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Call fishing guide Sam Parker. He's been
fishing these waters with his Dad and Grandad since
he was a toddler, in his own boat since he was five
years old.
Anyone
who knows anything about smallmouth bass knows this
is the site of some of the best fishing in the world.
Frequented by fishermen from throughout the nation
and across the globe, Pickwick, Wheeler and Wilson
Lakes regularly produce eight pound plus smallmouth
bass; while five to seven pound fish are common.
The largest Parker has ever seen personally weighed
nine pounds and seven ounces; while the state record
was set in Wilson Lake in 1950 at 10 pounds and
eight ounces.
A
day trip with Parker starts before sunrise at the
Florence Harbor Marina, which recently underwent
a $5.6 million improvement project and is the site
of an annual Bass Anglers Sportsman Society tournament
since 1998 and the Forrest Wood Open Fishing Tournament
in June 2000. The morning starts out cool and slighlty
foggy, with a gentle breeze barely disturbing the
glass-like surface of the water. By the greenish-red
glow of the boat lights Parker outfits his clients
in his favorite item of fishing apparel, a papery
thin suit called Frogg Toggs, which is worn over
regular clothing. Technically a rain suit, the outfit
cuts the wind and helps keep the early morning chill
at bay.
As
the day progresses and the temperature rises, the
suit comes off. Once the fishermen are loaded and
ready, Parker heads for the front section of Seven
Mile Island where he spends the first couple of
hours throwing his preferred subsurface lure, a
Basstrix lure.
"I
love these things," laughs Parker, as he casts
just under the surface for smallmouth. "Early
in the morning, before the sun hits the water, the
schooling shad minnows come to the surface feeding.
The smallmouth follow the shad minnows, so I try
to do the same. This lure acts just like a large
shad minnow and large shad minnows mean bass."
Once
the sun rises in the sky, the schools of shad go
deeper and Parker changes to Bladerunner spinner
baits in 1 ounce to 2 1/2 ounce models. He fishes
the visible rock rows near the head of Seven Mile
Island and along the edge of the river channel at
the mouth of Spring Creek. On through the early
afternoon the boat explores the river, seeking the
schooling shad minnow.
"The
smallmouth on Pickwick Lake are very current oriented,"
explains Parker. "The best fishing comes when
water is being generated through the dam and there
are some serious currents flowing. On days like
that, the smallmouth will actually stack up on the
down current side of the underwater structures,
including the rock rows and Indian Mounds and I
may have to throw something as heavy as a two ounce
model of the Bladerunner spinner bait.
"I
went upriver once and fished a favorite spot when
the water was still and ended up with maybe a keeper
or two. Then I went back after lunch when the current
was running and caught four smallmouth weighing
over 22 1/2 pounds in the same spot! Did that in
little over an hour, throwing a 1oz Bladerunner
spinner bait in shad pattern."
The
electrical generation schedules are determined in
Knoxville depending on the electricity demand and
Parker says its anybody's guess when that might
be. Typically, the generation schedules are more
frequent on weekdays and that's when the fun starts!"
When
it's time to break, Parker often takes his fishermen
back to the Florence Harbor Marina and Restaurant.
The marina features indoor and outdoor dining with
a spectacular view of the river and the bluffs on
the Colbert County side. Built with boaters in mind,
it's easy in and easy out and Parker and his fishermen
soon head back out into the fading afternoon to
fish the main river ledges.
"The
best way to wind up the afternoon is with subsurface
lures and topwater baits," Parker explains,
"'using topwater surface lures and Basstrix
in shad pattern. The water gets calm and the pink
sky starts to fade and the shad minnow school back
toward the surface to feed again. Everything sort
of slows down around you and you still have a while
to get in some of the best fishing of the day."
Late
afternoon, when the smallmouth start biting again,
it is a good time to return to the early morning
sites to check out the bronzebacks. Fishing the
points and along the stump rows can often provide
a productive ending to an excellent day on this
beautiful stretch of the Tennessee River.
Parker
may be contacted at (256) 762-4924 or at samparker@fishinalabama.com.
Further information may be obtained from the Florence/Lauderdale
Tourism homepage at www.flo-tour.org
and from www.froggtoggs.com.
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