PICKWICK LAKE
Pickwick is the granddaddy of all the Tennessee River lakes when it comes to producing both numbers of smallmouth bass and quality smallmouth bass. More big smallies are probably caught here than in any of the other reservoirs.

"The area just below Wilson Dam gets fished a lot, but it produces a lot of fish," Floyd said. "There are a lot of rockpiles in that area that the fish relate to."

Again, drifting a live minnow is a good tactic, one just about any fisherman can try. Anglers use cast nets to catch the bait up next to the dam.

The best baits will be 4 to 5 inches long. You need a round bucket or bait tank to keep the shad alive, as they tend to bunch up and die in the corners of square livewells.

As a rule of thumb, the fishing is better when there's more current flowing.

"Drifting with bait is a very effective way to fish," Floyd said. "It's the way I fish when I go there."

Regulars at Pickwick say the tactic is just as effective in the fall as it is in the summer. It's almost a year-round sport.

Fishermen who prefer to use artificial baits can pick up smallmouths on worms, flukes, grubs and spinnerbaits tossed around eddies in the swift water.

Don't be surprised if you pick up some other fish while you're after smallmouths. Big stripers are notorious for hitting baits intended for smallmouths below the dam.

Jimmy Mason fishes artificial baits when he targets smallmouths at Pickwick.

"In February and March, the smallmouth are just starting to come up to get ready for the spawn," he stated. "Most of the fish are going to be on points and sloping bars. They will be on the steeper bluffs and points earlier in the season. They go to the more gradual points as the season progresses."

You can usually see the points on the contour of the shoreline and then use your electronics to pinpoint the exact places to fish.

Mason likes to throw grubs and suspending jerkbaits, but he uses the big-lipped, deep-diving baits earlier in the season.

"Colors that are always good are clown, gold with a blue back, and silver with a blue back," he said.

He uses the shinier colors if the water is cloudy or stained.

The smallmouths begin to get in shallower water when the temperature gets above 50 degrees.

"I use a wobble jerkbait in that situation," Mason said. "I only fish it about 6 feet deep. The smallmouth come up on it if they're deeper than that. I always tell people to let the fish tell you where to run your bait."

He counts it down to the proper depth using a "one one-thousand, two one-thousand"-type count.

The retrieve is critical, Mason emphasized. He jerks it and then gives it a long pause on his retrieve.