December Bass at Neely Henry with GPS coordinates to ten spots, baits to use on them and how to fish each one. Catch more bass with these tips from Johnny Osborn

with Johnny Osborne

    Thanksgiving Holidays. Christmas Holidays. Lots of people hunting. What a great time to be on the lake!  Compared to much of the year there are few people on the lake and the bass are biting from the end of November through December.  A good choice for catching spots and largemouth right now is Neely Henry.

    Located on the Coosa River just downstream of Lake Weiss, Neely Henry is a long river-like lake with just over 11,000 acres of water.  It runs 77 miles from dam to headwaters and has a wide variety of structure and cover, although many creeks and ditches are silted in.  Dammed in 1950, this old lake has lots of grass and there is still a lot of wood cover in the lake.

    According to the Alabama DNR there are a lot of 15 to 18 inch largemouth in the lake and the spotted bass population is “exceptional” for large fish.  The numbers of spots in the 14 to 20 inch range is one of the best in the state.   Just over half the bass weighed in during tournaments are spots, according to the BAIT survey.

    Johnny Osborne grew up in the area and has lived near Neely Henry all his life, except for a stint in the navy.  He has fished all his life and in the 1970s a co-worker got him started tournament fishing.  Fishing has been a passion all his life.

    This year Johnny fished the BFL series and made the regional tournament.  He also fishes the BASS Weekend Series and the ABA as well as many local tournaments.  He does some guiding on the lake and has helped many pros locate hotspots for big tournaments.

    Last year in the in the St. Jude’s Charity Tournament on Neely Henry he and his partner had five spots weighing 19 pounds, 2 ounces.  His best five from Neely Henry weighed over 26 pounds and his best tournament catch was five at 24-14.  He has landed a 6 pound, 3 ounce spot and an 8 pound, 2 ounce largemouth on Neely Henry.

    “Bass are following baitfish and feeding shallow from Thanksgiving through Christmas,” Johnny said.  You can catch them on a variety of baits and in several kinds of cover and structure.  Current makes a big difference and they bite much better when it is moving.

    Most of Johnny’s fishing this time of year concentrates on the mid-lake area, from City Ramp in Gadsden to the Rainbow Landing area.  Bass move to creek openings and shoreline cover and feed on shad as them move with the current, and you don’t have to make long runs to cover the area.

     Johnny will have a Stanley spinnerbait with a one gold and one silver willowleaf blade and a chartreuse and white skirt and an Academy XPO chartreuse crankbait for faster fishing. 

    For slower fishing he will rig a jig head that he pours himself with a watermelon red worm with a chartreuse tail, and have a Arkie tube Texas rigged and ready.  The tube is his favorite bait and Johnny likes a green pumpkin color.  He will also rig a Trick or Finesse green worm on a Carolina rig with a 32 inch leader behind a three-quarter ounce lead.

    A topwater bait like a Pop-R or a Sammy is also ready for low light times like early in the morning or during cloudy days.  Johnny says he catches bass at Neely Henry on top until the water gets to the low 50s so you can catch them on top most of the month.

    Put in at City Ramp or Rainbow Ramp and you can fish these spots without a lot of running. There were fish on them a couple of weeks ago when we fished and they should be even better now.

    1.  N 33 59.191 – W 85 59.996 – Head downstream from City Ramp and go under the bridges. On your right you will see a campground then a big white house on a narrow point between the river and Big Wills Creek.  The end of that point runs parallel to the river and is deep on both sides and is covered with rock.

    Stop on the river side and cast across the point.  You can run a crankbait or spinnerbait over it if there is current running and the fish are active.  If there is little current, work around the point casting a jig head worm up almost to the seawall and working it back down the point and across it at different angles.

    The day we fished there was not much current here in the early afternoon but we caught over a dozen bass on it on jig head worms. All were spots and the biggest was about two pounds. Johnny says you often get a lot of keeper size spots here since they stack up on this point.

    Before leaving Johnny will fish up the river side of the point for a hundred feet, working the steep drop along this bank.  Bass will feed here, too, especially if there is a good current running along the bank.

    2.   N 33 58.191 – W 86 00.004 – The mouth of Big Wills Creek is very wide since it makes a big bend, hitting the bank at the point above then swinging across to the far bank before turning and entering the river near the downstream point. Since the channel enters here, the downstream point of Big Wills Creek is good, too. 

    Stop on the river side of the point.   You will be across from the playground and old ramp at Dub Parker Boat Launch.  Fish the point that runs upstream parallel to the river and the flat on either side of it. Bass hold on the point and feed on the flats.

    Johnny starts on the river side and casts up on top of the point with a shaky head or his Texas rigged tube.   When sitting here you can see a three door white dock on the far bank of Big Wills Creek and the restaurant on the road across from it, but you will be a long way from it.

    Fish from the bank to the drop into the old creek channel.  Bump the bottom, probing for any cover where bass will be hiding.  Current running across this point makes it much better.

    3.  N 32 58.220 – W 85 59.331 – Run down the river and watch for the opening to a slough on your right.  It is near the end of a gently bend of the river to the left and is just downstream of a brown roof dock with a big wind chime on it.  The house behind it also has a brown roof with a white chimney. There was a “for sale” sign in the yard in early November.

    Keep your boat out in the river and fish the downstream point of this slough. The river channel runs right up to the mouth of the slough.  There was a stump sticking up out on the point and there is a hump in the middle of the slough. 

    Run a crankbait across the shallows, casting from the river channel and working your bait from shallow to deep. Bump the bottom as long as you can on each cast.  Make sure you work out from the point to cover the hump, too.

    After trying the crankbait try both a shaky head and tube. Drag them along the bottom, hoping them and then letting them sit still for a few seconds to wave in the current. 

    4.  N 33 57.475 – W 85 58.119 – Head downstream until you can see the upper end of Freeman’ Island, the big island in the middle of the river.  On your right you will see a small island just off the bank and upstream of it a big brown brick and wood house on that side.  The upstream point of the island has chunk rock on it and the flat from the island to the dock and ramp at the house holds feeding bass.

