Again, there are some quality smallmouths in the Holston and Pigeon rivers, and the Nolichucky River is still good for numbers and the occasional lunker. Throw in what the Duck River in Middle Tennessee and the Buffalo farther west have to offer, and the state's full of moving water opportunities.

The Duck River can be a numbers and occasional lunker location destination, depending on what kind of day you have. Wading some of the small waters the Duck offers can put you on some healthy smallmouths. And the Buffalo River is always a prime candidate for lunker smallmouth bass, especially if you get away from the crowds. Keep in mind, however, that the Buffalo can see some high traffic areas with its numerous canoe accesses.

Also, the Little Pigeon River is hot and one of the better up-and-coming destinations. Smack dab right in the middle of one of the country's top tourist destinations runs a smallmouth river jewel. You can float the lower end by putting in at bridge takeouts from Sevierville on down to where the Little Pigeon dumps into the French Broad River. Or, if you like to wade and get face to face with the fish, head upstream from one of the bridges in Sevierville or wade throughout Pigeon Forge in the waters running behind the hotels and motels.

Bart Carter, a Region IV biologist who participates heavily in the stream surveys in East Tennessee where our richest smallmouth waters are found, said the upper Holston River between Kingsport and John Sevier Dam in Rogersville is probably tied with the Pigeon River now as far as its abundance of quality smallmouth bass, as well as numbers of bass.

Also, Carter said the Little Pigeon River is known for its springtime catches of large smallmouths, particularly during the months of April and May when larger French Broad fish migrate to the Little Pigeon. Last year's stream surveys showed good numbers of fish on the North Fork Holston and Holston, with a good representation of quality smallmouths. Carter added most of the streams surveyed this year showed a pretty good 2006 year-class. Hopefully, the low water this past year did not greatly affect the 2007 year-class.

Fiss said that for a river to provide quality smallmouth fishing, the bass in the river must have high spawning success. In river environments, spawning success for smallmouths is a factor of habitat, optimal flows, and available spawning-age fish. If all these variables are optimal, all contribute to high numbers of offspring.

Extremes in water flow at critical times in the growth of smallmouth fry can have a profound influence on the survival rates of the members of a given year-class. Smallmouths live long enough to spawn several times as adults, so the population itself can recover with a good spawn every few years. But for anglers, missing year-classes can affect the fishing for a decade.

Fiss doesn't think forage is limiting the growth among smallmouths in most rivers. Of course, some of the factors that limit reproduction in the low recruitment rivers, such as heavy sediment loads or poor flows during critical periods, could also be slowing the growth rate of fish.