Tennessee
Bass Guides LLC
Individual - Group - And Corporate Guided
Tennessee
Bass Fishing Trips
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John 3:16
Welcome to Tennessee Bass
Guides. My name is Rick McFerrin owner of TBG and a Full
Time Guide on Tim’s Ford Lake and Normandy Lake
here in middle Tennessee. I offer single and multiple
day Tennessee bass fishing trips as well as larger groups and corporate events.
GIFT CERTIFICATES are also available in all
denominations for all occasions. I also can put you in
touch with highly skilled guides on the majority of
lakes, rivers and streams in Tennessee. Click on Guide
Tab on the left side of this page to view.
Of the lakes that I guide each has their own distinct
personalities and fishing opportunities.
Tim’s Ford Lake:
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Is a deep clear lake fed by the Elk River. Tim's
Ford Lake was impounded in 1970 and covers over 10,700
acres consisting of creeks, islands, boat docks, inlets
and 241 miles of shoreline. Tim's Ford Lake
is located between the cities of Tullahoma, Manchester
and Winchester Tennessee and known for it’s blue ribbon
Smallmouth population. Tim's Ford Lake is not only full of
Smallmouth, but Largemouth, Spotted Bass, Striped Bass,
Hybrids, Walleye and Crappie as well.
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For Tims Ford Bass fishing trips
I specialize in using light line and high quality tackle
which I supply for your use. I also use a variety of
techniques based on the season and fishing conditions.
Cabins are available at the State Park, Tim’s Ford
Marina and Holiday Marina and the surrounding cities
have multiple motels that can fit into everyone’s
budget. |
Normandy Lake:
Is fed by the Duck River
and was impounded in 1976. Normandy when at full pool
covers 3,048 acres and has 72 miles of shore line.
Although relatively narrow, it fishes both like a deeper
lake and a river as well. Normandy has a great
population of Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass and
Crappie. Although there are no cottages or cabins on the
lake it is easy to find good accommodations in
Manchester which is just minutes away.
By clicking on the Tabs in the upper portion of the page
you can access Weekly Tennessee Bass fishing Pictures And
trip updates, Weekly
Area Lake Fishing Reports. Multiple In Depth Tips
Articles, In Depth Product Reviews, In Depth Guide
Information and more. All trip prices are inclusive.
All you have to bring is your Tennessee Fishing License,
rain gear and appropriate clothing.
For more information or to plan a trip, feel free to
contact me at
rickm@dtccom.net or 615-765-7303. Thank You Rick
McFerrin
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Tim's Ford 10-13-2008
I was on Tim's today by myself and things picked
up a little. Water temp was 72.3 degrees and I had a great wind all
day. To help you judge the size of the fish my seat is 18 inches
across.....The Smallmouth was 19 1/2 inches and destroyed a swim
bait first thing this morning. I had 2 bites on the swim bait and
switched over to a white spinner bait after that and caught 7
largemouth. I had 5 keepers out of the 8 for the day......I will
keep you posted Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
Tim's Ford 10-9-2008
Tim's remains slow for Smallmouth, Largemouth and
Spots. TBG Guide Jon Simmons and I fished yesterday and it was
brutal. We spent 6 hours doing nothing but hitting the areas that
have been the most productive over the past several weeks working a
variety of lures and depths. We had a 1/2 dozen hit's and one good
fish on and that was pretty much it. One interesting thing was these
areas have been holding bait but none yesterday and as a whole bait
was difficult to find. Water level didn't seem to be down much over
last week and the water temps are creeping closer to the low 70's
and high 60's. I rescheduled my Saturday guide trip with a family
from Brentwood for a day in November. We are just in that "In
between Time" on Tim's. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
Tim's Ford 10-4-2008
This was the day of could have been. Let me
explain. I fished yesterday with two great people. Larry and Rebecca
Cole from Dalton Ga. We met at the State Park ramp and was headed
out right at day light. Water temp was 73.5 degrees and for all
practical purposes zero (0) wind. I had warned Larry in
advance that things have been improving but still tough and we found
that to be true today. Now to the could have part. Within the
first 2 hours we lost 3 good (let me repeat) good fish we also lost
some in the 1 1/2lb range that we just couldn't get in the boat. By
all means after 9:30am it was just tough. We ran back to the marina
around noon for a short break and a friend of mine was pulling out.
He had 2 small fish all morning. When conditions are like this
you can just about bet that missed opportunities will come back to
bite you....and it did. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
Tim's Ford 9-30-2008
I fished Tim's Ford this morning by myself
preparing for a guide trip this week end. Truthfully it was just
plain tough from the out set. I had one Smallmouth (above) on a
Storm Swim Bait www.rapala.com
around 7:30am and didn't have another fish until 10:30 then I caught
one more Smallmouth and 4 Largemouth in the 16-17 inch range all in
an hour or so. I had to be back in Woodbury by noon so I had to load
the boat and head back. Water temp is still falling with the
cooler days and nights, there is a lot of bait scattered every where
and a few fish (today) busting in them. Not much more to say....I'll
give you another update this week end. Rick Mcferrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
Tim's Ford 9-19-2008
 I
fished today with Mr. & Mrs. Ben Wilson from Amarillo Texas. Water
temperature on Tim's has dropped to 76 degrees and with these cooler
nights it should continue to drop. We didn't see much surface
activity this morning, the wind (15mph +) kept the bait down so we
worked main lake points and a couple wooded banks to catch the fish
we had. I had a great time with the Wilson's and hope to fish with
them again when they are back in Tennessee. I will keep you posted
on Tim's trip frequency will increase as we move on into Fall and
Winter. Rick Mcferrin www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
  
