I only use live bait for smallmouth. Fished every tailrace from Watts Bar to Pickwick. I hired guides on most when learning the technique. Although the tackle rigging is a little different every single guide had strong preference for threadfin (yellowtails to the folks from bama) and totally refuse gizzard shad. When trying to catch my own I tried the gizzard with not much luck. Of course, a gizzard in the right place at the right time will get eaten. I believe a threadfin will catch 10x more smallmouth. As jp1 stated yellowtails are the best live bait on the river. But hard to get and hard to keep alive. I am retired now, 40 years and thousands of smallmouths later, I have a 100 gallon tank on my back porch. If I fish the tailraces that are hard to get threadfin, I make the trip to Jack's Bait shop in Chattanooga and buy 5-inch shiners, there is also a great bait shop below Fort Louden that I forget the name of. The big shiners are easier to keep alive on the hook and in the tank. But not as good as yellowtails for catching. I never leave home without the baitwell in my boat full. I get terribly upset when I can't get bait. I consider gizzard shad as not having bait. Maybe it is just an old man's prejudice. I have yet to catch a smallmouth that did not refuse to talk to me about it.
