just don't have anyone interested in fishing the first weekend in December.

Always fun blowing old stuff up, we had a bunch of old M60's. The one in this story was still running after a direct hit with a TOW missile. You could have driven it away but no one inside would have made it.

Glad You enjoyed it, I'll never forget the look on the Sheriff's face when I told him it was a dummy. He looked mad, puzzled, then grinned. The guys in the boat didn't know what to think. Catch anything?

Dummy Dilemma My younger years were spent fishing and camping most every chance I got. I, like all my friends and many of you, would spend the week working doing chores around the house and as many weekends as possible chasing my hobbies fishing and camping. Huntsville Alabama was the place of my birth and I lived there until I turned nineteen when I “thought” I was a full grown man, left my boyhood home and moved to a small community in south central Tennessee called Hot Rock. Now Hot Rock is a beautiful place located in the rolling hills of Tennessee and I was lucky enough to settle on a large cattle ranch. My home located right in the middle, half way up one of these rolling hills, overlooking a big valley, small creek and around 800 acres of rolling hills and pasture bounded on the south by the Elk river, a perfect place for an outdoorsman like me. North Alabama where I was born is the home of the Tennessee River, which runs out of southeast Tennessee Smokey Mountain range into northeast Alabama. The river then meanders through north Alabama traversing the width of the state to exit in north west Alabama close to the small town of Waterloo, Alabama. The same Waterloo where Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokee nation to cross the Tennessee river during the Trail of Tears, a forced march to the west. History had proven that flooding during spring could be devastating to the whole north of the state, so the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was formed and dams were erected up and down the river to form several large manmade lakes named Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson and most of Pickwick. Both Huntsville and Hot Rock were situated right in the middle of all these and several other lakes and rivers that meant a short fifteen minute up to one hour drive in any direction would put me on a different lake. My hardest decision was which one should I visit. One winter day a couple old friends of mine, Jay and Aaron or to me Double A Run, came by the house and we started reminiscing of the old days when we would camp every chance we got together normally fishing or canoeing. Double A Run made a suggestion that we take a camping trip, come spring, down to a good spot on Wheeler lake where there were still some primitive camping sites right on the lake that didn’t cost a dime to use. This sounded really good to Jay and myself, so plans were made and come March we were going out for a new adventure. About a year or so before that I had bought my first real bass boat, a 16 foot Bass Tracker, at the time was my pride and joy. Since we were going in March and the Crappie should be biting, we decided to take it along on the trip and do some boat fishing. Back then there were occasionally a little trouble in the area we were going, with people breaking into cars and ransacking camp sites. I started thinking how would our camp be safe to leave for several hours for us to get out and do some Crappie fishing. Work for me was on a firing range on Redstone Arsenal, an Army base near Huntsville AL, where we tested and fired many different missile systems and such. We fired missiles to evaluate damage to enemy tanks and vehicles, so this type thing wouldn’t need to be guessed at in the field by soldiers. One afternoon after a test had finished, I drove down to a tank we had fired a missile into to determine damage done to the inside of the vehicle. When I popped the turret cover open and looked in, there was George, a mannequin we used inside the tank to find the kill power of said weapon system. Well George, the dummy, was sitting there looking up at me and the light bulb went off. I invited George the dummy to go along on the camping trip with us to guard our possessions while we were out fishing. The day of our trip finally arrived and Jay, Double A Run, George the dummy and myself hooked up the boat, loaded our camping gear, several cases of beer and headed out for the lake in my old 69 Ford pickup. When we got to the camp site we put the boat in and dressed George the dummy in a pair of old coveralls, stuck a couple rubber boots on his feet, laid him down on a lawn chair, stuck a hat on his head, pulled it down over his eyes, folded his arms where his hands weren’t readily visible and George the dummy was ready for guard duty. Double A Run, Jay and myself hopped in the boat and started our search for the Crappie we came after. That afternoon was a struggle and couldn’t find our pry until just before dark we scored, dropping a minnow down in a blown down tree. The bobber went down and out came a really nice one pound crappie. We hurriedly caught a couple more and the dark of night finally found us. When we arrived back at camp there was