    Start at the island staying on the river side of the island and cast across the upstream point.  Keep working toward the dock, staying way out and making long casts. The flat has stumps on it and bass hold around them. 

    This is a good area to fish a Carolina Rigged worm since the heavy sinker will allow you to fish it quickly and find the stumps.   Your jig had worm and tube will work well, too.  Fish the area carefully, some big bass hold here.

    5.  N 33 56.910 – W 85 57.480 – Downstream of Freeman’s Island on the left going downstream you will see a electric pole on the bank surrounded by a chain link fence. It is not easy to see in the brush but it is the outlet for the Tyson plant wastewater holding pond.  Waste from the chicken processing plant dumps into the river here and it has a colorful local name that recognizes the “stuff” that comes out.

    This outflow draws in big schools of baitfish and big bass feed here.  You will see a path on the bank coming down to the water and out from it a pipe runs out to dump waste. This pipe is covered with riprap and you can see humps of rocks if you ride over it, but be careful if the water is low.

    Keep your boat out from the bank and end of the pipe and make casts to the bank with a crankbait, running it back across the rocks at different angles.  Johnny likes the Academy crankbait since it works well, runs right and is not too expensive.  You will lose crankbaits here on these rocks, but can catch some big stringers of bass.

    There are three different drops along here and bass will hold along any of them.  Johnny says a lot of six to eight pound bass have been caught here and many tournaments won on this spot so don’t pass it by.

    6.  N 33 57.037 – W 86 01.005 – Run a good ways down river past the right turn bend to where the river starts a left turn. On your right a creek enters upstream of the bend and Tommy’ Marina in the back of it.  There are some danger markers on the upstream side of the opening. 

    The mouth of this creek has several humps and drops across it where the river runs in close and many bass hold here.  Be careful, you can go from 20 feet of water to nothing in a few feet, and not all the humps are marked.

    Work this area with Carolina rig and shaky head and tube. The humps and drops are covered with stumps and chunk rock and you will get hung up a lot. Johnny says a crankbait would work well here but you lose too many to make it worth throwing them.

    Current running across these drops makes a big difference.  The fish will feed when the current is running so position your boat so you can cast upstream and work your bait back with a natural movement with the current.  Work around the area until you find the bass feeding.

    7.  N 33 56.737 – W 86 01.407 – Go around the bend and downstream toward the bridges.  Stop just upstream of the upstream boat shed on your right at Bucks Marina and work upstream.  There is a house here with satellite dish in the yard and a boat shed with a pontoon under it with a yellow and white cover.

    Fish all along this bank, working the cover and cuts along the bank, staying out in 20 feet of water or so.  Use your shaky head, tube and Carolina rig.  There is a good bit of wood cover on the bottom here so probe for it. 

    The channel makes a good ledge along this bank and bass hold on the lip of it and run in to feed.  It was along this bank where Stacey King got 2^nd place in a PAA tournament and where Johnny’s fishing partner, Gary Howington caught a huge seven pound, six ounce spotted bass.

    Work the bank and all cover from the boathouse all the way upstream to gray and white dock with a boat with a Mercury motor on it. Just downstream of this dock is a ridge or hump and this is where Stacey King caught his fish.

    8. N 33 56.499 – W 86 01.610 – Go to the upper bridge of the Highway 77 crossing and stop out from the riprap on the left side going downstream. Johnny says this is a great place to find bass pushing shad into the corner and feeding, especially in the morning.

    Throw a spinnerbait, starting on the end of the riprap and working it into the grassy pocket and fishing upstream about 50 feet. Work it at different speeds as much as you can in the shallow water. Watch for fish busting bait on top.  Current makes this spot much better.

    This pocket and pattern gave Johnny the bass he needed to win the two day BFL finale last year on Neely Henry. He said he was surprised to get here each morning and find it open, with no boats ahead of him stopping here.

    Work the upstream pocket then go around the point and fish the downstream pocket, too. Sometimes the current will make the bass go into this pocket and eat the baitfish here.

    Johnny will fish down to the second bridge, the bigger one, and work around the second piling from the left bank going downstream. There is a big rock pile around this piling and it is a good place to throw a jig head worm or a tube and catch spotted bass.

    9.  N 33 56.051 – W 86 02.322 – Go downstream to the first small island on the right bank downstream of Rainbow Landing. It is several hundred yards down that bank. Start at the small pocket just upstream of the island and fish upstream all the way to the ramp.

    Some bass released in tournaments at Rainbow Landing stay here and feed along this bank. You can fish it in either direction but current usually makes boat control better going upstream, and current helps the fishing. 

    Fish all the shoreline cover including docks, wood and rocks along this bank. It is shallow and your boat will be in only a few feet of water, but you can often catch a lot of bass here.  There are several private boat ramps along here and Johnny says you should never pass a boat ramp on Neely Henry without casting to it.

    We got our best two bass on our trip here, a 3 pound spot and a 3.5 pound largemouth. Both hit a jig head worm. Fish topwater baits along this bank and also work it with a crankbait, tube or jighead worm along this bank and work it carefully.  If you are catching fish it is worth more than one pass.

    10.  N 33 55.283 – W 86 03.615 – Past the small island in the hole above the river channel moves to the left bank then makes a swing back to the right bank below a big flat.  Near where it swings back to the right bank there is a small marina with boat sheds. Start fishing just upstream of the boat sheds and fish upstream.

    There are a series of small points and three riprap areas along this bank to hit as you go upstream.  Work the riprap and points with your tube and jig head if there is not much current and throw a spinnerbait and crankbait when the current is strong.  Watch for any wood cover along this bank and fish it carefully. 

    Johnny says big spots often get on these riprap banks and you can catch a big stringer quickly when you hit the right spot.  Fish all the way upstream to the brick house on the upstream side of the third patch of riprap.

    These places will give you a good idea of the kind of places Johnny catches bass on Neely Henry this time of year. Give them a try then find similar places on the lake that will hold fish, too.

