 Craig Springer, USFWS – Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration from The Fishing Wire There are “lumpers” and there are “splitters.” Some fisheries scientists think that largemouth bass and Florida bass should be split into two species. Others lump them together as one species as mere diverging strains or races. This much can be agreed upon: bass in southern climates grow big, and fishery managers are careful to conserve the trophy fish coveted by anglers at all experience levels. To that end, Summer Lindelien, a fish biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has endeavored the last four years to learn more about how Florida’s largemouth bass, Florida bass, and their hybrids grow over time. Excise taxes paid by fishing tackle manufacturers and on motor boat fuels fund her research in grants administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. The research is bearing fruit that promises to yield better bass fishing in Florida—if not anywhere the 19 species and subspecies of the black bass family swim. More research is in the works and necessary to take further steps. Lindelien and her FWC colleagues are developing a new method to determine age and growth rates of trophy largemouth bass that would otherwise be missing in population assessments and ultimately, fishing regulations. Hard bony structures are best for determining a fish’s age, body parts such as scales and ear bones that put down rings at each year of growth. The latter is most reliable but there is a downside: it is 100 percent lethal. Dorsal spines may be the alternative. The method shows great promise as Lindelien learned while a graduate student at the University of Florida. She and her colleagues also completed a six-waterbody study to refine the efficacy of reading age rings on dorsal spines and are in the midst of evaluating how dorsal spine aging error affects population dynamic metrics. Lindelien and colleagues caught wild bass known to be hybrids of largemouth and Florida bass, 36 fish in all, varying size from 12 to 22 inches long. Six bass each were acclimated in six tanks and three from each tank where randomly picked to have three dorsal fin spines extracted with surgical scissors and snips cut flush with the bass’s back. The fish were monitored for injury and mortality for 35 days afterward.  None of the bass with missing spines perished. Overall condition between fish with spines intact and those with spines removed did not vary to any great degree at the conclusion of the month-long study. In the end, the method shows much utility as a means for black bass fishery managers to gather more data on trophy fish without deleterious effects on the fish and the fish population. The method also holds promise down the road for citizen-scientists—anglers, that is—to weigh and measure and trim a spine before releasing trophy fish, thus greatly expanding the essential data scientists need.Lindelien is the first to confirm that removing dorsal spines is benign to largemouth bass. According to Lindelien, as the dorsal spine aging technique is refined it might be employed on other black basses, common and otherwise: Guadalupe bass in Texas, spotted bass in Kentucky, Neosho smallmouth bass of Oklahoma or the rarer Choctaw bass of Alabama and Florida where removing fish of any size is not an option. Lindelien and her colleagues published the results of the spine extraction research in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management.– |
Category Archives: Bass Fishing
Where and How to Catch September Jackson Lake Bass, with GPS Coordinates
September 2015 Jackson Bass
with Keith Dawkins
September can be the most frustrating time of year for bass fishermen. The water is as hot as it gets and the oxygen content is at its lowest level of the year. The days are still hot and uncomfortable and the bass are sluggish. But some lakes, like Jackson, offer you a chance to catch fish and forget the problems.
Jackson is an old Georgia Power lake at the headwaters of the Ocmulgee River. It is lined by docks and rocks are plentiful. There are good points that run out to deep water and humps that hold bass. Shad are the primary forage this time of year and you can find the shad and catch bass.
In the 1970s and 1980s Jackson was known for big largemouth. Then spots were illegally stocked in the lake by misguided fishermen and they have taken over the lake. Rather than catching a seven pound largemouth now you are going to catch seven one pound spots.
Spots are fun to catch and taste good, so enjoy catching them and eat them. You can’t hurt the population of bass in the lake by keeping every one you catch. In fact, fisheries biologists say keeping all of them, even those under 12 inches long, may help a little. They have no size limit anywhere in Georgia except Lake Lanier.
Keith Dawkins grew up fishing Jackson. His parents still have a house there and he spends several days a month on the lake. For years he fished the Berrys tournaments and bigger trails like the Bulldog BFL but his job now keeps him from fishing tournaments.
“Early in September bass are out on main lake structure, feeding on shad,” Keith said. As the month progresses they push up the points and toward the coves. By the end of the month, depending on the shad, they may be way back in them.
A wide variety of baits will catch fish. Keith always has a Flash Mob Jr. with small swimbaits on the arms and a Fish Head Spin on the middle one. He also likes a buzz bait, popper and X-Rap five inch bait with props on both ends for top water fishing and a Fluke or Senko rigged weightless for fishing over structure and cover.