George the dummy laying on the lawn chair and all our camping gear in tact. George the dummy had served his purpose and protected our camp from invaders. Jay started right in on the beer we had brought and Double A Run was right behind him. When they ask if I wanted one, I declined and told them, guys I’m not drinking a thing, I’m going back out in the morning and catch some more of those Crappie. The rule in my boat was alcohol and water don’t mix, always has been, always will be. So while Jay and Double A Run started in on the beer, I got my tarp fixed over the bed of my truck and fixed a spot high and dry for the night. Now Jay is a red headed man, very light complected fella who, when he gets several beer in him has a big blue vein that sticks out on his neck. Double A Run and I, being such good friends with Jay, took notice and mentioned to him, you really have a big blue vein sticking out on your neck. Jay, for some reason took it as an insult. This mention of his blue vein made him really give us down the road about it so as good friends do, we milked that insult to the hilt. Double A Run really started in and got to calling Jay a blue vein throbber. This went on for a while and every time Double A Run mentioned it Jay went off. Finally Jay had enough and was ready to get to bed and get some sleep. He walked over to George the dummy, grabbed him by the collar, jerked him up from the recliner and shouted, “this is my bed for the night” and with that tossed George the dummy against a tree where he crumpled to the ground in a heap loking like someone who just couldn’t make it any further and just crumpled to the ground by the tree.. With that it was time to get some sleep and I crawled up in the bed of the truck and sacked out. Sometime during the night the wind got up and started raining. I was comfortable under my tarp and soon Double A Run crawled up in the truck with me. Ivey you don’t care If I sleep in here with you do you? I consented and soon heard Jay shut the door of the truck and we were all in for the night. Daylight came and I was up and gone back after those crappie to no avail, the nights weather had shut them down. I went back to camp to stoke the fire and get some breakfast cooking. Jay and Double A Run were up but not looking to good. Jay had started a fire so we had breakfast coffee and relaxed for a while, just sitting around. Jay was nursing a hangover and Double A Run in rare form. About this time a boat pulled up close to camp and the guys in it started fishing down the bank toward us. They got down to where we were and one of them yelled up “did y’all spend the night out in that weather last night?” Double A Run answered back yes, we did and it was tough. One of the guys in the boat yelled back ” you guys are some tough cods aren’t you.“ Double A Run answered back yep tough cods and just loud enough for us to hear, and one blue veined throbber. With this Jay lost it, he stood and yelled back at Double A Run why don’t y’all just shut up and leave me alone. I just happened to be looking at the guys in the boat and they thought Jay was yelling at them. They put their gear down and started up their boat and left. I guess, assuming we were trouble and wanted no part of us. Well this really got away with Double A Run and I and we just laughed and went on about our business while Jay went about draining the rest of the beers we brought. Mid day we had fixed some lunch and were sitting there eating when a Sheriffs car pulled by. We waved and he went on by circled around and very slowly drove back by and out of the camp site. Just a few minutes went by and I noticed something moving up the road. There was the Sheriff sneaking back down the dirt road toward our camp. It was kinda like a cartoon, the Sheriff was sneaking back toward us from one tree to the next hiding along the way, his big belly sticking out from behind the tree every time he thought he was hidden. Telling Jay and Double A Run here comes that sheriff I asked did you guys pick up all your beer cans? Assuring me they had and fearing the sheriff was coming for them, I told them I’ll just go over and talk to him. Getting up, I slowly strolled over to the last tree I saw his belly sticking out from behind and said morning, how are you. The old sheriff looked very surprised, he came out from behind the tree and ask, what you boys up to. “Just camping I replied “we were camping and fishing and just enjoying the day on the lake”. He straightened up and sternly ask me, “well what about that guy by the tree, he looks dead”. Talking about George the dummy. Breaking out in a laugh, I told him that’s just George the dummy and explained we had used the mannequin to protect our camp. The old sheriff scratched his head, thought for a minute and said, “you know that’s one of the better ideas I’ve heard in quite a while. You boy are pretty smart, stay outta trouble and have a good day” He turned and started back out the road and was gone. We finished our campout without any more trouble and had a great time, caught up on old times together and packed up to go home. Monday George the dummy was back on post at the firing range and now I’ve got a pretty good story to tell about our Dummy Dilemma.