November Bass at Lay Lake

with Josh Herren

    Bass fishermen often think of November as a time to start hunting bass deep with jigging spoons.  That is fun, but catching shallow bass is usually preferred. Fortunately, Lay Lake offers the chance to catch bass on a couple of shallow patterns this month so it is a great choice for a fishing trip.

    Lay Lake is on the Coosa River about 35 miles south of Birmingham.  It covers 12,000 acres of river and creek ledges, shallow flats and backouts full of grass.  It is an old lake, dammed in 1914, and the shallows are getting silted in. 

    For many years Lay has been a quality bass fishery for both largemouth and spotted bass.  In the Bass Angler Information Trail statistics for 2008 about half the bass weighed in during tournaments were each species.

    The average size of bass has been good, with tournament bass averaging 1.81 pounds in 2008 and average big fish in a tournament weighing 3.95 pounds. But in early fall tournaments average size has been down and winning weights have been lower than in the past.  There are lots of smaller bass so the next few years looks good. And cooler water this month will make bigger bass hit better.

    Josh Herren grew up near Lay Lake and says he has been fishing it since he could walk. His father Matt, who fishes the Elite Series on the BASS Trail, got Josh started tournament fishing when he was about seven years old and he started tournament fishing on his own as soon as he got a drivers license.

    In college Josh wanted to fish with the University of Alabama bass team but could not since he had won money in tournaments.  That rule has changed now, but it kept him from fishing with the team then.  He says he will follow in his father’s footsteps and be a full time professional bass fisherman.

    Josh now works for Reaction Innovations and helps sell their lures nation wide. He fishes as many tournaments as he can, including the BFL Bama Division.  Although he missed the first BFL this year due to them changing it because of bad weather, he still finished 30^th overall and qualified for the Regional.

    Josh is on the Legend Boat and Mercury Marine Pro staff working through Grammer Marine, where he is on their pro staff, too.  He is also sponsored by Transducer Saver and Reaction Innovations Lures.

    “Bass are predictable on Lay Lake in late October and during the month of November,” Josh told me. They follow the baitfish into the creeks and coves as the water cools, but will surprise you and move very shallow very fast. They may move from the mouths of the coves to the very back overnight, not in stages as on some lakes.

     As the water cools in late November the bass will move back out, more slowly this time, and can be caught in the first couple of hundred yards of the cove or creek.  All during the month they will relate to grass cover.

    The lower lake is the best area for finding bass moving like this since it is more “lake like” rather than river fishing. And the lower lake offers a second good pattern, bass feeding on rocky points early in the morning. That pattern is a good way to hook one of the huge Coosa spots in the lake.

    For fishing the grass in the pockets Josh ties on a Swamp Donkey Frog, four and a half inch Skinny Dipper swim bait, and a Sweet Beaver.  All work well around the grass and he fished them on 65 pound Power Pro Braid to get a better hook set and get big fish out of the grass.

    For fishing on points Josh has a Santone Get 5 white spinnerbait with silver willowleaf blades and a Vixen topwater plug. These baits are fished around the mouths of pockets where rocks give bass cover to attack shad moving into and out of the coves.   This fishing is best before the sun gets on the water.

    Josh makes his own rods and plans on starting a custom rod business. He teams his rods with a Shimano reel and uses long, heavy rods for fishing the grass and slightly lighter rods for spinnerbaits and topwater. 

    A couple of weeks ago Josh showed me the following spots. Some small bass were back in the pockets but bigger bass should be in them now.  Check them out to see the kinds of places Josh fishes right now.

    1.  N 33 05.612 – W 86 31.773 – Go back in Spring Creek to the right and you will see an island sitting in to your left.  It is the end of a point and grass is all around it, and the contour lines wrap around it, giving bass a path to follow on both sides.

    This is a good example of the kind of place bass will move to first when they move in. It is well back in the creek and there will be lots of baitfish moving around the grass beds here as soon as the water hits about 67 degrees. At that point bass will move into the big feeder creeks on the lower lake, and will often move far back in them all at once.

    Fish a Skinny Dipper swimbait in the grass and along the outside edges. Josh likes shad colors like bad shad green, pearl blue shad and white trash. He rigs them on a screwed up bullet, a weightless nose cone to make it come through the grass better, and a 6/0 wide gap Owner hook.

    This is a good bait to throw on bluebird days when you want a subtle presentation.  There will be cuts and lanes in the grass to swim the Skinny Dipper through, and running it along the outside edge of grass mats works well, too.

    2.  N 33 03.656 – W 86 31.544 – Across Spring Creek a huge grassy area starts on the right side going in and covers the whole back of the creek.  Since it has a channel running into it this is another good place to find bass moving all the way back in late October and early November.

    There are big clumps of grass in here and any of them can hold bass.  Fish all of them before you leave. Start on the right across from the island in hole #1 and work the whole back of the creek. Fish around the island back there, cover as much of the grass beds as you can.   You will often hit several good fish close together but fish won’t be everywhere in the grass.

    Look for a pattern. If they are on points where the grass comes out a little and are almost all the way back in a creek or cove, concentrate on places like that. Look for similar places in the creek you are in and the same kinds of places in other creeks.

    3.  N 33 04.956 – W 86 31.024 – As you come out  of Spring Creek and head downstream there is a big island sitting in the mouth of it off the downstream point.  Behind this island is a secondary point on your left going into the pocket behind the island.  There is a big grass mat all around this point that holds bass, especially later in the month as they move back out.

    Fish all around the point, working the grass with all your baits.  Look for transitions in the bass that hold fish.  A point sticking out further than the grass mat indicates slightly more shallow water and will attract bass.  A dip indicates deeper water and will also attract bass. Changes from one kind of grass to anther indicated a change in bottom composition and is an attractor. A hole or cut in the grass does the same thing.

    Fish these transitions with your best casts. Work them carefully, running all your baits over and by them from different angles.  Watch for patterns in the transitions to use in other spots, too.