Tim's Ford 9-09-2008
It was a very interesting and action packed 5
hours this morning on Tim's. No huge fish but allot of them. I
fished a totally different area of the lake today and caught and
released 6 Smallmouth, 8 Largemouth and 12 Hybrids all caught on a
Storm Wildeye Suspend Shad
www.rapala.com and a Prowler Soft Shad
www.prowlerlures.com
dipped in JJ's Magic
www.jjsmagic.com I lost several fish by trying to hoist
them over into the boat. The Hybrids weren't as large as the ones
that I have been catching but fun none the less. My seat is 18
inches across so that will give you some idea of the size of the
fish. Rick Mcferrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
Tim's Ford 9-2-2008 & 9-4-2008
Daniel (my youngest son and I ran down to Tim's
after he got out of school Tuesday afternoon just looking for
Hybrids. Daniel is holding the 2 largest that he caught. By the way
ol' Dad is a good net man! If you want just 1 good reason to take
your kids fishing-all you have to do is look at his face it tells it
all. Storm Wildeye Shad
www.rapala.com and a Prowler Soft Shad
www.prowlerlures.com did
the trick today. Today I fished 4 hours with Mr. Kent Turner and had a
extremely tough day. 2 in the boat and 3 more hits was all we
managed. We decided to pack it in early and do it again in a few
weeks. As I have said before some times your the windshield and some
times your the bug. I don't have to tell you which I was today. Rick
McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
 
Tim's Ford 8-25 & 29-2008
 I
fished Tim's Ford 2 times this week. Monday the
25th I fished (4 hrs) by myself again and had 7 total. 3
Smallmouth-3 Largemouth and 1 Spot. (4 Keepers out of the 7) A
pearl Prowler Soft Shad with the tail dipped in JJ's Magic Chart
worked again. Sorry I don't have pictures-laying them in the seat
just doesn't do them justice.
www.prowlerlures.com
www.jjsmagic.com Today (29th)
I fished with Mr. Don Scarbough and we had a great 4 hours. The
Prowler Soft Shad and a Storm (Owned by Rapala) Suspending Wildeye
Swim Shad paid off big today. We had very little help wind wise and
it took several moves but we were able to connect on some good fish.
The key was staying around bait and keying in on suspended fish. The
Wildeye Suspend Shad works great for a quicker falling bait and the
Soft Shad for a slower descent. The Suspend Wildeye Shad comes in
over 12 colors and 5 sizes. The Prowler Soft Shad in multiple
colors and you can't go wrong with any of them. If you don't have these two baits you need to get some-they
work...Thanks Don for a very pleasurable day. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
 
