TN basstracker

Nice Paul! How has the fishing been for you since the major cold front came thru our area in West TN this week? I haven't gotten a chance to get out since Monday, but it was 80 degrees, then. Don't think the highs have been much over 40 in the Memphis area until today where it's 50 right now. Thought about hitting one of my ponds in either Haywood County or Fayette County this afternoon before dark. Heading to Beech in the morning to prefish for our club tourney next Sunday.

I would have to agree with RW. It would either be Alabama or Tennessee for me. You have numerous lakes all very close in both states in which you can target LM, SM, or Spots. Great Smallie fishing across the State on TN (with the world record smallie coming form Dale Hollow) and just a short drive from anywhere in North Alabama. Just my best picks for the best all-around fishing.

I don't leave home without 'em! 8-) I hear ya. Loads of grass in that lake. Lots of people complain about it every year, but I love it!

I like the idea. I've been wanting to learn more about Structure fishing and what I'm seeing on my graph. My best friend and his wife just got stationed from Iraq and Germany down to Fort Polk, I believe, near Toledo Bend. We had been discussing, with great excitement, about fishing The Bend, but neither of us know anything about it.

Anytime. I'm usually by myself in my boat. Just happened to backseat out of my buddies boat the last couple trips. Bring lots of Senkos and Flukes! I've sold Skillet on that lake the last couple years!

Sorry bout that Sam! Fishing was fast and furious and I was caught up in the moment, trying to snap a quick pic and get the fish released and line back in the water to do it all over! Tough job!

Myself and cdtac1 from here on the site went out to Glenn Springs yesterday. Found huge balls of threadfin shad busting the surface in 25-35 ft of water. Water temps were 54-58 degrees. Bass were showing up on the graph suspending under the fish from 5-20 ft deep. I caught the first few by casting a 1/2 oz trap past the school and stopping it and yo-yoing it back to the boat. Caught several like that. Switched to a swarming hornet 1/2 oz lead head jig with a tiny willow leaf blade on it and tipped it with an albino Lake Fork magic shad and just mixed up dead sticking it, jigging it and swimming it. It literally seemed like I had a fish every cast for about an hour. The balls of shad finally went deeper and we switched to suspending jerkbaits and wore em out that way. Whatever size the first couple fish were in that school was indicative of the size of the entire school. Flat wore out the 2-3 lbers. Most all were around 16-18 inches long. A boat with 2 women pulled up and we're trying to crappie fish with minnows and I swear I never saw em catch a crappie, but they flat wore the bass out. I know they caught 2 or 3 around 4 lbs. I ended up with 29 fish and I think cdtac1 had at least 20. Awesome day. Here's a few pics. For some odd reason, the date is right on the camera but the time is out of whack.

I have several and it's hard to figure out the best one, but getting my little boy his first bass at 4 yrs old has to be tops. Memorial day weekend last year and I took him to a pond that my PB came out of and a pond that I grew up fishing with my Dad when I was his age. We flat out whacked the bass. I think his pics pretty much describe how the day went.

Hot Chocolate and khaki have been phenominal for me last year.

Bingo!

As a friend of mine, I had to pull for Rampage. Hated to see him lose, because that's one thing he hated to do. We both played on the Varsity baseball team in high school, and the locker room wasn't a good place to be in when we lost a ball game. I know alot of people don't care for him, but in reality, Quentin would give you the shirt off his back if it came down to it.

Man CJ, that is absolutely awesome! My boy is 4 and he's eat up with it whether we're catching fish or not. Can't wait til he's old enough to fish with me like that. You're starting him on the right track for sure!

I say decent because the fish was 19.5 inches long, but only went a little over 3 lbs. Skinny little joker, but you couldn't tell it from the fight he put up on a spinning rod with 8 lb. test! Usually a 19.5 inch smallie will go 4.5-5 lbs. and Pickwick is full of those. And the lake in the first pic has a bunch of huge grass flats and late in the evening when it slacks over, the topwater bite is awesome. I get on the flats in 2-4 ft of water and just watch for the swirls and throw flukes into the middle of it and hang on!!! Skillet can vouch for that! He's seen it first hand!

