well this last saturday i tried fishing wheeler dam which is near rogersville,alabama. I got skunked bad this is twice in a row trying to fish the reservoir off the bank since i dont have a boat. i however did get some bass to follow my red eye shad which was the metallic tennessee shad color. i kept thinking match the hatch and didnt have anything remotely resembling the bait fish i saw. im thinking i need a white red eye shad. i love how this shad lipless crankbait handles i was bouncing it all over the rocks and what ever was down there i could feel each bump and ding i never got hung up even once.

so what do i do the current is so strong it was pulling a 3 oz triangle weight which was the biggest i had which i used as a test to see if it would stay or hold.

Fishing from the bank below any of the dams on the Tennessee River is VERY challenging. I suggest finding some coves on the lake that you can access and walk. On the river, your lure choice doesn't really have much to do with getting skunked, the chances are pretty high that there just aren't any fish where you are at that exact time. Generally, and especially with artificial lures, you need to find the fish, they won't find you.

BTW, I moved you post here to see if anyone else has advice for you. If your question was directed to Doug Hannon, you need to send questions via our PM (personal message) system:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1165888992

hey roadwarrior thanks alot i apperciate that. how ever i did see some small bass chasing my lure but they were mostly slapping at it

I fish the river below Pickwick Dam. There is a catwalk for stripper fishermen and they occasionally catch a few stripers, usually smaller fish. They catch LOTS of skipjack and white bass, which is what most of the bank fisherman further down rive are fishing for. Fishing from the bank with cut-bait sometimes produces a catfish, but more commonly drum. If you have access to deep structure, close to shore and in current, you might have a chance at catching a few bass, but it's still pretty rare.

Good luck! I don't like discouraging anyone from giving bank fishing a try, but my observation has been that it doesn't work for bass on the Tennessee River.

p.s. On Pickwick there is a cove near the dam which is also part of a state park, where all the tournament fish are released. I fish this cove from the bank all year when the water schedule for the river calls for late release. You would be surprised at how productive this water can be. Plus, it's restocked all of the time!

Find out where tournament fish are released at Wheeler and try fishing the water nearby.

ok then could you possiably point me out to where along the tennessee river i might be more effective as a bank fishermen? any idea you give me could help besides 2 heads are better then one lol

Check the post above. We were typing at the same time and I think that suggestion will work for you.

ok what i ment was from ditto landing and up to the wheeler resivior im pretty new to fishing this whole intire area. i need it to be accessable by car my buddy usually drives me since i dont drive im disabled well deaf   i could use some good hints ive already figured out a white lipsless crank might be good to have handy since it looks like that will match some of the hatch that i saw.