 
Tim's Ford 8-21-2008
Sorry for the pictures I was by myself again today
and to far away from the State Park to get someone to hold the fish.
I just don't like taking pictures of fish in the floor because it
doesn't do justice to their size. But-no choice today. The seat
these are on is 18 inches across to give you some idea of their
size. The Hybrids in the floor were in the 4lb-5lb range. I caught a
total of 9 Hybrid, 4 Largemouth and 3 Smallmouth between 6:00am and
10:15am. Prowler Soft Shad
www.prowlerlures.com was by far my best bait. I did catch
a couple on a lipless crank bait as well. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
Tim's Ford 8-19-2008
I fished Tim' s
Ford this morning by myself and had a
great 4 1/2 hours. As a matter of fact I ran back to the State Park
Marina and asked Jody if he minded holding 5 that I caught before
7:30am. I appreciate him doing that, it's very hard to take a good
picture when you are by yourself as you
can see from the picture to the left. That Smallmouth was 18 1/2
inches long but the pictures doesn't do it justice. Also with the
water temp still at 82 degrees it is tuff on fish that you keep in
the well for any length of time no matter how good of a system you
have. I caught and released 12 Smallmouth and Largemouth and never
had a fish that wasn't a keeper, and several of them were just flat
good fish any day. Prowler Soft Shad did the trick once again. They
are hard to beat.
www.prowlerlures.com. I hope to give you atleast 1 more update
this week. I'm booking trips for the rest of the summer-Fall and
Winter-give me a call. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
Tim's Ford 8-14-2008
 This
week I had the pleasure of fishing with Mr. Ed Evans of Murfreesboro
Tennessee and Mr. Chris Moxey from Charlotte. We caught and released
a mixture of Smallmouth, Largemouth and Spotted Bass in the 2 days.
We caught fish on a Rapala DT 10
www.rapala.com A Secret Weapon Buzz Bait
www.secretweaponlures.com
Prowler Soft Shad and Finesses Worm
www.prowlerlure.com Water
temperatures on Tim's this week was right at 81 degrees and the
water level has dropped 18 inches or so. Although we did
manage to catch several fish you had to work for everyone of them.
No wind to amount to anything and a mixture of sun and clouds both
days. Dog days will be gone before you know it and the water temps
will continue to plunge as we progress on toward fall and winter.
Just going to get better and better. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
  
Tim's Ford 7-29-2008
I haven't been on the water for 20 days due to my
boat being back in the shop. I have my fingers crossed that I will
have it back sometime this week. I fished today with Mr. Larry
Ludlam and Mr. Wendell Phillips. We fished out of Larry's boat and
for not being on the water for 20 days we did pretty well. We caught
and released a mixture of Smallmouth and Spot's most of which we
caught on a Prowler Soft Shad, a Prowler Chunk and jig combo
www.prowlerlures.com and
live crawfish. Truthfully the craws didnt pay off like I thought
they would. Good day with 2 good guy's to fish with .
I HOPE....I HOPE....I HOPE...this
will be the last week without my boat. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
Tim's Ford 7-09-2008
TBGI Guide Jon Simmons and I teamed up on Tim's
Ford today and had a great time throwing a Lake Fork Live Magic
Shad. These baits come in 4 different sizes and each had
unbelievable swimming action. For those of you that might not
be familiar with Tim's it's a deep clear lake and most of the time
you can see the bass coming to attack these baits. As always
the wind was a vital part of our success today as well as
keeping our boat out in 25'-40' of water and swimming the Magic Shad
near suspended fish. Blue bird sky's, 83 degree water and 94 degree
air temp was the conditions we were faced with today. We will be
giving you more information, tip's and updates as we go along. A big
thanks to Mark Pack and Ronnie Parker with lake Fork for helping us
out. We look forward to a long working relationship. Rick McFerrin
www.tennessebassguides.com
  
