AS A LONGTIME Bassmaster correspondent, some of my favorite assignments have involved picking the brains of that hard-core clan of bass experts specializing in giant smallmouth, including Florence, Alabama guide Steve Hacker. His home turf is 43,000-acre Pickwick Lake, a smallmouth-rich stretch of the Tennessee River flowing through three states. What sets Hacker apart from other bronzeback gurus is his deep understanding of how river-run smallmouth react to constantly changing current conditions. I know what you’re thinking: big smallmouth are elusive enough to begin with, and throwing fluctuating current into the mix complicates the puzzle tenfold! But hang with us, because Hacker is about to show you how to crack the moving-water smallmouth code. You’ll take a giant step closer to catching your smallmouth of a lifetime if you heed his advice and go with the flow! — Don Wirth
(NOTE: Contact Steve Hacker at info@smallmouth.com)
Current Rocks!
Nationwide, river-run reservoirs offer unbelievable potential for big smallmouth, yet many receive surprisingly little fishing pressure. When you’ve honed your angling skills targeting shoreline cover for largemouth on stillwater lakes, moving-water reservoirs present a perplexing set of
