Surpriser

On Wilson, Shoal Creek (nearest the main river) is always good fishing. McKiernan Creek offers a lot of options too.

It's mostly rock/bluffs. Grass and wood is minimal at Center Hill. Expect deep, clearer water. Pleasure boats will take over on the weekends and make the water a bite stained in areas. I'd stick to 15ft+ water depth this time of year. There will be opportunities for a shallow/top water bite at dusk & dawn. I wouldn't stray from main points during the day unless you just find a lot of bait in the backs of pockets, or a rare lay-down that falls into deeper water. Shakey head, jig, and drop shot will be your best bet through most of the day. Use any moving baits during low light hours. Youll stand and just about equal chances catching a largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass. Good luck!

Good luck

Glad to see the positive updates! How is the grass bite on Pickwick at the moment? I plan on making the trip down from Nashville tomorrow and fishing around the Waterloo area for the next few days.

Launched at Camden Landing, fished the Birdsong mouth at the main river all the way down to the Duck River Suck today.....not a single bite. I relentlessly pounded the hydrilla with everything I knew, as well as the Birdsong mouth ledge. Countless shad and gar in the grass, but couldn't stir up a bass. First experience on Kentucky Lake was hot and tough, but I can see how that place could turn on once the weather cools. Thanks guys for the suggestions.

The Stewart Creek boat ramp and Fate Sanders Rec area both have a fair amount of access to rocks and bluffs that are good fishing. Both places are located near the south end of Percy Priest lake. It's very tough fishing there right now with the heat, so don't get discouraged if you run into slim pickings.

Hey Y'all, I could use a recommendation for a launch spot on Kentucky Lake. I'm coming from the Nashville area, and use a kayak with no electronics. Pickwick is my home lake, and it's my understanding that they fish similarly. I'd really like to fish some hydrilla fields on Kentucky Lake, as that's what I spend most of my time with on Pickwick. I know it's all the about the ledges, but in order to exploit those, the electronics are crucial, therefore the grassy areas suit me better. I'll happily share a few sweet spots on Pickwick with anyone who can make a solid KY Lake recommendation. Thanks!

KevO, thanks for the insightful reply, brother! Yeah, I will miss my 10 minute drive to Pickwick in a big way. Still haven't made it to KY Lake but it's just a matter of time before I do. I launched from the Vivrett ramp with a buddy and fished a couple hours on Percy the other day. There's a lot of rock, from what I can tell, and not much grass. It'll take some adjusting for me, but I welcome the idea of learning new lakes. Still haven't laid eyes on Old Hickory. Great advice, thanks! I'm happy to bass fish any lake where I can learn something new and become a better fisherman. Center Hill is now on my list of lakes to check out. I drove by it the other day while visiting Burgess Falls and Rock Island with a friend, and it looked like some fun.

In just a matter of days, I'll be moving from Alabama to Murfreesboro TN, and could use some advice and info. I'll probably be spending the majority of my time on Percy Priest and Old Hickory (never fished either lake). My home lakes are Pickwick Lake and Wilson Lake. I'm very familiar with how they set up, and generally do fairly well fishing them. So that's really my foundation for bass fishing knowledge. I know middle Tennessee has a reputation for good smallmouth, but beyond that, I'm in the dark. Any recommended bodies of water or useful info would be GREATLY appreciated. Specifically for Priest and Old Hickory --- How's the water clarity? Are there gizzard shad? Herring? Are there spotted bass? Is the Stones River worth any time? It'll be only a couple minutes from me and might be a good 'last couple hours of the day' place for me to wet a line. I'm looking forward to making the most of my Tennessee fishing license, and hopefully meeting a few of y'all on the water! Thanks!

The past few days have been a struggle. Not sure if it's the rising water, or maybe I only have myself to blame, but finding fish has been significantly more challenging compared to last week. I've been focusing on spawning areas, flats, and wind protected pockets. The only places I'm having any luck are where all the other fish (carp, gar, etc) are visually active spawning. The higher/rising water seems to have temporarily vacated most of the bass, as opposed to the bass being in there but not biting. Mid-day winds aren't helping, and makes the dawn/dusk the best time to find active bass. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and swim jigs are about the only thing I can get to work; reaction bite > finesse bite, currently. I have a feeling the bass are just a day or two away from stabilizing again in the shallows, and some fun fishing to follow.

I was fishing in a super quiet slough on Wilson Lake yesterday, using a popping frog. At the very beginning of a long cast, I see an owl swoop down from a tree (didn't notice the owl before), and immediately see that it's making a b-line for my frog. I figured it would see that it ain't a real frog before it went in for the grab, but it was committed and went for it. Untangling or unhooking an owl from my kayak didn't appeal to me, so I jerked the frog out of reach at the very last second before the owl could grab it. The owl then perched on a branch right above me. I kept fishing, and the owl would look at the frog intently, look at me, then back at the frog. I had my iPhone set to record video in case it went in for another swoop, but it was content just watching and looking confused. I've seen osprey and other bird go for lures, but was surprised to see an elusive Barred Owl go for the frog, and then hang out while I continued to fish. You don't normally think of owls attacking aquatic prey. Here's some shots of the owl I took...