Back On The
Water Tim's Ford 6-27-2008
First let me say
that it feels great to be back on the water. My boat went into the
shop on 6-7-2008 and I just got it back this week. For the 1st day
back Daniel (my youngest) and I had a good-un! We
caught-hung-lost-had our lines broke on more than 20 today fishing a
pattern that paid off for me last summer. We only fished 5 hours
until it got hot-by then we both were ready to go. Some of these fish were
suspended over 50 feet of water or more-none less than 35 feet.
It was great to see Daniel have so much fun-does my heart good. More
to come next week. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
Tim's Ford 6-6-2008
I fished Tim's today with Ed and Morgan
Evans. This was a 13th birthday present for Morgan and we had a good
time together. But now are you ready for a woe-is-me story? As I
stated in my posts from the past 2 days it had been tough (at least
for me) on Tim's. That is up until today-well let me explain.
I couldn't put any real pattern together Wednesday and Thursday-the
fish we caught were good but they were just 1 here and 1 there. I
went back in my notes last night 4 years and found a notation or two
about a stretch in June of that year that sounded just like this
week. I checked out the pattern from 4 years ago and yes it worked
today.....now the only problem is that we couldn't put them in the
boat. Ed and I both lost several Smallmouth and Largemouth much
larger than what we have pictured. Morgan had 2 or 3 big Smallmouth
just miss here bait at the boat-so close you could have just netted
them. It was good to get them figured out but aggravating not
putting them in the boat......Prowler Soft Shad all the way
www.prowlerlures.com I can just here someone now
saying...that's why they call it fishing and not catching.
Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
 
Tim's Ford 6-5-2008
It has been a very tough two day's for me on Tim's
this week. A high pressure system is setting directly on top of us
so the bite was slow and you had to work for everything you got.
Pictured above are some of the fish that I caught with Mr. Steve
Thomas and Mr. Thompson Brown. Not pictured was some Spots and a
Walleye. Secret Weapon Spinner Baits
www.sectreweaponlures.com
Prowler Soft Shad
www.prowlerlures.com and a Rapala #10 X Rap
www.rapala.com We covered a lot
of water and fished a variety of areas to catch what we did. I had a
good time with these guys and just wished the conditions was better.
Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
  
Tim's Ford 5-30-2008
First let me say that I appreciate the phone calls
wondering where I've been since there hasn't been a post for
the last 10 days. Daniel (my 12 yr. old) just got out of school for
the summer and he and I have been doing a lot of yard work catch up
and just hanging out together....just taking a little break. I
fished today for the 2nd time this year with Joe and Shelly Durbak.
Over all it was a little tough but we kept at it and caught some
good fish a a Rapala #10 X Rap
www.rapala.com and Joe lost a good Smallmouth on a Rapala #6
XRap Shad. Oh Yes I also caught a big flat head catfish on a DT10.
Every fish was caught on a shad colored pattern. Joe and Shelly are
great to fish with and hope to do it again.....Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
 
  
Tim's Ford 5-20-2008
Today I had the pleasure of fishing with last
years winner in the youth division of Flippers tournaments that are
held on Old Hickory Lake. Kaleb Larkin and his father Jason met me
in Manchester this morning at 4:00am and we headed toward Tim's. We
had a great day catching and releasing over 20 Smallmouth,
Largemouth, Hybrid and Rock Fish. Lure selection was very simple and
very effective. Prowler Pearl Soft Shad, Prowler Watermelon
Red 5in Jr. Lizards, Prowler Watermellon Chunk on a jig
www.prowlerlures.com and a
Rapala Shad Pattern #10 X Rap
www.rapala.com We had a great time and Kaleb did a great job. I
look forward to fishing with this father/son team again. Rick
McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
  
