Alabama pro Jonathan Newton frequently fishes the Tennessee River impoundments – especially Wheeler, Wilson, and Pickwick. These are Tennessee Valley Authority power-generation reservoirs, and he's found that current flow is often the key element that activates the bass.
"The bite is so dependent on the current, and you have to really learn what spots and areas are influenced by it," he said. "You have to figure out where the bait is going (to get out of the heavy current). Normally they're on a current break or a point."
Areas like the tailrace below Wheeler or Wilson dams can be chock-full of feeding bass, and tournaments are often won in places like that.
But what do you do when drought strikes the area, as it has this year, and the flow is minimal? Or in normal years, how do you keep catching fish on a Saturday when the dam operators aren't generating power? Here are his recommendations.
Coping with Low Flow
Newton says it all depends on the baitfish. "The bass still have to feed, whether they generate current or not," he noted. "But without current to position them, the bait tends to scatter out and roam around.
"They'll get out and just meander over a big flat or get on top of a hump or some structure," he added. "They spread out. Then your best search tool is your depthfinder. You just have to actually look for them."
He'll put in the time to drive back and forth over likely structure, usually not far from where the bait would be if current had them pinned down. It takes a while, but patience early pays dividends later.
"Once I find the bait, and see the depth they're holding at, I try to stay on top of them," he said. "You can pattern that and look for other areas where a long point or some structure intersects that depth." But he still wants to see bait before he makes a cast.
If the water isn't too deep where he finds baitfish, he'll use a search lure like a Rat-L Trap to scour the area and try to stimulate a reaction bite from the bass he expects to find lurking nearby. He might try a topwater lure early in the day too.
But if the bait isn't in the top-third to top-half of the water column, he might start the day with a deep-diving crankbait while other anglers are tossing topwaters.
"You really have to fish the depth that the fish are feeding in," he noted. And that's where the bait's hanging out.
Getting the Bite
So you found the bait and made a few casts, but hauled water. Now what?
"You might have to finesse them a little more than normal when the water isn't flowing," Newton said. "A lot of times you have to trigger a bite. You have to make repeated casts and just keep working on getting one fish to bite.
"Don't worry about wondering how many might be down there. Just concentrate on getting that first bite. Often, once you hook one, it can get the whole school activated and you'll catch several more."
Finessing them doesn't necessarily mean you have to throw jigworms all day, though that will work. Crankbaits, Carolina-rigs, jigs and other lures will also draw bites, but patience and repeated casts, along with varying your retrieves, are key.
Other Considerations
"Another thing to think about is what moon phase it is and what are the major feeding periods," Newton said. "You can usually catch them better in the morning when they're more aggressive, but there may be another time during the day when they start eating.
"If it's a full moon, that period might be around noon. I had that situation happen to me one time last year in a tournament. I had about 15 pounds and when that major feeding period came, I went to a place I thought should hold some fish.
"If you'd fished it any other time, you'd swear no bass lived there. But during that short window I culled up to around 20 pounds. So be aware of those activity periods."
Another suggestion he had is to spend time learning what the fish are doing in areas unaffected by the current. That's especially important if you are fishing multiple-day tournaments that extend into the weekend, since the generators often run less, if at all, on Saturdays and Sundays.
"Find out what the generation schedule is, and be prepared to take advantage of a 1- or 2-hour opportunity," he noted. But also be prepared to move away from the main channel when the flow gets slow.
Knowing places where the fish don't normally experience much water movement will give you alternatives that can also be used when the current's abnormally slow during the week. "Some things to look for are shallow wood, docks, and grass in areas that are out of the main current path," he said.
And finally, if you can't get the rain to end the drought, pray for a little wind. "Wind might be the only hope you've got," he added. "It'll position the bait like current does, but of course in different places, depending on the direction."
As the wind blows the plankton, the baitfish that eat it will follow, and the bass won't be far behind. Windy shorelines and any funnels that carry wind-generated current (such as under bridges where the water necks down) are prime locations any time, but can be a godsend when the current slows and the fishing does too.
Notable
> Jonathan Newton guides on Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson, and Pickwick lakes when he's not fishing FLW Tour or Stren Series tournaments. For information on the guide service operated by Newton and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jimmy Mason, click here for J and J Bass Fishing Professional Guide Service.
> Newton said that in river-run impoundments like those on the Tennessee River system, you normally don't see a thermocline or deep-water oxygen-depletion problem. "Even with low-flow conditions, the water seems to mix enough."