Yeah, the water is indeed low. And it's too bad because there's plenty of stump fields that normally are loaded with bass this time of year, but there's just no water on them right now. That being said, there's still plenty of good fishing on Pickwick right now. I've been fishing south of the Natchez Trace bridge. Any spawning flat has a lot of fish in it, and if there's a laydown or stump, there will be a fish there at some point during the day. I've already broken my PB twice in the last 10 days. It's been a one-two combo for me....using fast-moving search baits in shallow water near the spawning flats will scare up a few bass. And throwing a jig or worm into wood cover in those same areas has been hugely successful. Pretty basic stuff, but it's resulting in some BIG bites. I've also noticed a significant decline in bites after 9am, so get at 'em early.

It's more common than you think. There are certain times and conditions that warrant bass to group up, and often those groups will consist of similar-sized bass. If you're lucky enough to trigger bites from bigger bass, it's very believable that your PB might be reset multiple times in an outing. Anyone broken their PB twice with one cast of an Alabama Rig? I bet someone here has.

Buzzbaits always took a back seat to other lures (poppers, buzz frogs, walking baits) until I found their sweet spot. Their sweet spot wasn't a spot as much as it was a sweet TIME. That time? August / 3rd quarter of the summer, when the heat is at its max, and the fish have been pressured all season. When I used the buzzbait as a reaction lure, it made the difference. To me, a popper or walking bait is mimicking a dying/fleeting bait fish.....the bass have time to consider what it is, right? The buzzbait caught fish for me when I used it with speed. The speed didn't give the bass enough time to analyze it and perhaps identify it as one of the many lures they've seen recently. I may have felt more confident with some other slower surface bait at first, but after not getting bit on any of those lures, the buzz bait would catch them. The key to me was realizing I needed to use the buzzbait as a reaction strike, and even a search bait. If you've ever been on the water while a big school of threadfin shad passes you by on the surface, you'll notice the sound they make with their tails kicking is nearly identical to a buzz bait. Once I saw and heard that, a light bulb went off in my head that helped me further understand the appeal of the buzz bait. Don't give up on the swim baits. THEY WORK. Soft, hard, hallow, big, small, giant. They all work. But you have to remember, they're all just tools, and you have to use the right tool for the right condition. You could drive a screw into wood with a hammer, but a screw driver will probably do it better. It just takes lots of time on the water, and really understanding what mood the fish are in (assuming you have the fish generally located). I've seen swimbaits out-fish all other lures for days on end, especially where fish haven't seen them before. But swimbait fishing (especially with the bigger ones) is a genre of bass fishing that requires its own field of study if you truly want to reap the benefits of using them. YouTube has plenty of excellent swim bait info....check out Bill Siemantel, *, Mike Long. Those guys will provide knowledge that's applicable in almost any water. Not to mention, there's swimbait wizards that post on BassResource.

The TVA lakes in my area kick out some big bass, sometimes in big quantities; it's a special place. Other than the dead of winter, and a few weeks in August, I'm able to catch 3 & 4 lb bass regularly mixed in with smaller ones. Anything 5 lb or greater, and I'll get the camera out. However, I fish exclusively from a kayak, so I'm sure guys with bass boats can be more efficient with their time on the water and dwarf the numbers I'm used to. My goal is to break the 10 lb mark.

Bay Springs Lake has plenty of fun bank fishing in the Autumn. It's clear water with little cover, so be prepared for that. There's good largemouth and spotted bass to be caught.

There's only Chain Pickerel where I fish, and I'll watch them share the same water and hiding spots as the bass. I've never noticed the pickerel hurting the bass fishing. Toothy fish are rarer in my area, so I have fun when I happen to catch one while fishing for largemouth.

Lost a few $20+ BBZ-1 swimbaits. It happened only when my line would fray after catching a fish and having its teeth chew up the line. And I would be in a school that was fired up, so I didn't think to check the line after catching 4 or 5 fish in a row. I'd cast out, line would immediately snap, and the lure would fly so far I could never find it again in open water. Matter of fact, had one fish break the line with a big swimbait in its mouth, go underwater and reappear seconds later, jump and throw the lure, then the floating lure was eaten by another bass before I could chase it down and retrieve it. I learned my lesson and regularly check my line for nicks now.

Great catches. How many of those are Pickwick fish?

A dropshot Roboworm, shakey head worm, and your pick of topwater (popper, buzz bait, spook). Those would be my first choices on Lanier. If the wind is blowing pretty good, a spinner bait does well there. Maybe try green or pink colored worms, and white/silver for hard baits. It's a fun lake, and you probably stand just as good of a chance of catching a fat Spotted bass as you do a largemouth.