smallmouth sPECTACULAR
Beginning in the current just before dark , Gautney bides his time , making his way out to slack water as the turbines wind down . There , he searches for boulders or brush piles on the bottom while following the remnants of 100-year-old roads created when the dams were made . Those roads , he says , were built on rock beds that were then covered in gravel .
Indeed , historical photos from the 1910s and 1920s , when Wilson and Wheeler dams were under construction , show a labyrinth of roadbeds and heavy industrial-era machinery snaking their way through the Tennessee River Valley .
in the summer , i might get 25 percent of customers that want to fish for smallmouth only . In the spring and fall , it ’ s at least 95 percent of them .
“ One good thing about it is , if you know how to fish current , you can come here any time of year with a spinnerbait , swimbait , crankbait and a jig . You can fish the same areas pretty much all year , besides the spawn , with minor adjustments .”
Still , the two tailraces do fish differently . Though they both offer large spawning areas and ample fish habitat , fishing at Wilson usually involves drifting along current seams and searching for eddies . On Wheeler , the fish are more likely to gravitate to structure .
In either case , ambitious anglers hoping to take on the tailraces on their own should heed his advice : Wear a life jacket , know the current schedules to see which units will be on at what time and use your trolling motor when the water is low — the shoals have a treacherous history for a reason . Many of their rock piles are not marked on charts . Above all , he says , be patient .
“ We see it all the time on guide trips ,” Gautney adds . “ In the morning , there are 100 boats below the dam and by 8 a . m . or 9 a . m ., they start driving out . Fishing below the dam is not an all-day deal . It happens in very small windows , so if you ’ re set on fishing there for smallmouth , be patient with it . Put a few rods in your hands and stay up there all day .”
On average , Gautney says fish hooked over these ruins average 3 pounds or better . They can grow past 6 pounds , biting from just before sunset into the night . Generally , he uses a 7-foot , 3-inch medium-heavy rod with 15-pound-test fluorocarbon and a 6:3:1 reel to do the damage . The combo keeps his spinnerbait slowly rolling along , “ just fast enough to keep the blade spinning ,” while the relatively narrow line helps keep his bait in the strike zone while reducing additional drag created by the current .
Typically , the strike is ferocious , and the battle is intense . With 15-pound line , he encourages customers to use a little more care than they might with 17- or 20-pound-test line on the main lake .
“ Be as gentle as you can with them ,” he says . “ You can horse a smallmouth until it gets close to the boat . Once they see the boat , they go all crazy . If you ’ re in very strong current , try to work that fish towards the back of the boat and bring it out in the slack water beside the motor .”
“ It ’ s not the only deal this time of year ,” Gautney adds ,” But when you get bit on a spinnerbait at night , you aren ’ t going to catch a small one .”
Opportunities and Options
A handful of incredible nights each year does not make a world-famous fishery . They certainly don ’ t sustain a guiding business full-time . Therein lies the joy of the shoals . Gautney says they produce year-round .
“ During the summer , I might get 25 percent of customers that want to fish for smallmouth only ,” he says . “ In the spring and fall , it ’ s at least 95 percent of them .”
Gautney says the same rock piles , roads and brushpiles that sustain him at night are productive throughout the year . The catch is having the determination and patience to find the bite .
“ If you grew up down here around Wilson Dam , it ’ s what you grow up doing ; we chase smallmouth year-round ,” he says .
Gautney ’ s Go-To Tailrace Tackle
5-inch Zoom Swimmer Swimbait
Zoom Pearl White Fluke Jig
Azuma Z Boss 20 Crankbait
Strike King Pot Belly Colorado Blade Spinnerbait
46 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | JUNE-JULY 2021