    4.  N 33 04.451 – W 86 30.775 – The big pocket just upstream of Bozo’s Marina on the same side of the lake is one of Josh’s favorite tournament holes. He says he has won a lot of tournaments here and bass will be in it somewhere.  Fish all the way around the pocket, hitting all the grass with all your baits.

    As the water cools you will notice the grass starts to get a slime on top of it. This is the key to throw a Swamp Donkey frog.  When the slime forms the bass will be under it and a frog is the best was to fish it.

    Josh likes any black color frog to give a good silhouette against the sky if it is clear. He will throw a white frog on cloudy, overcast days.  Work the frog fast across the surface of the slime covered grass and be ready for explosive strikes.

    Bass will hit the frog even on bright, sunny days, but the best days are when it is messy, with rain and clouds. The kind of day you really don’t want to be on the water will often produce the best fishing in the grass.

    5.  N 33 03.980 – W 86 30.690 – Just downstream of Bozo’s Marina the river makes a turn to the right going downstream and the first cove on the right opens at a big grass flat. This flat is right on the river, not back in the cove. Bass will hold and feed in it every day.

    Fish all of this grass.  If the sun is bright a good choice is to flip a Sweet Beaver into the grass, dropping it through any small openings you can hit. Josh rigs his Beaver on a one ounce tungsten weight to punch through the mat and get under it.

    Let your bait fall to the bottom, jig it once then move to the next place. You have to be ready to set the hook hard and horse the fish out of the grass fishing like this because you will be in some of the thickest grass.  Use heavy rods and 65 pound Power Pro.

    6.  N 33 03.344 – W 86 31.294 – The next big open cove on your right going downsteam has an island in the middle of it.  It is not far off the main river channel and bass will hold on it and feed. Fish the grass all around the island.

    Look at your map or GPS and you can see how the island has a good contour line bending around it on both sides. This kind of structure makes a place much better, with deeper water near the grass beds in shallow water. 

    Look for this kind of depth change to find good spots to hit.  Bass follow these contour lines as they move in and out of the feeding area, following the shad.  Such changes mean a better place to fish.

    7.  N 33 02.636 – W 86 33.547 – Go into Reed Creek and you will see the mouth of a smaller feeder creek on your right on the outside bend of the creek channel.  Fish all of it, working the grass from the mouth of it as far back as you can go.

    These small feeder creeks often hold good numbers of bass and they may be all the way back in them.  If you catch a bass on the first pass it is worth the time to work around it again since the bass is there for a reason, and others should be in the same area for the same reasons.

    Always watch for baitfish.  Seeing schools of shad mean you are in the right area.  You will also often see bass busting the schools of shad showing you the area they are holding.

    8.  N 33 01.163 – W 86 30.853 – For a change of pace head down the river and watch for Camp Creek, a small creek on your left heading downstream. It is across from the mouth of Waxahatchee Creek.  There are rocky points on both sides of the creek mouth and standing timber in the mouth of it.

    Start before the sun comes up on these points for best results. Cast a spinnerbait or topwater bait right on the bank and work it out.  Big Coosa Spots come in to feed on these points early in the morning and you can catch some good bass before the sun gets on the water.

    Work around both points, keeping your boat out in 20 feet and casting right to the bank. Don’t go far back in the creek. Work the bank about 100 feet on both the inside and outside of the creek mouth. This creek has good points on both sides.

    9.  N 33 00.694 – W 86 31.042 – Go down the river past three small pocket to the next big one on your left.  Both sides of this small creek are also rocky and there is timber in the mouth of it. Both things are needed for a creek mouth to be good, a rocky point and standing timber.

    Work this one like the one above. Throw your spinnerbait right against the rocks. Bass will often be surprisingly shallow on these spots and seem to be looking toward the bank.  They may ignore your bait if it hits even a foot from the edge of the water.

    Josh likes two small willowleaf blades on his Get 5 spinnerbait and uses silver blades and white skirt. The small blades let him run the bait back to the boat fast. Fish these points quickly and cover as much water as you can before the sun hits them.

    10.  N 33 00.571 – W 86 31.049 – The next bigger creek, past two smaller coves just upstream of where the river makes a bend to the left, is also good.  It has rocks and standing timber and also a good channel going into it, a key that makes the spots marked better than the smaller pockets between them.

    A topwater bait will often get more hits than a spinnerbait so try both. Throw a stick bait like the Vixen right on the bank and walk it back to the boat. Fish it in a fast, steady motion, keeping it moving.

    All these places will hold bass now through the end of November. Check them out, catch some bass and see the kinds of places Josh likes to fish. Then you can find other similar places to fish.

