Plan a Fishing Trip to the Tennessee River Valley’s Legendary Waters

The Tennessee River Beckons Anglers from Anywhere and Everywhere for Elite Level Bass-Catching Experiences

The fact that for the first time ever a guy from Canada won the Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville says a lot about how challenging, unpredictable and extraordinarily rewarding the waters of the Tennessee Valley can be.

Hooking up with victory in the 2023 Bassmaster Classic back in March was Ontario-native Jeff Gustafson’s second big pro-circuit, trophy-landing event launching from the Marble City in just two years. Using his personally fine-tuned “moping” technique – hover-jigging buoyant superplastics for deep-suspended fish -- “Gussy” won the 2021 Bassmaster Elite event on the Tennessee River as well.

What that says is that fishing along any of the Tennessee River’s sprawling TVA lakes is that they have a singular capacity to exhilarate, exalt or frustrate anyone, no matter where they’re from or how much fishing experience they possess.

“Gustafson had the tournament lead after the first day of competition, as well as the second day,” recounted a blog post on Bassmaster.com after the whopper-catching Canuck landed a victory in the world-renowned tournament. “He ran the table with an incredible performance on the third and final day to claim the top prize. Gustafson is the first Canadian to take home the prize for winning the most prestigious event in the world of professional fishing.”

In an interview with ExploreTRV videographer Brad Wiegmann before the derby, Gustafson hinted that even though he was fishing waters more than 1,300 miles from home, he was confident about his prospects -- partly because he “got lucky” and won an event two years ago on the same stretch of Tennessee River.

“It is just an awesome place to spend the week here in Knoxville,” Gustafson said as the Classic was getting underway. “I will be excited anytime as long as this place is on the schedule. If I had to choose which reservoir to fish on the Tennessee River, for big bass I would probably go with Chickamauga. But for me personally to have the best opportunity to win, I think Loudon and Tellico are right up my alley.”

Bassmaster Classic event planners recognize something special in the Tennessee Valley as well. Four of the past 10 of their Super Bowls of Bass Fishing have been held on the Tennessee River, an honor no other river system in the country can boast. Guntersville Lake hosted the big event in 2014 and 2020, and less than a month prior to this year’s downtown Knoxville showdown, Dayton, Tennessee was the launch point on Lake Chickamauga for Bassmaster’s National Championship for kayak anglers.

Regional anglers who call Tennessee River lakes their home fishing holes – as well as bass wranglers who hail from faraway waters – speak highly of the Tennessee River and its chain of trophy bass producing reservoirs. Owing to the river system’s clean water, lush aquatic vegetation, diverse structure and abundant bait fish, it is regarded as one of the premier fisheries anywhere in the country.

In order to be successful in competition fishing on the Tennessee River—or just to improve your chances of hooking into a fat bass on a lazy day off—it helps to develop competency in a range of angling tactics and techniques. To be consistently successful on the Tennessee River requires an angler to learn just about “every technique known to man for bass fishing,” said east Tennessee native Brandon Card, a former University of Kentucky angler who was the first Bassmaster College Series angler to qualify for the Elite Series – and in 2012 was named Bassmaster Elite Rookie of the Year.

“You can go up into super shallow water, find some muddy water and fish (a couple feet) deep, or you can be out in 30 feet of water in the summertime, learning how to catch them out there on the ledges,” said Card. “So, it makes you a very versatile angler, fishing the Tennessee River, and that’s one reason it is so special.”

The river system’s versatility is evident from its headwaters to its mouth – from “end to end,” said 24-year pro angler Gerald Swindle.

Continued, see TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEY Page 12