I can't say how many nights I've camped at McFarland. My wife and I would pull the camper and boat down and spend a week or so. She doesn't like doing out after dark so she'd drive me down to the ramp and put my in, then when I was ready to come in I'd give her a call and she would be there with the trailer win the water waiting for me to load up. a lot of really great nights fishing out of McFarland. Here's my first 7 pound beast caught on Columbus day 2010

You should head over to North Alabama, Pickwick lake any time between now and the full moon in April. The big girls will be on the bite for some time now and this is the best time of year to catch a true Trophy Smallmouth.

went back and checked 1950 wilson held the world record it's listed as, Wheeler tailrace which would be Wilson lake, 10pounds 8 ounces, and there's a lot of people who believe there's one bigger still, I'm one of those people.

You would be right, it was caught just below Wheeler dam in I think 1954, it weighed over 10 pounds.

I was born and raised in Huntsville, and worked on Redstone most of my career, all the lakes in north Al. are great but like you said Pickwick is special but Wilson can produce big fish. I read a study once that said the bass on Wilson lake grow larger faster than any other lake in the USA. I've spent many nights on Wilson and caught some really nice ones there. My son and I fished our first tournament together on wilson he was 9 and caught his first 5.3 pound LM, and I caught a 5.1 pound SM we had enough weight to win his LM got big fish pot.

I fished below Wheeler for many years won many tournaments there bt my favorite in without a doubt below Wilson. 30k is low flow and can make things harder there, I like to fish in at around 120K up to 170k. after that it gets a little dicey. Summertime is a different story for me, many people will tell you they don't bite but I've had some of my best night fishing trips when the current is shut down. this allows you to really pick the place apart with a jig and that's my deal. most of the bigger fish I've caught there was after midnight and no current. I spent 40 years fishing there and I still get skunked but I've had some stellar nights there too. I remember one night without current a friend and I went around 1 rock pile, about 30 ft around, all night lone, we weighed a 23 pound stringer of SM that night and only started the motor twice, once to get there once to go back to the ramp. It can be an awesome place to fish, please if you get down this way give me a shout, I'd be happy to try and put you on some fish.

Any time I can help any one learn or just trade a trip I'd be more than happy to. I joined this site to share knowledge and hope I can pass all I know on to others before my time is up.

Feb and Mar full moons can be the best time on Pickwick also. Ive caught more 66 pound SM in Feb. than any other month.

Thanks for your response, seems every response you've suggested here I've tried. Even the spy bait without much luck. I'm beginning to believe I should ignore theses fish and go somewhere to try my luck. It's so easy to locate these fish I'd really like to figure them out and so hard to catch them i've almost given up on them. Catching a few I pretty sure most are bass of some type but making them bite is simply crazy. Thanks again for your response. Tight lines

I've used the spinnerbait and very little the drop rig you described. With that method i've read to hold the bait above the fish and let them come up to it. Tried that, Deep jerk baits, you name it. I have taken a very limited amount of fish on a silver buddy, allowing it to fall through on a tight line, but this is very limited and bites are days apart. I know these fish can be caught somehow I just haven't figured out how. They're easy to find on Tim's just follow the center of old channels and you'll run across them but getting them to bite is a totally different story.

I posted this on another thread and wonder how others handle these fish. There is one situation I'm finding on the lake I fish, Tim's Ford, That I'd like to toss out. The past few years I've found the Smallmouth bite slowing in many place I've caught them for years. Most of these spots are drop offs near main lake points and after the spawn but can be lake wide. Soon after the spawn thru summer and winter the fish seem to move out away from the bank and suspend in or very near large schools of shad. These fish, I believe, are using the big bait schools as structure and as the bait moves so do the SM. three days ago I found a large group of fish on the depth finder located next to a bait ball suspended in 18 ft of water over 45 ft. after casting everything in the boat with no luck, I picked up a drop shot. When I dropped to the fish I could see them on sonar just sitting there looking at my bait. I'd move it up and down, they would follow but wouldn't bite everywhere the bait moved there would be a gang of fish watching but wouldn't bite. The next day I thought I'd really trick these fish and brought along some minnows, I'd put on a bait, spark shad, robot worm, then a minnow with it thought it would really get them, no luck. I've tried everything to catch these suspenders but have not found a way to make them bite Has anyone got any suggestions on catching these fish using bait as structure?

Guys you've covered a lot of material here and very well covered at that. There is one situation I'm finding on the lake I fish, Tim's Ford, That I'd like to toss out. The past few years I've found the Smallmouth bite slowing in many place I've caught them for years. Most of these spots are drop offs near main lake points and after the spawn. Soon after the spawn the fish seem to move out away from the bank and suspend in or very near large schools of shad. These fish, I believe, are using the big bait schools as structure and as the bait moves so do the SM. three days ago I found a large group of fish on the depth finder located next to a bait ball suspended in 18 ft of water over 45 ft. after casting everything in the boat with no luck, I picked up a drop shot. When I dropped to the fish I could see them on sonar just sitting there looking at my bait. I'd move it up and down, they would follow but wouldn't bite everywhere the bait moved there would be a gang of fish watching but wouldn't bite. The next day I thought I'd really trick these fish and brought along some minnows, I'd put on a bait then a minnow with it thought it would really get them, no luck. I've tried everything to catch these suspenders but have not found a way to make them bite Has anyone got any suggestions on catching these fish using bait as structure?