October Bass At Wedowee with Brian Morris

    Bass schooling on top. Bass hitting crankbaits in shallow water. Bass
actively feeding all over the lake.  October fishing is great!  And Lake
Wedowee is one of your best bets for enjoying great fall action this
month.
    Wedowee is located where the Tallapoosa and Little Tallapoosa Rivers join
near the town of Wedowee.  The shoreline is steep and rocky and both
rivers make sharp bends and turns above where they join. Downstream of
their confluence there is more open water. All over the lake rocky
points, bluff walls, flats and docks hold spotted bass and largemouth.
Shad are the main baitfish but bass feed on bream and crawfish, too.
    Access to Wedowee is limited to a few small public boat ramps and one
bigger ramp at the Highway 48  Bridge.  There are some marinas on the
lake but most have limited parking. This lack of big ramps means there
are not a lot of tournaments on Wedowee and it is less crowded than many
other area lakes.  You will have plenty of company on the lake when bass
fishing in October but less than you would expect on other big lakes.
    Brian Morris grew up bass fishing and fished with several clubs as well
as competing on the BFL trail.  In 1992 he discovered fishing at Wedowee
and fell in love with the lake, then in 2002 he and his family bought
Wedowee Marina.  He moved a few minutes from the lake in 2003 and has
concentrated on fishing it since then.  He now guides on Wedowee and
is sponsored in tournaments there by BusterMilesAuto dealerships, Wedowee Marine, Legend boats and  Rapsody Fishing Rods..
    “Cooling water makes the bass active all over the lake,” Brian said. They
are actively feeding up before the cold weather and you can catch them on
a variety of baits.  Shad are beginning to move into the creeks and bass
set up for them on points and cover near the mouths of the creeks and
bigger coves.  The bass are gorging on shad and will often spit them up
when you catch them, so, if shad are in the area bass will be nearby,
too.
    Brian will have several baits rigged and ready for October fishing on
Wedowee.   He says you should start early in the morning and finish up
late in the day with a topwater bait like a Sammy or a Spook. And he
warns to keep it ready at all times.  Bass school on top this time of
year and may suddenly come up near you.  A quick cast to the activity
will usually result in a hit.
    A  crankbait is one of Brian’s favorite baits to fish in  the fall and he
keeps a couple ready.  A Series 3 and a Series 5 Strike King bait in shad
colors will cover different depths. Brian usually starts with the smaller
bait since it matches the size of the shad and will usually run the depth
he wants to fish this time of year. But, if he is catching smaller bass
on the Series 3 he will throw the bigger bait in the same area. Since it
gets deeper it will often catch bigger bass.
A spinnerbait works well in the same areas Brian throws a crankbait,
especially if there is some wind rippling the surface. He likes the
Hildebrandt or Strike King in white and chartreuse bait with one sliver
blade and one gold blade.  It can be run across points just like
crankbaits, but can be fished at different depths depending on the
conditions.
A quarter ounce punisher jig teamed with a Paca Chunk or Zoom chunk works
well when flipped and pitched around docks and heavy cover on sunny days.
Bright sun will push the bass into shade and they will ambush anything
that looks like food.   Brian likes the smaller profile of the quarter
ounce jig but goes to a bigger three-eighths ounce one if the wind is a
problem or if he wants a faster fall.
    A shaky head jig is Brian’s “Goto”  bait and it will catch bass when
other baits fail.  He uses custom made jigs teamed with a four inch
Finesse worm in Green pumpkin. For a bigger profile he puts a Trick worm
in the same color on his jig head.  It is fished on eight pound
fluorocarbon line and a spinning outfit.
    Brian showed me the following ten spots for October bass a couple of
weeks ago.  Smaller largemouth were on them then but the bigger fish will
have moved onto them by now. We also spotted a lot of schooling activity
and Brian got our biggest bass of the day when a school came up nearby.
1. N 33 21.101 – W 85 30.887 – Headed downstream from Wedowee Marina and
the Highway 431 Bridge you will go into a big “S” bend with Pineywood
Creek in the outside of the first bend.  The outside of the next bend has
a double cove on the right then a single cove at the end of the bluff
wall. You will see a single, small dock with a tin roof back in it.  Stop
on the upstream point of the pocket with the dock and start fishing,.
Keep your boat out in the channel and throw across the point.   Imagine
the bluff wall continues on out underwater and you will have a good idea
of the way the drop runs, with a sharp drop into the old river channel on
the outside. Bass hold along this drop and move up to feed.  Cast across
it with a crankbait and spinnerbait, covering the water from three to
about12 feet deep.
Brian says bass also move along the right bank going back into this cove
following the shad, so work on back into the cove casting your crankbait
and spinnerbait to the bank and working any cover you see. Cast across the
secondary points as you come to them.  Keep working back into the cove
until you run out of bass or baitfish.  It would be worth your time to
fish back out with a shaky head, especially if you caught fish going in.
2.  N 33 21.295 – W 85 31.650 – Run down past the mouth of
Wedowee Creek on your left and the channel straightens out.  Before it
bends back to the left you will see Rice Pavilion on the left on the water
and a small cove then a big one on the right across the river from them.
You want to fish the upstream point of the upstream smaller cove. It is
very rocky on the river side but more clay on the back side.
This point is another river ledge that goes from an above water bluff to
an underwater point. It runs downstream, parallel to the bank across the
mouth of the cove, like hole#1.  Brian likes to get out on the point in 25
feet of water and cast his crankbait up onto the point, working it along
the drop.
There are flat rocks on this point that sit vertically off the bottom,
forming holes the bass hide in. You want your crankbait to tip the rocks
as it runs along the drop, bouncing off them to attract the bass. Do the
same with your spinnerbait, slow rolling it along just bumping the rocks.
Fish around the point, hitting it at different angles.  You can also work
a shaky head along this point, letting it fall into the holes between the
rocks to get to inactive bass that will not come up to hit a faster moving
bait. The rocks are fairly flat and smooth so you won’t get hung up as
much as you would expect.
3.  N 33 21.315 – W 85 31.715 – The pocket downstream of hole# 2 makes a
double dip then a long clay point runs out on the upstream side of the big
cove.  This point runs straight out toward the channel, not parallel to it
like the one above it. There is an old roadbed on the upstream side of
that point and bass stack up on it and move up onto the point to feed.
They also hold here before following the shad back into the big cove.
Brian says he pulled in here as a bad storm hit a few years ago and caught
