Browsing your local shelves or the internet for tackle is always an enjoyable and rewarding task with no downsides. There’s no such thing as wasted money when it comes to fishing – at worst, you’re “eliminating water.” Still, it’s not bad to know what you really need for the given situation, and these days there are lots of good options.
This winter, this is what you need for the Tennessee River.
Umbrella rigs are still in style
When it comes to wintertime fishing, an umbrella rig is a staple. There are a bunch of options going now, not to mention hundreds of possible swimbaits to tip them with, but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming.
For rigs, the YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. is widely available and one of the most affordable options – it’s really hard to go wrong with it. Hog Farmer also makes a well-regarded umbrella rig in lots of configurations. Making rigs with replaceable arms, Shane’s Baits produces some real winners, and replacing the arms can let you keep a rig tournament-ready for a long time.
On the swimbait side, the Keitech Swing Impact FAT is the gold standard, and it comes in every size and color you need. Other really good options include the True Bass Minner and Rapala CrushCity The Mayor, which is a really, really good umbrella rig bait that’s new on the scene.
Generally speaking, you want pretty light jigheads with good hooks for umbrella rigs. Luckily, it’s not hard to find some cheap options that satisfy the criteria. That said, a screw-lock keeper can really help with bait durability, and the Scottsboro Tackle Company Recon Jig Head offers a good one, plus it comes in a 1/8-ounce model with a 3/0 hook. The True Bass True Lock Swimbait Head and Dirty Jigs Tactical Bassin’ Screwed Up Swimbait Head also fit the bill.
Shake a minnow
Look, it’s 2025 – if you don’t have a bunch of minnows in the boat, you’re behind the times. No matter the season, a minnow never really goes out of style, and it’s been especially deadly on the Tennessee River. It would be wrong to say that every tournament on the Tennessee River has been won minnowing recently, but a lot of them sure have.
The Damiki Armor Shad comes in a variety of sizes and is the OG – though it isn’t really the current hot flavor, a lot of really good anglers still rely on it. The Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ is also an excellent option. The other bait to have is the Rapala CrushCity Freeloader – the bait has been winning big money since before it could be bought.
Shake some BBs
One staple of cold weather fishing on Guntersville and many other Tennessee River lakes is the lipless crankbait. Fished over grass most of the time, it still plays on lakes without much grass, and it might be the most essential treble-hooked bait to have.
The good part of choosing a lipless crankbait is that there are a million good ones. The downside is there are a million good ones, and Top-10 finishes can legitimately come with any model or brand.
One of the most popular baits is the XCalibur XR75 or XCalibur XR50, which are no longer made, although the BOOYAH One Knocker is theoretically the same thing. Other popular options include the Azuma Shaker Z, the Jackall TN 60/70, the Strike King Red Eye Shad, and the venerable Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. Luckily, even if picking a bait is hard, the color choices are easy – red and something else.
The other crankbaits
Past lipless baits, wintertime cranking can take a few forms, from finesse cranking with little chips of balsa to more standard mid-depth cranking. Regardless, a crankbait is a great way to cover shallower water like rocks, bridges and grass. And with vibrating jigs and lipless baits constantly whizzing past bass on the more pressured lakes, a plug is a little bit of an off-tempo way to get bit.
The Rapala DT6 is a standard of the genre, and it’s responsible for a lot of money won. The DT8 is newer, and while it lacks wins, it’s also a great option for slightly deeper fish. Sticking with the Rapala train, the OG Slim 6 is a great option for a flat-side bait with a tighter wobble.
Other good options are all over the board, and you can pick out a tournament or two almost every February where someone makes some serious cash on a different crankbait. Shallower, the Luhr Jensen Speed Trap is a killer, and if you can find the pre-Rapala version, you’re in luck. The Berkley Frittside 5 has been an awesome new addition to the mix and has basically achieved staple status. Priced right, the Norman Speed N has been a good one as well.
Other mid-running baits that have stood the test of time include the Bill Lewis MR-6, the SPRO Little John MD (which was super hot a few years ago) and the Strike King 3XD. When it comes to cranking options, there are a lot of good ones. As is the case for lipless baits, red and something else are the colors to have.
Don’t forget the jerkbait
Whether you’re ‘Scoping or just fishing it old-school, a jerkbait is a must in colder water. On the Tennessee River, you might throw the jerkbait around grass, brush, bluffs, laydowns or steep banks.
For a shallower bait, the Megabass Vision 110 is hard to top but not the only choice. Brent Butler has made some serious money on the Lucky Craft Flash Pointer as well. Deeper, the Megabass Vision 110+1 and the Jr. version are top of the market, but not as clear a winner as the shallow versions. Here, the Strike King 300 Deep Jerkbait is very popular and well-priced.
Big single swimmers still get it done
Medium and large single swimbaits have a long history of success on the Tennessee River in the wintertime. They’re a great way to get a bait to current-oriented fish and to fish deep, and based on history, the bass are obviously partial to a big meal in the winter.
Here, you’ve got a few schools of thought to work with. One is a hollow-body bait like the True Bass Hollow Body Swimbaits matched up with a True Bass True Lock Swimbait Jig Head. The other is something hand-poured like the Scottsboro Tackle Co. Swimbait, which comes in a ton of sizes and colors for every water color and bass species.
It is probably also worth noting that you can absolutely mess around with some other swimbaits here. Clint Knight has caught big ones on the 6th Sense Whale, and the Megabass Magdraft in both the 8-inch and 6-inch sizes are time-honored baits.
Jigs and bladed jigs have a place
For winding shallow or probing shallow cover like docks and wood, a vibrating jig and a standard jig can come in handy. A vibrating jig often goes hand in hand with a lipless crankbait – it gives fish a different look and allows anglers to fish a little bit differently than they can with a lipless bait.
For a vibrating jig, you’ve got plenty of options, but the Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer is pretty much all you need. Another really good choice is the Z-Man Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO. There’s also a place for the Z-Man ChatterBait Big Blade in the winter – with dirty water, the non-standard bait can be good.
One thing to note in the winter is that for trailers, it’s not uncommon to see craw-style trailers play well this time of year. So, while standard minnow and swimming trailers don’t go out of style, a horizontally rigged Strike King Menace Grub or Zoom Z Craw could be good choices.
For a jig, the Beast Coast Lil’ Magnum is a dynamite bait that comes with a tungsten head. Good lead models are pretty close to infinite, but the Strike King Tour Grade Skipping Jig and the Crock-O-Gator Zapper are both good choices.