For faster fishing a 300 Bandit with white and chartreuse is good as is a #7 Shadrap in black and silver. When he slows down and probes the bottom he will have a Carolina rigged Trick worm and a Spotsticker jig head with a Trick worm on it.
If you are seeing fish on your depthfinder but can’t get them to hit, get right on top of them and use a drop shot worm. Drop it down to them and jiggle is slowly. If they are right on the bottom let your lead stay on the bottom but raise it up to the depth the fish are holding if they are suspended.
Keith showed me the following ten places in mid-August. Small spots were on them during the day. The afternoon before we went he caught some quality spots and largemouth right at dark, an indication the bigger fish were probably feeding at night. Those bigger fish will be feeding on these places during the day in September.
1. N 33 20.606 – W 83 51.667 – The big point where the river turns downstream across from the mouth of Tussahaw Creek is a good place to start early in the morning or to fish late in the day. It is a big flat where wood washes in and hangs up and there are a couple of small pockets on it and small points run off it.
Start on the upstream end where the biggest cove on the point starts. There are rocks on it and it drops fairly fast. As you fish downstream the bottom flattens out and there is a lot of wood to fish. Stay way out on the flat in seven to eight feet of water since it is so shallow and cover all the wood with a buzz bait.
Fish all the way around the point where it turns to the left going downstream. Also try a crankbait around this wood in case the fish don’t want a topwater bait. A weightless Fluke or Senko is also good around the wood.
2. N 33 20.313 – W 83 51.404 – Go down the river and there is a marked hump way off the left bank. There are two danger markers on it and it tops out about six feet deep at full pool, dropping off to 40 feet deep. Keith warns that boat wakes move the markers and they may not be right on top of it, so idle up toward them slowly. The hump has rocks, stumps and brush piles on it the bass use for cover, and they will also hold in the saddle between the hump and the bank.
Start with your boat in deeper water and fish all the way around it, casting topwater and crankbaits to the top of the hump and working them back. Also try the Flash Mob Jr. here, fishing it the same way. Watch your depthfinder as you go around it for fish holding deeper.
Try a Carolina rig and a jig head worm on this hump, too. Keith likes to drag both baits along slowly, letting the lead stir up the bottom to attract attention. Keith usually uses a Trick worm on both, preferring watermelon seed or pumpkin seed colors, but if the bass want a smaller bait he will go to a Finesse worm. He will often dip the tails of both size worms in chartreuse JJs Magic for added attraction.
We caught some small spots here on a drop shot when Keith saw fish near the bottom. If you see them off the sides of the hump try that. Also, especially during the day, you can sit on top of the hump and cast a Carolina rig or jig head worm to the deeper water, working your bait up the drop.
3. N 33 19.317 – W 83 50.574 – On the right side of the dam going toward it the Georgia Power park and ramp are on a big point right beside the dam. There are two DNR docks in the pocket formed by the dam and point and there are “Boats Keep Out” buoys in front of them. There is a public fishing pier on this side of the point.
A lot of wood washes in and sticks in this pocket, and the DNR and residents sometimes pull floating wood to it, so there is a lot of cover to fish. The bottom is also rocky and drops off into deep water. In the morning or late afternoon start in the pocket, fishing the wood. Try topwater and a weightless bait like a Fluke or Senko around it, too.
When the sun is high sit way out even with the big park point but toward the dam side, and line up with the two tallest towers on the power station on the bank. A ridge runs out parallel to the park point and flattens out on the end, and bass hold on it. Fish it with your bottom baits and run a crankbait and the A-Rig over it
4. N 33 19.584 – W 83 50.563 – Go back upstream to the big point on the left where the river turns back to the left. Downstream of this point, straight out from a cream colored boat house with a metal dock in front of it, a hump rises up to about 14 feet deep. Line up the end of the point with the park side of the dam and idle along this line. You will be in about the middle of the mouth of the creek coming out on the park side.
Keith caught his biggest spot from Jackson on this hump. Sit out in deep water and drag your bottom bumping baits on it. Try a drop shot, too. Also run a crankbait across it for suspended fish. Keith does not always bump the bottom with a crankbait but fishes it like a fleeing shad in the water column. He may go to a deeper running bait like the DD22 if the fish won’t come up for a more shallow running bait.