Tim's Ford 5-15-2008
 I
fished Tim's Ford today with Mr. Greg Cole Manger of the Nashville
Bass Pro Shop and we had a blast. these are some of the fish we
caught. We had a mixture of Smallmouth, Largemouth, Rock Fish
and Hybrid. Most of our fish was caught on a Prowler Soft Shad
www.prowlerlures.com and
many of these fish would blast the bait. We had several short hook
ups and lost fish as well. We still could see some spawning
Largemouth and hopefully the next moon will finish that up. Great
time with Greg........Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
  
Tim's Ford 5-13-2008
What a great 1/2 day that I spent with Mr. Will
Steih and 5 year old son Jack. It was 45 degrees when we met at the
dock this morning at 5:45am. I can assure you that the early hour and cooler
temperatures didn't hinder Jack at all. This young man is
going to be a great fisherman. At one point Will and I was talking to one another
and Jack threw out the other side of the boat. It wasn't long before
he said I've got one....the one is in the top left hand picture, his
first ever Hybrid and yes except for a little help at the end he did
it all his self. Way to go Jack. Will I appreciate the day
with you both and for your witness. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
  
Tim"s Ford 5-9-2008
TBG Guide Jon Simmons and I had a 2 boat trip
today with Mr. Patrick Evener-Mr. Harry Hazlehurst-Mr. Thomas
Evener-and Mr. Paul Hildebrand. The pictures above are some of the
fish that we caught today. Once again the Rapala X Rap Shad #10
www.rapala.com paid off big time
as well as a Prowler 6 inch Worms in lighter colors
www.prowlerlures.com Good
bunch of guys and a lot of fun. Rick McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
  
Tim's Ford 5-07-2008
I fished Tim's Ford today with Mr. Ralph Laubacher
and Mr. Matthew Laubacher. Matthew is stationed at Arnold Air Base
here in Tennessee and soon will be deployed to Afghanistan. We
appreciate Matthew for his service and pray God's protection upon
him. Ralph, Matthew and I caught a mixture of Smallmouth, Spots,
Walleye (not pictured) Hybrid and Rockfish. Prowler Soft Shad
www.prowlerlures.com and
Rapala X Raps www.rapala.com did
the trick again. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com
 
Tim's Ford 5-5-2008
High preasure, blue bird sky's and little wind was
the conditions that David Honey and I was faced with today on Tim's.
We moved a lot and managed to put a few in the boat on a Rapala #8 X
Rap. Our largest 3 are pictured above. Over all it was just plain
old tough. This is my second time to fish with David and we had a
great time. We will be doing it again in 3 weeks or so. Rick
McFerrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
  
  
Tim's Ford 5-1-2008 & 5-2-2008
A good customer of mine had to reschedule a trip
that we were suppose to have taken on 4-29-2008 so I only fished
Tim's two days this week. On Thursday 5-1-2008 I fished with the
brother and sister team of Bonnie Fly and Thomas Baker. On 5-2-2008
I fished with the father and son team of Richard and Dan Di Perna. A
Prowler Soft Shad
www.prowlerlures.com and a Rapala #8 X Rap
www.rapala.com paid off again. These are just
some of our pictures for the past two days. We caught
Hybrid-Smallmouth-Largemouth-Kentucky's and Walleye over these past
two days and had a great time with Bonnie, Thomas, Richard and Dan.
This is the 2nd time I have fished with the Di Pernas and we are
going to do it again this summer. Thanks to all for a good two
days...Rick Mcferrin
www.tennesseebassguides.com
FOR APRIL 2008 AND BACK TIM'S FORD PICTURES CLICK ON TIM'S
FORD ARCHIVED REPORTS
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