the bRush bite by august on Wheeler , the ledges will have been pressured by the locals , making the brush pile bite one of the better options – more so than at any other tennessee River impoundment . productive brush piles can be found from one end of the lake to the other , and having a milk run of brush piles , with each capable of producing a keeper or two , just might be a championship strategy .
huNtsville
Ditto laNDiNG located at 2963 Ditto landing Rd . in huntsville , the takeoff site for the cup is situated at the far upper end of the reservoir , just a short trip from Guntersville Dam .
i-65 bRiDGe
the RiveR the upper end of Wheeler from the Guntersville Dam west to about the interstate 65 bridge is primarily a narrow river with just a few sweeping bends . the banks are lined with rock and wood that act as current breaks , though anglers can also sample a smattering of backwaters with shallow cover ranging from brush and laydowns to pads and bank grass .
the tailRace the tailrace below the Guntersville Dam is smaller than most on the tennessee River . though it can become crowded with boats quickly , the tailrace area can be a premier place to fish .
GuNteRsville DaM
Facts aND FiGuRes : length : 70 miles — area : 67,000 acres — shoreline : 1,000 miles — age : 70 years
a quick histoRy one of nine reservoirs on the tennessee River , Wheeler lake was formed by the construction of Wheeler Dam in the 1930s . the dam was the second to be built by the tennessee valley authority , following Norris , and the resulting reservoir is now sandwiched between lake Guntersville and Wilson lake .
Wheeler lake is named for joseph “ Fightin ’ joe ” Wheeler , a u . s . congressman and former cavalry general who led confederate troops during the civil War . along with Wilson and pickwick , Wheeler covers Muscle shoals , enabling barge traffic across the middle part of the tennessee River system . thus , its water level is kept reasonably stable , with seasonal fluctuation of 5 or 6 feet .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 I FLWFISHING . COM 77