Well...I'm no expert, but I 2 will be down late October for my first DH trip of my fishing season.

I like to first hit some creeks that have lots of loons and therefore lots of bait. The smallies and spots will be schooled up real good. This is were I start going into search bait mode. Once you find one....well you get the idea.

Finally, no disrespect Chub....but you don't need a Tennessee license to stick a bunch of fish. One good, well known, technique this time of year is crankbaits fished on 6lb Flouro. Also, early and late you might see some surface action and lots of bubbles in an active area. Spots exhale when they feed. Smallies are right there with them.

There are two types of fish on DH. Creek fish and main lake fish. The main lake schools will be around that grass on the flats, that is the grass that is still under water after the draw down.

Best of luck!
M