5. N 33 20.028 – W 83 50.753 – Going upstream on the right bank, on the upstream point of the third big cove upstream of Goat Island, you will see a house and dock with bright silver roofs on the point. There is a seawall around the point and big rocks are on it. As the bank goes upstream there are huge boulders where it turns into a bluff bank.
Stay way off the bank, the rocks come out a long way, and cast a crankbait or A-Rig to them. Then try your jig head worm and Carolina rig around them. Fish all the way around the point. Way off the point a hump comes up and the saddle leading out to it can be good.
Watch for schooling fish here and other similar places. There were several schools of small keeper spots chasing shad all around this point when we fished and Keith got one on his XRap. They will school even better in September and you can chase schooling fish most of the day.
6. N 33 20.145 – W 83 50.852 – Going up stream along the bluff bank a narrow point comes out at the upper end of it. There is riprap around the point and a narrow pocket upstream of it. The point runs way out and Keith says bass hold out on the point early in the month and feed on shad. Later in the month they will push shad up into the bay on the downstream side and into the narrow pocket upstream of it.
Fish the point with your Carolina rig, A-Rig and jig head worm. Stay way out with your boat in at least 15 feet of water to fish the point early in the month. Later fish the cover in the bay and pocket on both sides with Senko or Fluke but try you’re A-Rig in the pockets, too. Keith likes the light Flash Mob, Jr and does not put heavy jig heads on it so he can fish it shallower without hanging up.
7. N 33 20.840 – W 83 51.985 – Go to the mouth of Tussahaw Creek to the right side going in. A ridge comes up way off this bank and tops out about 14 feet deep. You will see a light brown roof dock in front of a white cabin on the right bank and the ridge starts about even with it and runs into the creek.
Fish up the ridge into the creek until you are even with a dark brown dock. Try you’re a-Rig and crankbait over the top of it, keeping your boat on the river side in deeper water. Then fish it with bottom bumping baits probing for the rocks and stumps on it. Watch here, too, for fish on the bottom and try a drop shot for them.
8. N 33 21 094 – W 83 52.213 – Go on up Tussahaw to upstream side of the first small cove. There is a tall tree stump carved into a bear standing behind a dock on the bank. Start at the dock in front of the bear and fish upstream. Fish hold on this point and the next one upstream, too, and feed early in the month then push shad into the coves on both sides of the points later.
Fish will often hold on docks so Keith works them carefully. He will fish every dock post with a jig head worm, hitting the post and letting the bait drop straight down it. He says spots often nose up to the post and if the bait does not fall straight down beside it they won’to hit. Keith says he will often spend a half hour carefully fishing every post on a dock. A Senko or Fluke will also catch dock bass.
Fish the points and banks going into the pockets with A-Rig and crankbait. When fishing the crankbait Keith says he likes to crank it a few feet then pause it. Strikes will often come just as he starts the bait moving again. Try different lengths of pause before moving it again.
9. N 33 22.180 – W 83 51.728 – Go up the Alcovy to the mouth of the South River. As you go into the mouth of it, on your right, the second point is narrow and has an old boat ramp on it. This point comes way out and has a lot of rocks on it and holds a lot of bass. Keith caught several spots here on his crankbait.
Run your crankbait and A-Rig across the point. If there is any current coming out of the river, which often happens after a rain, Keith says it is important to stay on the downstream side of the point and cast upstream, working your baits with the current.
Also fish a Trick worm or Senko on top of the point early. It is very shallow a good way off the bank. Then work your bottom baits on the point, all the way out to the end of it in at least 15 feet deep. You will get hung up in the rocks but that is where the bass live.
10. N 33 23.028 – W 83 50.590 – Run up the Alcovy River under the powerlines. Upstream of them a ridge runs parallel to the river channel way off the left bank upstream of the first creek on that side. Watch on the right bank for a white deck on the bank just off the water with lattice work under it. It is very white.
If you stop in the middle of the lake even with that deck and idle toward the far bank, at a very slight angle upstream, you will cross the ridge. The ridge is on the far side of the river channel and it tops out about 14 feet deep and has stumps and rocks in some spots on it.
Keith likes to keep his boat on the side of the ridge away from the river channel and fish it. He says bass tend to hold on that side and stripers hold on the river side. Cast you’re a-Rig and crankbait over the top of it and work your Carolina rig and jig head down that side from the top to about 20 feet deep. Also watch for fish under the boat to use your drop shot.
Since the rocks and stumps are in patches, feel for them and concentrate on that area. The end of the ridge is where Keith catches most of his fish.
Give Keith’s places a try and see the kind of structure and cover he likes this month. There are many similar places you can find and fish on Jackson.
