Blue Raider Bob

Thanks for responding! I will try it again when the hottest weather breaks. Sounds like you are Texas rigging the Rage Tail and dragging it close to the bottom. I haven't been below Pickwick or Wilson in many years but I assume I will have similar conditions. The high energy demand has Nickajack running multiple generators and creating quite a current

Thanks! I'm not much of a live bait fisherman. Are you finding your fish near the generators in strong currents or further downstream? Are you using a heavier weight to contact bottom or a lighter weight to drift your presentations? Thanks again!

Sounds like fun! I don't have shoal water. It's 15 to 20' river channel with gentle slope to bank. Might try some top water though!

Big Rick your post has fried my brains. I cooked in the Tennessee sun for hours yesterday and didn't catch one half as big as your smallest! Congrates on a terrific day!

Love those TicklrZ's!

Another tough day below Nickajack Dam on the Tennessee River yesterday. Surface temps 78 deg. Air temp. 92 in the PM. I was hoping that the moving water would concentrate the Smallies and the higher water temps would contribute to the need to feed but I could not catch em'. There was baitfish galore showing up on my Livescope. Where do they go in the summer? The usually faithfull Ned rigs didn't produce against the banks and the only way I caught fish was trolling small Shad Raps with the current and they were all small. Big fish 1.9 but really fat. I don't really like fishing that way because I had to troll at 2.5 MPH with the current just to get the cranks to wobble. When a little Spot or Smallie bites, he just kinda gets drug through the water and that's no good. Any kind of advise from you tailwater fishers would be greatly appreciated! Also every jet ski and cabin cruiser on the river was active yesterday as well.

Never thought of it that way and I can agree. Now I'll have a new attitude for the jumpers and newfound respect for the ones that " Earn Freedom"! I release everything anyway but I'm always chasing that new PB.

Dwight my PB smallie is 3lb 10 oz so every heavy hookset has the potential to be a new PB. Unfortunately I think I've seen numerous potential PB's jump and toss. That's why I have a mini-panic attack when I see that line rising! But then again like so many previous opinions, that's part of the fun of Smallie fishing.

There seem to be two mindsets regarding the way Bass jump when hooked. One camp loves the way they rise and go airborne and then there's me. After a hookset and a solid rod bend, I totally hate seeing that line rise. Even when jamming my rod down in the water they still get airborne! The moment between the rising line and the inevitable lure sling has got to be the most nerve wracking part of smallie fishing. One again the little ones were biting like sharks in the Cumberland. Caught 48 yesterday but big fish was only 16". Don't mind the little ones jumping and coming off 'cause it just saves me the trouble, but I had two I really would have been proud of if only they would not have made me witness the crankbait leap and headshake! Another profundity, why can't Drum and Catfish come off crankbaits as easily. When those fish bite, they stay bit!

That is some pond! Sounds like a great day on the water. I use Mepps Aglia's often myself.

I fished for several hours yesterday post frontal conditions and I could not catch anything to brag about. Caught four small Smallies on Ned rig after all else failed. If you have not Ned Rig fished may I suggest you try. I've never caught size using the Ned but I've caught numbers and it is very easy to learn. And if the Bass are not willing, the Bluegill will keep you awake!

Me Too!

Water clarity in the Buffalo River of Tennessee is much better than in the Duck River of Tennessee. That said, the Duck sometimes clears up quite nicely. I have a cabin on the Duck and fish it often. Unfortunately it rises suddenly with rainfall and fishing is impossible for days at a time. That's when the Rocks of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers eat my jigs!

We have a Buffalo in Middle Tennessee as well as the one you are thinking of in Arkansas. I catch a few out of the Duck River as well.

Not a pond but since you are new to the area, just north of you is a place called Cold Creek. There is a public boat ramp and when you enter the creek it is a short boat ride until you emerge unto the old river oxbow. The lake rises and falls with the river but does provide outstanding fishing at times. This lake is near Fort Pillow and is knows as "Cold Creek" but is actually and old oxbow of the Mississippi. I used to fish there as a kid when I was living in Memphis. Tons of Bluegill and Crappie. I'm sure it is loaded with Bass as well.

The Hale's Bar generator house and lock are still there. Only the dam itself has been removed. It is a really spookey place. The river comes up to within a few feet of the tops of the lock.

If you google earth the Nickajack Dam, you will see the active lock. Right beside the active lock is an inactive lock know as the "dead lock". It was constructed with the thought that if river traffic ever increased and overwhelmed the main lock, then it could be opened and used. It has never been opened but it provides an extra area of water that is protected from current and stays full of baitfish. This might be the riprap wall your friend has described. The wall between the deadlock and what I call the "Basin", which is a large lake-like area protected from current that includes the boat ramp. My PB Largemouth, Walleye, and White Bass all came from the basin. The water depth is anywhere from 10' to 17' most of the time and it is teeming with fish. I'll be there again Sunday! Lord Willing!

What areas below the dams do you fish? The spillways, generators, or other? I fish below Nickajack dam but I haven't been able to catch much close to the dam. I usually catch a few several hundred yards to a couple miles away from the dam where the current softens.

Who won the "land" part? I see you won the water part. I have caught several river 3 pound plus smallies but have yet to get a four. I'm trying again Wednesday. I would use my biggest for my Avatar but I don't know how to create it? I know, I'm about as sorry a techie as I am a Smallie fisherman! This one may be a four but I didn't have a scale.

Here's your big ol Flathead! Caught on a TRD Ned Rig in the Tennessee River using medium light spinning tackle. This brute is 42" long. I just drifted down river trying to gain more line than she took. I won in the end and she got weighed and measured then released!

Not just cats but durn near everything that swims will eat bass lures. This Carp ate a Z-Man Worm! Nearly every trip to the Tennessee River produces something other than bass. Most often its Drum.

The big ones sure ignored mine Saturday. Small ones came to play!

When I use them in current, I Ned rig them the same way I use other soft Plastics. I toss towards shore and gently drag them back while controlling my drift with my trolling motor. I do not use enough weight to keep them in place for two reasons.....the first is I want a natural drift that the Bass expect, and the second reason is the rivers I fish (Tennessee, Cumberland, and the Duck) and the spots I have the most confidence in have rocky bottoms. The exposed hook on my Ned Rigs will hang everytime if they make constant contact with the bottom. I understand your question about keeping in place because in a natural setting, a Hellgramite is going to cling to structure instead of drifting. However I believe you will have more success with a moving bait.

Good luck and I hope my personal views on fishing the River this time of year doesn't discourage you. The area below Pickwick dam is full of fish anytime of year. In my experience below Nickajack and Old Hickory, they are a little more aggressive when there are at least a couple of generators going. If you toss up on the rocks and drag off slowly as you drift you will surely hang a few!

Thanks.....I am trying to eliminate some of the hang ups as I also fish the big river like you do. Is that a Zoom Dead Ringer? I used to fish them and I have forgotten how effective they are. The Texas rigs sure reduce the hang ups in current but I just can't get an acceptable hook percentage.