smallmouth sPECTACULAR
Y ou can find him in the current beneath the full moon . On hot summer nights when fireflies and mosquitos swarm the southern skies , Tennessee River guide and former Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competitor Cameron Gautney will be hard at work on the water . He ’ ll have a trio of black spinnerbaits on deck and , almost certainly , a passenger from parts unknown .
“ They ’ ve come from Australia and Italy to be here ,” Gautney says . “ These two tailraces are world famous .”
The tailraces Gautney calls home are located below Wilson Dam and Wheeler Dam near Muscle Shoals , Alabama . Here , amidst the rhythmic footsteps of The Rolling Stones , Wilson Pickett and Bob Seger , who all recorded hits beside the river , the whirring turbines of two dams produce music to fishermen ’ s ears . The tune ? The sound of splashing smallmouth in raging river currents .
“ I ’ ve fished tournaments on the Great Lakes ,” Gautney says . “ They have the numbers , there ’ s no question , but when you catch a 6-pound smallmouth in 100,000 CFMs , that ’ s one of the hardest fights you ’ ll ever have in your entire life .”
THE NEXT WORLD RECORD ?
The unique conditions surrounding these tail waters are nothing new . For decades , those in the know have pined over tales of bronzeback battles that are now the stuff of legend — like Owen Smith ’ s Alabama staterecord smallmouth , a 1950 catch below Wheeler that tipped the scales at 10 pounds , 8 ounces .
Though it ’ s been more than 70 years since Smith ’ s record catch , Gautney believes another state or world record could still be lurking in the area .
“ Every year , we see or hear of a few 8- pound smallmouth being caught down here , so I would say it ’ s possible ,” he posits . “ Another unique thing about our genetic lot is that the ones you catch are ‘ mean mouth ’ bass , which is a hybrid between smallmouth and spotted bass .”
Gautney is a Shoals-area local . He ’ s lived on both Wheeler and Wilson and has at times spent 300 days a year on the water . All that time topside equates to a wealth of knowledge on these special fisheries whose only equal in terms of top weight lies several hours north on the Tennessee-Kentucky border at Dale Hollow .
“ In my opinion , this area offers more habitable water than most tailraces ,” Gautney explains . “ If you look at other tailraces , they ’ re usually narrow and have straight banks . Wheeler and Wilson both have large slack-water areas that have good smallmouth-depth spawning flats .
PHOTO BY ROB NEWELL
Tennessee River system veteran Cameron Gautney points to a handful of tailrace spots as some of the best smallmouth fishing in the world .
The reason we get so many quality fish is either that or simply the size of the area enabling them to hold larger populations of fish .”
Mix that population with highly oxygenated , cool water coming from TVA dams and you have a recipe for fun . But targeting those fish requires both deftness and patience .
INTO THE DARKNESS
For Gautney , that sometimes means idling out into the darkness on perfect full-moon nights when the turbines slow down and the full playing field of these tailraces is laid before him .
“ They call it night blading ,” he explains . “ It ’ s a great way to catch big smallmouth around a full moon in July . It can work in June also . Depending on the current you ’ re fishing in , you ’ ll want to throw a 1 / 2- , 3 / 4- or 1-ounce spinnerbait with a single Colorado blade . If a client calls me and says they want to go night blading , I tell them that we ’ re throwing one bait — because it ’ s one of the best bites you ’ ll ever get on .”
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