Frustrating End to Tournament Year
Well that didn’t go as planned and hoped! All three bass clubs ended our tournament years at
Jackson last weekend. The Potato Creek Bassmasters fished our December tournament on Saturday and the Spalding County Sportsman Club and Flint River Bass Club fished a two-club tournament on Sunday.
On Saturday 20 of us fished for eight cold hours to land 30 bass weighing about 53 pounds. There were two five-bass limits and seven people didn’t catch a 12 inch keeper.
Raymond English blew us all away again with a limit weighing 12.01 pounds and his 5.03 pound largemouth was big fish. Kwong Yu placed second with five bass weighing 7.60 pounds, third was Trent Granger with three bass weighing 6.49 pounds and Shay Smith came in fourth with for bass weighing 6.43 pounds.
Raymond said he caught the big one on a crankbait and Kwong caught a limit in the first hour we fished. Others said they caught fish on spinnerbaits, Carolina rigs and shaky heads. It seems if you found a hungry fish and got a bait near it, it might hit anything that looked like food to it.
I tried a little of everything, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs and shaky heads. I could often see fish that acted like bass in their positions and movements on my Garmin Panoptix but could not get them to hit in the stained 55-degree water. And I fished from shallow brush and rocks to deep brush and rocks and everything in between.
At 10:20 AM I was fishing a deep point with rock piles on it and missed a hit on my jig. I picked up a shaky head and cast back to the same place and caught a 14-inch keeper spotted bass. Since I got two quick bites and could see other fish around the rocks, I stayed there an hour trying to make them bite everything I had tied on, but never got another bite.
Finally at 2:15 I cast my shaky head to some shallow rocks on another point, got a hit and landed a three pound spot. That was it, I had two weighing 4.35 pounds and placed fifth. It was a very frustrating day!
On Sunday 19 members of the two clubs fished eight hours to land 38 bass weighing about 41 pounds. There were three five-fish limits and eight people zeroed.
Travis Weatherly won with five bass weighing 7.10 pounds and his 2.39 pounder was big fish. Jay Gerson came in second with five weighing 6.66 pounds, Russell Prevatt was third with five at 6.07 pounds and Kwong Yu had three weighing 3.68 pounds for fourth.
Jay said he caught his fish on a floating worm early. Others said they caught their fish on a variety of baits on a variety of types of cover and structure. Like the day before, it seemed you had to put your bait right in front of the right bass at the right time to get a bite.
At blast off I went straight to the point where I caught my first keeper the day before. There were fish all over it with no sun on it yet, so I had high hopes. I could see what looked like bass suspended, some on the bottom and baitfish everywhere. It looked perfect. I never got a bite.
After a frustrating hour of trying to make fish that I could see bite a variety of baits, I left that point. For the next six hours I tried everything I could think of to catch a fish. I had one bite on a shaky head on a deep rocky point but missed it. That really frustrated me.
At 2:30, with one hour left to fish, I cast a shaky head to a shady seawall. I though I felt a tap but could not see my line. I took off my sunglasses and saw my line was already back under the boat. When I set the hook, a small keeper spot came over the side of the boat.
That was the only fish I caught all day, a 12.5-inch spot weighing .85 pounds. I came in last place of the people that caught fish.
All three clubs start our new year with tournaments in January. That would be a good time to join us for a lot of fun, and maybe a little frustration.
The Flint River club meets the first Tuesday each month and fish our tournament the following Sunday. Dues are $20 a year and tournament entry fee is $25, with optional big fish pots each tournament as well as two other optional annual pots.
The Potato Creek club meets the Monday after the first Tuesday and fish our tournaments the following Saturday. Dues are $50 and entry fee is $30, with optional big fish pots for each tournament and for the year.
The Sportsman Club meets the third Tuesday each month and fish our monthly tournaments the following
Sunday. Dues are $50 and entry fee is $25 with optional big fish pots.
All three clubs have or will have club classics that members qualify for by fishing at least eight tournaments a year or placing in the top eight for the year in the points standings. All three clubs meet at Panda Bear restaurant.
Think about joining one club, or all three!
Where and How to Catch Lake Harding/Bartletts Ferry February Bass, with GPS Coordinates
By now most bass fishermen have had enough sitting at home staying warm and want to venture out to defeat cabin fever. Although there is hope for warming by the end of the month and bass do respond to the longer days, they are not easy to catch most days. Fortunately, lakes like Harding will have some feeding fish this time of year.