bass “left and right” while the storm raged.
Sit out on the point and cast to the bank at the roadbed, working all
around the point with all your baits.  Try different angles and speeds to
vary your bait.  As on other places like this, wind and current make it
better. If there is any current running down the river the bass will bite
better so hit it hard.  Work your bait with the current as much as
possible.  Bass expect to see baitfish moving with the current so make
your lure move as naturally as possible.
4.  N 33 21.376 – W 85 32.910 – Just before the river turns back to the
left going downstream a big creek enters on the left.  Just upstream of
the main creek point a small ridge like point runs out. It has riprap on
the outside and is very narrow. There is a single tree out on the end of
it and it runs parallel to the seawall and bank going out to the main
point between the creek and river.
There is an old rock quarry off this point and there is a flat on the
upstream side of the narrow point.  Stay way out and get even with the end
of the narrow point, and cast up toward it.  If the sun is out you will
see some big rocks in the shallows just upstream of the end of the narrow
point. Work them and the flat above them with all your baits.
This and other places mentioned are all good places to hit early in the
morning with a topwater bait.  Brian likes a Zara Spook, Jr.  and works it
fast across the points and flats, searching for active bass.  You may see
bass hitting on top or baitfish moving on the surface, a good sign, but
you can draw strikes from roaming bass by working a topwater bait over the
area.  Brian says he always fishes topwater the first hour or so of
daylight since it often produces a big fish.
This is a good schooling spot where bass push shad upon the flat and
attack them so keep a watch for that kind of activity.  Brian will throw a
topwater bait or crankbait to feeding fish and he says it can happen on
any of these spots at any time of day.  Be ready.
5.  N 33 20.141 – 85 32.153 – Round the bend to your left and you will
pass a public boat ramp on your left. The bank runs straight a good ways
here and there are several small pockets on it.  About half way down to
the next bend watch for the two deepest pockets on your left. Between them
is a trailer with a dock with lots of metal  posts on it on the upstream
side and a wood dock on the downstream side.  Just upstream of the dock on
the downstream side is some brush and trees out in the water about even
with the left corner when facing it.
Brian will keep his boat out in 25 foot deep water and cast up toward the
bank to hit the brush.  Stay downstream of the dock a little, about even
with the boat ramp on that side, and cast upstream.  He will run a
topwater then crankbait across it, then slow down with a jig head or
Carolina rigged Finesse worm.  Brian says a Carolina rig can be fished on
most of these spots where you fish a shaky head but heavier sinkers will
get hung up more often in the rocks.
6.  N  33 19.583 – W 85 33.260 – For a change of pace, especially later in
the month when the shad are further back in the creeks, run downstream
around two big bends and go into Allen Branch.  You will see a big open
yard running down to the water on your left not far into the creek. Stop
just past it on the small  point with riprap on it and start working into
the creek. Fish all the way to the next main point with riprap on it, just
downstream of the powerlines.
Brian says shad follow this bank as they move into the creek and hold on
any cover like rocks or brush they come to, waiting on passing shad.  A
crankbait or spinnerbait casts toward the bank all along here will draw
strikes.  Follow up with Carolina rig or shaky head in the same areas.
7.  N 33 19.661 – W 85 34.001 – Run downstream and where the river makes
big bend to the left a long shallow point runs way out from the bank.  The
river channel swings along on the upstream side and it drops off fast.
There is a danger buoy out on it and bass hold and school on it all year
long.  It is a good spot to fish any of your baits.
Stay on the upstream side of the long point and fish from the bank all the
way out to and around the end marked by the buoy. Try all your baits,
casting from deep water up onto the shallow point and fishing them back.
When you get past the buoy swing around and fish back toward the bank.
Brian says the fish are usually on the upstream side but he had caught
them on the downstream side, so fish it before leaving.
While fishing here Brian’s prediction about schooling bass came true.  He
spotted surface activity across the river on a point between two pockets
of standing timber.  After easing over there he landed a good keeper
largemouth, over the 16 inch slot, on a Spook.  Like he said, it is always
a good idea to keep something ready for schooling fish.
8. N 33 18.973 – W 85 34.868 – Go to the mouth of the Tallapoosa and start
upstream in it.  Stop on the upstream point of the first big cove on your
left. This point runs way out toward the river channel and drops off into
it, so bass use it to move to the cove. They will feed all along this
shallow point during October. Stop way out on it and move in slowly until
you see how far the point runs out.
Brian likes to fish up one side then down the other, covering the point
from both sides.  This is a good crankbait and Carolina rig point and he
will use both to cover it from end to end.  There are rocks, stumps and
brush on the clay point to hold bass.
9.  N 33 18.190 – W 85 34.842 – Go under the Highway 48 Bridge and watch
for the second pocket on your right past the bridge.  This is another
bluff that turns into an underwater ledge running across the mouth of a
cove.  There is a small dip in the bank then a big clay point where the
bigger cove opens up.  Both are excellent places for bass to hold as
baitfish move into the cove.  There is good deep water on both sides.
Fish all around the points with both your baits, and try the blowdowns
around them, too. Pitch a jig and pig into them and bump it over every
limb. If the sun is bright bass will hold in the shade of the limbs and
the trunk and wait on an easy meal.
10.  N  33 17.811 – W 85 34.560 – Go into the big cove on the left just
downstream of Triplett Creek, the one with three arms. Go to the back of
the center arm and stop at the last dock on your right.  This is a good
place to find bass later in the month because large numbers of shad move
back in here and the bass follow them.  Wind blowing out of the west moves
shad in here year round so it is always good but gets even better in late
October.
Start at the dock on your right and fish the right bank all the way to the
back with crankbait and spinnerbait.  Brian says this is the best side but
he catches fish on the left bank, too. If there are a lot of shad back in
here you can circle the back until you stop catching bass.
These spots show you the kinds of places Brian catches October bass on
Wedowee. Check them out, see how they look and how the bass relate to them
and you can find many more just like them all over the lake.
To get first hand view of how Brian fishes the lake go to his web site and
arrange a trip with him at www.lakewedoweefishing.com or email him at
briangofish@gmail.com

