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Tennessee Bass Guides LLC
Individual - Group - And Corporate Guided

Tennessee
Bass Fishing Trips

 

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:

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.
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


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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Contact information to book your trip

Tennessee Bass Guides Inc.
P.O. Box 352 Woodbury TN. 37190
(615) 308-9936 or Email:
Rick McFerrin At Rickm@dtccom.net

  

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