TENNESSEE NEWSOME

4-5 miles to the lake i fish most often

I've been wondering if videos like this would ever surface. Wow! Excellent work Glenn! Very, very helpful. I'm a worm/tube/jig fisherman mostly and haven't given spinnerbaits the honest try that I should be. Can't wait to see these other videos!

Hard to tell, as always with pictures. But that's an awesome, awesome fish. I'll say upper 8's to 9.0. Congrats.

I like using a soft jerkbait when I see bass chasing minnows. One of my favorites is a Bass Assassin (looks like a mini fluke). I tie a Gamakatsu drop shot hook on and nose hook the Bass Assassin - no weight. Throw it out as far as you can on spinning tackle. Jerk and reel, jerk and reel. The jerk is more important than the reel. If it doesn't look like a frantic or wounded bait fish, you're doin something wrong. Be sure the bait isn't moving in a loopty-loop pattern. Try different speeds and techniques. If the fish are extremely active, I like ripping it through the water. Hope this helps.

I used to have the same problem. When I first moved to TN from Florida, I had a terrible time. This advice helped me tremendously. #1. I got a longer rod. I now use a 7' rod when throwing jigs. I also use a heavy football head jig. Football head rolls along rocks easier. #2. Use a higher gear ratio - My baitcaster is a 5.4:1 I believe. #3. Pull the bait along the bottom with the rod as opposed to reeling the jig. When you feel the jig come hit a rock that might cause problems, barely hop it. This is the advice someone told me when I wanted to keep my jigs and t-rigs with weight on the rocky bottom. Good luck. Oh, and if you're in rocks, there's a good chance there's fish!

Excellent advice. I love it when i read something on here and learn. Thanks!

Same here too. Unless it's a big fish that I absolutely don't want to lose, my rod tip goes at least a foot or two in the water.

Dude, that is an awesome, awesome fish! Congrats!!

I should have taken a picture of the boat and equipment we were using too. It just goes to show that you can catch nice fish and have a good time without having to spend 5, 10, 20 grand on a new boat and motor. Those things are nice and certainly give you an advantage, especially if you're fishing a tourney. One day, I'll step up. There's just a lot of people who have the wrong perception. Trust me and JT. You can catch a lot of fish with a leaky 1970 something jon boat that can be thrown in the back of a pickup truck (with just a trolling motor).

I've had the exact same experience here more than once. Just a few weeks ago, I couldn't get a bite to save my life. Fish teasing me all around the boat feeding on mayflies. I threw everything in the box and varied my retrieve.

It may be CMA Music Fest week here in Nashville, but we were on the lake in the early evening last night instead of listening to music. My new fishing buddy who's been fishing for exactly one month, caught this 23 incher last night on J. Percy Priest. Awesome fish for that lake, which gets enormous metropolitan pressure. He was hooked before. Now, he's addicted!

The post by Glen that a few others referred to is a technique that I've been using for a few years. It's excellent advice!! In fact, I had two fish just yesterday that swallowed trick worms on shakey heads. They were deep. I went in from the gills and got both hooks just fine. It looks a lot worse that what it is until you move in from the gills.

That's some good feedback. Thanks a lot. It's contrary to what my gut-reaction was telling me, in that they weren't in that 1-2 feet of water that's up in the brush. I may try going this evening, but I'm not sure if I can even get my aluminum boat back in there. Thanks for the advice!

I fish often in Middle Tennessee where we have been inundated with rain over the past month. The particular reservoir I fish is at least 6' high right now, with water standing in some of the parking lots where you'd normally be driving to launch your boat. In some places, you just launch from the lot itself. The past two times I've been out, I've had terrible results. Very few strikes, very few fish. I can't figure out if the reasons for why I'm not catching fish are because of the extraordinarily high water levels or because of the lower than average water temp (water temp is 67-69 degrees still). Normally, I'd be catching fish this time of year in 4-10 feet of water. Are the fish traveling into these shallow areas where water normally doesn't stand? Or are they sticking to their usual "home" areas? In that case, I should be fishing 10-16 feet of water to compensate for the flooding ... ?? Although the high water has thrown me off, I'm reading reports of other anglers catching fish. I've been doing most of my fishing at night -- maybe that's why I'm not catching them either?? Thanks for the read and your tips.

While it's true that some very defined areas are limited to artificial bait, most streams and rivers in Tennessee are open to fishing with most or all of the baits you mentioned. Even in the Smokies, you'll find places where you can use most anything. Start here to check more. If you know exactly where you're heading, I'd call the TWRA to make sure, in case you're making a long trip in.