USA trip in June Tennessee

[dirvin21]

Heading to the states in June from Oz. Starting in Tennessee around Newport, I believe there are smallmouth there, just after a few lure suggestions mostly fishing light setups (4-8lb) 

[IYAOYAS]

June gonna be hot. shade lines and docks will be your friend. I use a shaky head with a good ole zoom trick worm on docks (a neko rig also works well) and a weightless fluke on the shady parts of the bank.

[dirvin21]

46 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

June gonna be hot. shade lines and docks will be your friend. I use a shaky head with a good ole zoom trick worm on docks (a neko rig also works well) and a weightless fluke on the shady parts of the bank.

thanks mate

[Tennessee Boy]

@TnRiver46 will be here soon and he'll fix you up. 👍

[TnRiver46]

The river in Newport is (was?) full of SMB. Had the worst flood since 1791 and some of the town washed away. You may find some interesting items in the water such as semi trucks, siding, fences, etc. 

 

What body of water are you fishing? 

[dirvin21]

45 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

The river in Newport is (was?) full of SMB. Had the worst flood since 1791 and some of the town washed away. You may find some interesting items in the water such as semi trucks, siding, fences, etc. 

 

What body of water are you fishing? 

don't know exactly which bodies of water we'll be fishing, we do have a day with a guide chasing striper 

will be doing some fishing around pigeon forge as well

never fished the US before, was thinking small cranks, 2.5" - 3" soft plastics with a jig spinner (pretty much standard Australian bass lures) but very happy to here your expertise 

[TnRiver46]

River smallies love a tube jig and topwaters! Curly tail grub can also be extremely effective 

[Fishlegs]

Smaller lures in the 3 inch (7-8 cm) size range are great, but don't ignore larger lures like a 6 inch (15 cm) swimbait, or a 10 inch (25 cm) worm. Sometimes big fish want a big meal in the summertime. I hope you have a great trip. Please post your experience on here when you're finished.

[dirvin21]

50 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

River smallies love a tube jig and topwaters! Curly tail grub can also be extremely effective 

Awesome, 

Love curly tails 

17 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Smaller lures in the 3 inch (7-8 cm) size range are great, but don't ignore larger lures like a 6 inch (15 cm) swimbait, or a 10 inch (25 cm) worm. Sometimes big fish want a big meal in the summertime. I hope you have a great trip. Please post your experience on here when you're finished.

Definitely will put a post up

[Will3369]

As TNRiver46 said,A tube.  I have always done well with tubes. Open hook, weedless, stupid. To this day still one of my favorite ways to catch Smallies.

[Junk Fisherman]

I'm going to be in the Newport area in the middle of June for a week so I'm looking for suggestions as well.  Going to either bring my kayak or mountain bike but I haven't really researched the area yet.  Not to highjack the thread but any suggestions on cool things to do in the area are appreciated.  I'll be there for a family party but I'll have days I can sneak away.  Thanks for any suggestions.  

[TnRiver46]

In all my years……. I never imagined……. That people traveled to Newport 😂 

 

I like floating/fishing the pigeon and French broad there. I’m sure there is mountain biking, my wife photographs a gravel race in a nearby town called Hartford, which also has whitewater rafting. In Newport, there is a Mexican restaurant? That’s all I’ve experienced other than river fishing. 
 

Douglas and Cherokee lake are nearby. Gatlinburg and pigeon forge are massive tourist spots just up the road. Camping/hiking/fishing in the great smoky mountain national park would be what I would look into . Asheville is not far if they can rebuild the road that fell into the pigeon , I think one lane is open now 

[Tennessee Boy]

You don't want to do any mountain biking in east Tennessee.  There are too many mountains. 😆

[Junk Fisherman]

11 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

In all my years……. I never imagined……. That people traveled to Newport 😂 

 

 

 

My brother in law and family lives there, and thankfully my MIL👍.  We're visiting to go to my nephew's graduation party and my wife wanted to turn it into a week-long vacation.  Trust me, I'd much rather spend the week in northern Michigan chasing smallies!   

[TnRiver46]

We’ve caught some really nice SMB and hybrids up there, even a few big LM. But the tourism opportunities are few haha. Plenty close by tho 

 

Here are some pics of the success we’ve had on Newport floats , can be some really really good fishing at times