Originally Posted by poorcountrypreacher


Thanks for all the great info!

But I gotta say that fishing for bass with live bait has always seemed to me like something similar to shooting a turkey out of a tree. smile

No doubt that it works, but something just doesn't feel right about it for me. And I've always disliked fishing in a tailrace, or off a pier, or anywhere I am crowded in with a bunch of other fishermen. Plus, I would have no idea of how to go about catching shad.

So instead, our plan is to run way up one of the creeks and bounce a shaky head worm off the rocks. Think that will catch one? Or maybe fish rocky points or banks in the river, if such places exist up there. I can catch spots and red eye without resorting to minners; I'm thinking those smallmouth can't be that different. But maybe we are in for a rude awakening.

So how would I get some shad if it comes down to either that or go home skunked?


Your plan of finesse fishing up the creeks is usually good for at least a few fish. They might not be trophy sized, but you have a very good chance at catching largemouth, smallmouth, spots, and rock bass following that plan. If you want a chance at some big smallies, find the schooling fish and throw a shad imitating swimbait, jerkbait, crankbait, etc. You don't have to use live bait to catch them in the tailrace, you can fish the current edges and seams with artificials and catch them too. You can catch all the threadfin shad you want with a throw net or even a long handled bait dip net around the dam walls, rocks, etc. There are millions of them in the tailrace area. I should add this since someone seeing this thread might decide to come up and fish Wilson or Pickwick and not have any experience fishing around hydroelectric dams: Please use caution fishing the tailrace area. Life jackets are required by law when within 800 feet of the dam. Both Wheeler and Wilson Dams are massive and create huge amounts of current and undertow, and both also have scattered boulders in the tailrace area.

Last edited by Cibola; 09/18/20 01:45 PM.
He never promised that the cross would not get heavy & the hill would not be hard to climb.