For a February trip, a lake like Harding on the Chattahoochee River just downstream from West Point is a good choice. It has a variety of types of structure and cover to fish and is full of spotted bass. Spots seem to feed better in cold water and cold fronts affect them but don’t usually shut them down like it will largemouth.
Chris Blair has been a bass fisherman all his life and his father instilled a love of competition in fishing in him. He often went with his father to club tournaments and fished from the bank until he could join the Clayton County Bass Club when he turned 16. He does well in the club and made the Georgia BASS Federation Nation state team in 2008.
“Harding is one of my favorite lakes,” Chris said. “It has some big spots in it and you can catch them in a variety of ways,” he continued. There are also some good largemouth in the lake. Although February is not the best month to be on Harding, you can catch fish there as well or better than any where else this time of year.
The bass at Harding are holding on their winter patterns most of the month of February. They are near deep water and hiding in heavy cover. A warm day or two will make them move a little more shallow and feed better, but they won’t venture far from the deep water sanctuary.
Wood and rock cover is what you want to look for, and it needs to drop into at least 15 feet of water to hold bass this time of year. If even deeper water is nearby it is even better.
Chris will fish a three eights ounce Edge Hardhead mop jig and trailer in orange and brown in clear water and black and blue in stained water. He likes a one half ounce Edge spinnerbait in chartreuse and white with a gold Colorado and a silver willowleaf blade. A Hellrazor blade jig in white with a Shadee Shad trailer is good for fish that don’t want quite as much flash as the spinnerbait shows.
A Luck Craft or Bandit crankbait in Tennessee Shad that will get down deep is a good choice for more active fish and Chris will go to a one eight ounce lead head with a six inch pumpkinseed Trick worm trailer for very inactive fish. One of these baits will attract bites most days.
The following ten spots show the kinds of cover and structure Chris catches Harding bass from this time of year.
1. N 32 42 755 – W 85 07.361 – Run down the river on the right side and go past the mouth of Osanippa Creek. On your right will be a small point with a green pine in the water beside a dead pine in the water. They are in front of gray roof house and there is a dock just downstream of them as you start into the pocket there.
These blowdowns are on a steep drop and there is 15 feet of water just off them at full pool. They offer the typical kind of place Chris looks for this time of year, heavy cover dropping into deep water.
Start fishing on the upstream side of the green tree and work a jig and pig through the branches of it and then the dead one. Fish it carefully and slowly, winter bass are not aggressive. Give them time to hit.
As you work away from the trees throw a crankbait and jig head worm around the docks just inside the pocket. As the water warms at the end of the month bass will move into this pocket and hold on cover around the docks.
2. N 32 41.843 – W 85 07.104 – Down the river past the Chattahoochee Valley Rec Park just downstream of the second small pocket there is a steep bluff bank starting at a small point with a gray house with a long walkway going down to the dock. There is raw clay on the outside of the point and some big rocks and wood cover is along this bank.
Start at the point and work a crankbait and spinnerbait through the cover. Slowroll the spinnerbait through the limbs of trees and bump the crankbait off the ends of them. A Hellraiser is good to work off the ends of the wood, too.
Follow up with your jig and pig or jig head worm. Bump them slowly from limb to limb. If the water is warming, fish from the shallow end all the way out but if it is cold, especially early in the month, concentrate on the deeper parts of the cover.
3. N 32 41.053 – W 85 11.066 – Run to the third bridge going up Halawakee Creek. The Highway 279 Bridge is upstream of the old railroad bridge. Bridges like this one on creeks make a squeeze point where bass often stack up as they start to move toward the backs of the creeks as the water warms and the days get longer.
Fish the riprap and pilings from one side to the other, working a crankbait and spinnerbait bumping the rocks and along the pilings. Also fish a jig and pig or jig head worm on the rocks and beside the pilings. Even early in the month the rocks and pilings will warm from the sun and draw baitfish and bass to them.
You will find the water is usually a little clearer in this creek than out on the main river. This can be important in cold water. Clear cold water is better than muddy cold water most days.
4. N 32 41.092 – W 85 08.936 – Going down the creek there is a big creek on your right just before you get to the Highway 379 Bridge. A power line crosses the mouth of the creek, jumping from one long narrow point on the upstream side to the long narrow point on the downstream side.
Start on the upstream point at the power line and fish the bank, casting to the clay bottom that changes to riprap. Throw crankbaits, Hellrazor and spinnerbait. When you get to the blowdown slow down and fish it carefully with a jig and pig and jig head worm.