September 10 Bass at Wheeler Lake with Brent Crow

    Like the light at the end of a tunnel, September promises better things ahead for bass fishermen.  Days are finally noticeably shorter and the air is slightly cooler. Bass respond by getting active and feeding in more shallow water as the temperature starts to drop. Wheeler Lake is a great place to take advantage of this improving fishing.

    Wheeler is a TVA lake on the Tennessee River north of Birmingham and is the second biggest lake in the state.  It runs 60 miles from its dam to the Guntersville Dam and covers huge flats starting around Decatur.  Largemouth are the dominate species but smallmouth fishing is good and there are a good many northern strain spotted bass in the lake, too.

    According to the BAIT survey, in tournaments on Wheeler in 2008 average bass size was good at 1.69 pounds and the average big fish was 4.10 pounds.  Over 87 percent of tournament anglers landed at least one keeper and the average number of keepers per angler was 4.14, just short of a limit.

    Wheeler was known for its big bass in the grass a few years ago but the grass seemed to disappear and so did the fantastic catches.  The lake remained good but not up to its past standards. Right now it seems Wheeler is making a comeback in bass population numbers and size although much of the grass is still missing.

    Brent Crow grew up in the area and now lives ten minutes from the lake.  As a youth he fished ponds and creeks with a friend.  When he was a teenager, he got interested in bass fishing and tournament fishing from watching shows on TV and was a charter member of the University of Alabama Bass Association, a tournament club formed of students, faculty and staff. 

    Fishing those club draw tournaments helped Brent learn about bass fishing and gave him his start in tournaments.  He fished the Federation in 2000 then, in his first BFL in 2002, finished second on Guntersville. That fired him up and he went on to fish many more tournaments.

    For three years Brent fished the FLW Tour but this past year he concentrated his fishing on Wheeler and other Tennessee River Lakes as well as Smith Lake.  He guides on all those lakes and fishes many pot, charity and local trail tournaments on them. 

    In June and July Brent landed big fish in a weekly night tournament on Wheeler four weeks in a row, weighing in a seven pounder, then a six pounder, followed by a five pounder then another six pounder.

    “September is the month I go from having two rods on my deck to having ten,” Brent said.  The bass move up and there are several good patterns working every day. Some work better in certain areas of the lake, but there are many ways to catch bass anywhere you want to fish.

    On the lower lake largemouth move into pockets and creeks following shad and feed on them in three to four feet of water.  That is an exciting way to fish because you are seeing activity most of the time and casting topwater baits to the fish.  In the same area, smallmouth bass are feeding very shallow on main lake rocky points, especially later in the month and you can catch them on crankbaits.

    Further up the lake the river ledges on the Decatur Flats hold quality bass as do the humps back off the river on the flats. A somewhat specialized pattern is fishing barge tie-ups in the area since shad get around them and attract bass. And finally, the point at the railroad bridge creates a current break where bass will stack up and feed.

    For the largemouth in the pockets, Brent will throw a Lucky Craft Gunfish topwater lure and a Zoom Super Fluke when the fish are up and feeding, then fan cast the area with a Lavender Shad Norman Baby Deep N and a white and chartreuse War Eagle half-ounce spinnerbait.

    Out on the rocky points Brent likes the Fluke and Gunfish thrown right on the bank. He says you can’t cast too shallow and you will catch some quality smallmouth doing this.  You won’t get as as many bites but the ones you do get will be good fish, and the pattern holds up all day long.

    On the river ledges and humps Brent will throw a three quarter ounce Tight Line football head jig in rusty craw or black and blue and tip it with a Paca Chunk in some brown color.  He will also keep a Netbait 11 inch worm Texas rigged on a three eights to one half ounce lead, depending on the current.

    A Carolina rig will also work on these ledges and humps and a Brush Hog or Baby Brush Hog in Junebug or green pumpkin is a good bet.  Brent uses a three quarters ounce sinker on his Carolina rig.    All these baits are thrown on heavy P-Line fluorocarbon.

    In this area, always keep a Gunfish tied on and ready to throw to schooling fish, too. They will often come up chasing shad on the humps and ledges and a quick cast to the school can produce some good fish.

    On the barge tie-up pilings, Brent rigs a jig head worm on a spinning outfit to fish them.  A crankbait run by them will catch fish, too. Both those baits work well when fishing the railroad bridge, too.

    The following ten spots will all be good this month. Give them a try then look for similar places on the lake.

    1.  N 34 39.189 – W 87 01.871 – If you put in at the big ramp in Decatur, come out of the bay and head downstream.  On your right you will see two big signs out in the middle of the lake, just off the north side of the channel, marking a gas line crossing.  Go to the second green channel marker on your right downstream of those signs, just downstream of the mouth of Bakers Creek on the south side of the river.

    Watch your depthfinder and idle toward the bank. The river will be over 20 feet deep then come up on the river ledge to four or five feet deep.  Keep your boat out in 20 feet of water and work upstream, casting your baits to the top of the ledge and working them back with the current.  Fish for about 100 yards upstream of the channel marker.

    This is a typical river ledge. It runs for a long distance and you want to work along it, probing for a hard bottom. Shell beds are a key and bass will stack up in a small area on the right bottom. That is why a big football head jig is a good bait. You can cover water quickly with it to find the schools of fish.

    2.  N 34 38.918 – 87 01.408 – Run upstream to the last green marker on your left downstream of the signs, the next one upstream.  Stop near the marker and start fishing, working all the way upstream to the gas line signs.  Remember, the channel marker sits off the ledge so you will be inside it toward the bank.  A good depthfinder is a big help in staying just off the ledge.

    When throwing a football head jig Brent cast upstream. He lets it hit bottom then drags it along with a sweeping sideways motion with his rod. He keeps his rod low and immediately sets the hook if he feels a fish.  He says if you “go on point” and try to drop your rod tip then set the hook you will miss the fish.  If the bass knocks slack in your line, coming toward you, reel fast as you sweep your rod tip.

    You can fish a Carolina rig or Texas rig on these ledges, too, but it is faster to cover them with the football head jig. When you catch a bass make repeated casts to the same spot.  Bass will hold on a very small area along a long ledge so concentrate on the spot when you get bit.

    Current really helps make the bass bite on these ledges and you should always work upstream, which gives you better boat control, and work your bait with the current, which is a more natural movement.  If the current is slack sometimes a passing barge will turn the bass on by moving the water, so be aware of them as they go behind you.

    3.  N 34 39.100 – W 87 01.407.  Do not run from the river channel across the ledges, especially if the water is a little low.  With only three or four feet on top and stumps on them, they eat lower units. Idle across the shallow ledge until the water drops off behind them to about eight feet deep. Then go to this hump.  It is about half way between holes 1 and 2 back well off the ledge. There are many humps back on the flats like this one, topping out about five feet deep on top with nine to 10 feet of water around them. Many are shown on maps and on a good GPS chip. Any of them can hold fish so it is a good idea to fish as many as possible to find them.