Don't get any better tha that, my friend. I love to throw a fluke.

Good Lord, Paul! Don't matter what you catch, it's a giant! Way to go bud. Michael

Thanks alot Paul! That means something coming from the Hawg Caller himself! I was hoping you saw this thread RW. Our club is having our July tourny at Pickwick on July 19th at Pickwick and it's a night tourny. Fish from 9 p.m. til 6 a.m. I'm still learning Pickwick myself. I rarely venture much out of Yellow Creek. Whacked the LM's over the weekend back in the mouth of the Tombigbee on crankbaits. Switched to the shaky head and went to look for shaded banks and happened to find a bank where some chunk rock and pea gravel met and switched to a shaky head and WHAM!, the fight was on...

Started the weekend at Glenn Springs in West TN on Thurs and ended it at Pickwick Lake for the weekend. Thursday, I only caught 3 fish, but no real size. One about 3 lbs and the others about 2 a piece on T-rigged worms. Went to the in-laws this weekend at Pickwick and took the boat and fished and had a ball, til the party-goers ran us off the water! Finally caught a smallie and a decent one at that! (Wasn't really trying to catch one, but....lol!) I've only caught one other one in my life and it was like 12-13 inches. This joker was 19.5 inches, but skinny. Only weighed like 3.3 lbs. Caught this fish on an 1/8 oz. shaky head worm in junebug color on a rocky point where it entered a little cut and had some chunk rock blend into pea gravel. Talk about some acrobatic little suckers! I've never had a fish jump and tail walk across the water like smallies do. I'm hooked, I tell ya. That 3 lb. smallie fought just as hard as any 5-6 lb. Largemouth I've ever caught. Talk about fun on a spinning rod with 8 lb. test. Anyhow, we caught a ton of bass on Crankbaits in Yellow Creek, as well as baby brush hogs down near the mouth of the Tombigbee. Caught a 4.5 lb Largemouth, but wouldn't you know the camera batteries went dead. I managed a few pics of the smallie before the batteries died.

Mostly West Tn. West of Nashville anyway! Mix of farmponds and state public lakes.

Thanks Big O! The boy will be 4 next week and he's absolutely eat up with it. Whether we catch fish or not, I have to pry him out of the boat when it's time to go. If I give him a choice to stay home and play with toys and watch TV, or go fishing, it's fishing hands down. I was lucky enough to meet a woman who grew up in a family who hunted and fished. I got her into bass fishing and taught her the basics of fishing with artificial lures and she's loving it. Even on the slow days when the fish aren't quite co-operating, you never hear either one complain. That surprises me about my 4 year old!

Cool deal. Post it when you finish it. I've been enjoying watching everyones slideshows. I've caught 3 more 5 lber's I need to add to mine since I made my video a week ago.

Thanks, Paul! Do you fish any of the Beech lakes regularly?

Come on Kent! Just bring a boat full of senkos and we're in business. Bout all you'll need for the last 2 hours of the day when they move up shallow on the grass flats. Until then, I've been catching them deep on main lake points on T-rigged finesse worms and trick worms as well as big 9 inch worms. Been wearing the 5 lber's out over there for the last few weeks. Michael

Went back to the same little group of trees in this treeline where a big, shallow grass flat just starts to drop into the channel on the edge of the treeline. I had the boat in 6 ft. of water and the front edge of the group of trees were in 10-12 ft and the back side was in 18 ft of water. I caught a 5+ and a 4 'lber there yesterday. Went back there this afternoon and hit it right before dark and caught another one about the same and a smaller 3 'lber. That's the 6th 5 lb. fish or better in the last 2 weeks on this lake. Guess my luck still continues.....

Thanks guys. I'm about to hook up and head back over there for my usual afternoon rendevous. Hope to have more pics to come!

I wished you coulda made it, but I understand. It was over by 8:30 a.m. anyway!