Best, Bad night of fishing I ever had Guy’s I’d like to tell the True story of the best, bad night fishing I've ever experienced. Fishing a small club tournament on Pickwick lake part of the Tennessee river impoundments can have it's challenges. The ramp at Florence Alabama’s McFarland Park is about a half mile down river from Wilson Dam. Water releases from Wilson can really get the current going at times so this one particular night my partner and I decided to run down river to start our 12 hour Smallmouth only tournament and fish some of the slower current areas. I fish out of a 20FT. Bumble Bee bass boat and was headed to our first spot a few miles down river when I either hit something or the one blade of my prop broke off. Somehow I got the boat shut down without any other damage but now was miles down river from the ramp with heavy current and only a trolling motor to get back to the ramp. As we started our slow troll back up river I pulled up close to a rock pile and made a cast. A tick on the line to and a hook set brought a nice 3 pound Smallmouth to the boat. Wanting to save as much battery for the Trolling motor I dropped the fish in the live well and didn’t put the pumps on told my partner we’ll keep a close eye on the fish to watch for stress. I picked up my rod and headed back to the front of the boat where I proceeded to walk directly off the front of the boat and falling head first right into the into the river. somehow I came up with Rod in one hand my hat still on my head and a toothpick in my mouth. My partner ask if I was ok then began his round of laughter at me telling my it was illegal to get out of the boat to fish, he helped me back in the boat and I found a change a jacket and a pair of rain pants, changed and continued our long troll back up river. About an hour in I remembered the fish in the live well and ask my partner to take a look and see how it was fairing. He opened the live well lid and my nice 3 pound Smallmouth took his chance and jumped out of the live well. Now I said it jumped out but I mean it jumped out of the well and never touched anything but water. This fish must have been doing laps around the Live Well to get that kind of air because It jumped out of the boat crushing my only chance of maybe weighing in a fish at weigh in time. My partner and I just stood there looking at each other, dumbfounded at our bad luck. Not long after the great fish escape the dam shut the current off so we figured at least we’ll get back to the ramp and knowing a couple good spots just across from the ramp we got back with about 45 minutes to fish till weigh in time. The spot I stopped on was a pile of rocks close to a bluff that held some good fish at times so we decided to spend our last few minutes there. I cast a jig out and picked up line and thump, hook set BIG rock. Breaking this jig off thinking this night will never end I tied on another and made another cast to the rock pile. Jig hit the bottom and I started working it back through the rocks I turned to my partner and said “man it feel fishy down there”. The words just out of my mouth another thump but this time a hook set revealed I had a nice one, then it got bigger and started pulling harder, a big fish broke the water and jumped about 3 foot up before falling back in with a splash the sounded like someone threw a large dog in the river. The battle was on, the fish ran under the boat and started peeling line off my spinning gear. Suddenly there was a loud splash 20 feet or so on the other side of my boat. My partner ask what that was and I followed with MY fish. Somehow I led the fish back around the front of the boat and after a couple more hard runs and another epic jump we led the fish up to the boat when I realized we didn’t have a net. I made my way to the drivers seat and lipped this big smallmouth finally ending the fight. I was astounded at the size of this fish but with little time left we dropped it in the live well. I swung the boat around and my partner made one last cast to the rock pile and bam he was hooked up. After landing his really nice fish we were out of time and had to get to the ramp for weigh in. Ended up the fish my partner landed went 5 pounds 2 ounces and mine tipped the scales at 7 pounds 4 ounces. To end the story our combined weight 12 pounds and 6 ounces was just enough to win first place in the tournament and my 7,4 was enough to net us the big fish pot. All this just proves don’t give up on fishing till the bell rings cause there just may be a pay off at the last few minutes. The big next to me we called Redneck, you can figure out why.

I've always considered it, I really enjoyed training Stretch but he was so easy to train it was more like what can I find he couldn't do more than what he could. Sometimes I swear I think that dog knew what I was thinking before I said a word. He never jumped up and was an exultant dog around kids, but if you bent over, 9 times outa 10 you were gonna get licked in the face, he was a drive by licker and if I had known earlier I would have called him Licker