    When you get to this or other humps circle it throwing a football head jig, Work all the way around it, covering it from all angles. Current helps here, too, so the best angle if from downstream, casting upstream, but it is worth fishing all the way around these humps.

    4.  N 34 38.794 – W 87 00.705 – Stay parallel to the river channel and go upstream until you are just upstream of the gas line signs. You will be behind them and straight across from the big Monsanto Plant on the south side. Brent says this is another good hump to fish. 

    Fish all the way around it but watch for the deepest water as you circle it and concentrate your cast to come from the shallows on the hump down that drop.  Drag your football head, Carolina and Texas rig across it and down the drop. Brent says he almost always keeps his boat in deep water and casts shallow.

    Another bait worth a try here and on other humps and ledges is a crankbait like a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 in the bull bream color.  Cast it to the shallow water and fish it back across the drop.  You can fish it fast.

    Always watch for schooling fish when fishing humps and ledges. A Gunfish is a good lure to throw to fish breaking on top since it is big and you can cast it a long way.  Brent caught a couple of fat hybrids the day we fished but the largemouth were not on top.

    5.  N 34 38.206 – W 87 01.110 – This pattern is a little different but pays off well. There are dozens of barge piling tie-ups along the bank between Fox Creek to the Interstate, about eight miles of river.  Most of these tie-ups are right on the river ledge so their position is perfect, and they create a current break baitfish love.

    Go to the tie-ups just downstream of the mouth of Betty Creek.  The best pilings are like this one where the channel side has 20 feet of water but it is less then ten feet deep on the bank side. Shad draw bass in to feed and Brent says all the tie-ups can be good at some time.

    These are a good place to catch numbers of bass but they also produce some quality fish.  Brent fishes them with a three-sixteenths ounce jig head and a green pumpkin or June bug Trick worm tied on a spinning outfit. He uses 14 pound test braid for his main line with 15 pound P-Line fluorocarbon leader.  A crankbait is good when run by the pilings with the current, too.

    Keep your boat downsream of the round piling and cast your jig head right to the side of it, letting it fall to the bottom.  The shallow side is usually the best since bass hold near the bottom to feed. Work your jig head worm a couple of hops when it hits bottom then reel in and make another cast.

    You will see shad around the best tie-ups and all the activity makes a crankbait work well. Cast it past the piling and run it right beside it.  Make repeated casts at different angles to cover it, especially the shallow side.

    6.  N 34 37.209 – W 86 58.721 – Run up to the railroad bridge and stop on the left side before you get to the bridge. The riprap and point comes out and makes a current break on this side where bass stack up and feed. Brent says he sat here and caught 100 bass one day last year.

    Position your boat downstream and behind the point in about 15 feet of water. You want to cast up toward the point parallel to it where the current comes around and sweeps down the side of it.  Throw your jig head worm up into about two feet of water and work it back with the current to ten feet deep.  Keep a tight line and let the current move your bait like something washing down with the current.

    A Baby Deep N works well fishing this spot, too. Brent likes the lavender shad color and he works it at about the same speed as the current, moving it just fast enough to get it down near the bottom.

    7. N 34 47.750 – W 87 22.644 – You may want to trailer down to this area since it is a long run.  Going toward the dam on your left the last pocket has a warming sign on its point.  Go back into the pocket and watch for activity on top. Shad move back into pockets like this in September and largemouth follow to gorge on them in the shallow water.

    Throw a topwater bait or Fluke to any activity you see.  This pocket has deeper water than some but there is a sunken barge or wall of some kind in the back and the shad will go up against it and the bass will follow.  You will be fishing shallow, only three or four feet deep most of the time.  Bass will hit both the topwater and Fluke while chasing shad.

    Fish all around the back of the cove, watching for activity. If nothing is hitting on top Brent will fan cast  a spinnerbait or shallow running crankbait all around the back of the cove to draw strikes from bass lurking near cover waiting a a passing shad.

    8. N 34 47.478 – W 87 21.900 – Back out on the main river run up to the next cove and stop on the rocky point on it. This point is on the second pocket upstream of the boat ramp on that side of the lake.  It is a double cove that has two arms not far off the river.  This is a good example of the type rocky points Brent looks for in this area.

    The best points are on the main river run and drop off fast.  Keep your boat out as far as you can and still cast right on the bank. Cast a topwater bait or Fluke to the very edge of the water. Brent says you can’t cast too shallow fishing like this.

    On these points current does not make as much difference as it does on ledges and humps, but wind blowing into the point does help.  When fishing the Fluke, fish it fast and make it jump out of the water.  The more wind the more commotion Brent tries to make with his topwater baits.

    9.  N 34 45.466 – W 87 18.857 – Going upstream watch for another double pocket on your right. It is the third pocket downstream of the Champion Mill paper plant.  The rocky point on it is another good one to fish with topwater and Flukes. 

    Brent says you won’t get a lot of hits on each point fishing this pattern, but he catches some good smallmouth on it.  Rocky points like this may have only one bass feeding up real shallow but it is likely to be a good on. Run the rocky points in this area and work as many as you can.

    10.  N 34 44.317 – W 87 14.743 – Run up to Goldfield Branch and go back to the causeway in it.  Water near it will be five feet deep or so and it is a good area to find schooling largemouth chasing shad.  You will be fishing in the middle of these pockets, not the bank. Bass will hold out in any cover like stumps in the middle of the pocket and wait on shad.

    Fish this area with topwater for fish you see then try a spinnerbait or crankbait for others you don’t see.  I asked Brent why he picked certain pockets and points in this area and he said he used to net shad for bait and realized certain places held them consistently. When asked what brought the shad to these places, he said “only the shad know.”

    Check out these patterns and spots. There are many similar places all over this big lake to catch bass this month.  Use these as a guide to find similar places to catch them.

    For a guide trip on Wheeler or other area lakes to see first hand how Brent catches bass, you can call him at 256-466-9965 or visit his web site at http://northalabamabass.wordpress.com/reports/ for contact info and fishing reports.