You will be in 15 feet of water a cast off the bank near the point but the old creek channel swings in near the blowdown and the tip of it is in water about 25 feet deep at full pool. It is in a perfect location to hold bass all month. The water is deep enough for early in the month and bass moving into the creek as the days get longer will hold in the tree before moving further back.
5. N 32 41.356 – W 85 08.098 – Go under the bridge and head downstream. Straight ahead the bank runs out from your right and the river makes a turn to the left. On the right bank right where the turn starts is a point with some post along a wooden seawall on it. The posts have lights on them.
Stop well off the point in 45 feet of water and east toward it. Off the tip and slightly downstream of it is a huge boulder sitting in about 15 feet of water and there is rubble around it. Bass, especially spots, like to hold around this rock.
You can bump the top of the rock with a crankbait that runs six or seven feet deep then slow roll a spinnerbait on it. Work a jig and pig and jig head worm all around the rock, throwing up to the seawall and fishing back past the rock. Bass will hold all around the rock and feed on shad, so seeing balls of shad here and on other spots like this really helps.
6. N 32 42.034 – W 85 06.591 – Run out of Hawalakee Creek and go across the mouth of the river. You can run across above the island with the house on it near the creek and downstream of the island with the cross on it near the other bank. Locals call this “Church Island.”
The right bank going up across from the island with the cross is steep and drops off into deep water. There is a white house on the downstream side of this point and it flattens out and the bluff bank along the point has big boulders in it.
Start fishing just upstream of the dock where the big rocks start and work upstream, all the way past the next dock. Chris will get in close to the bank and parallel it with a big crankbait and also slow roll a spinnerbait along the bottom.
This is also a good place to fish a jig and pig and jig head worm when the water is cold. Chris says he will throw right on the bank then “creepy crawl” either jig down the rocks, barely moving it so it stays right on the bottom and falls only s few inches at a time. The bottom drops fast here so you have to move it very slowly.
7. N 32 42.406 – 85 06.891 – Go up the river past the next big round point and stop at the mouth of the narrow cove on your right. The upstream point of this cove is rock and drops off on the end into the channel. There is a ledge across the mouth of the cove and it is shallow going toward the downstream point but it drops off into the river on the outside of it, too.
Fish the upstream point early in the month and work into the cut as the days get longer and the water starts to warm. Bass hold on the point and feed on shad then work into the cut, holding and feeding around wood cover in it. There are usually lots of shad around the mouth of this cove so check for them.
Chris says there is lots of good brush as you go back into this cove and it is a good place to fish later in the month. Fish your jigs around the point and you can fish a jig head or jig and pig vertically if you see fish under your boat. As you go into the cove fish all your baits around the brush and other wood cover.
8. N 32 42.946 – W 85 07.012 – The downstream point of the cove with Idlehour Ramp in it holds bass. This shallow point is a good place to start if you put in here or end your day before you take out, or both.
Stay well off the point and make long casts across it with all your baits. Work your spinnerbait and blade jig along the bottom and bump it with a crankbait. Then drag a jig and pig or jig head worm along the bottom.
A lot of tournaments are held out of this ramp and bass released here often hold on this point. There are usually shad on it so it is worth fishing carefully and at different angles. Work all the way around it, keeping your boat out as far as the no wake buoy on that side, while fan casting the point.
9. N 32 44.041 – W 85 06.662 – Up the river just before it bends back to the left at Blanton Creek is a cove. It is the last one on the right before Blanton Creek going upstream and is very shallow. But the downstream point is rocky and drops off into the channel.
Stop out from the point and work in. You will see a big pine blowdown but it is broken off at the water level. There is brush out in front of it to fish, though. Another smaller blowdown is closer inside the mouth of the cove.
You will also see a log lying on the bottom out from the bank, showing how shallow this pocket is. You don’t want to fish into the pocket. Instead, work your jigs in the blowdowns and brush and also down the steep rocky bank going downstream of this spot. Chris says this is a very good spot hole.
10. N 32 44.605 – W 85.07.901 – Run up past the bluff bank on your left to where the river turns to the right. At the end of the bluff the bank levels out and a creek enters the river. On the upstream point of the creek is a big “For Sale” sign.
Out in front of this sign about 40 to 50 yards is a rock pile right on the lip of the old river channel. It is very rough and comes up out of 10 plus feet of water to top out at about five feet deep at full pool. Bass hold and feed on these rocks, especially when current is moving down the river.
Chris positions his boat downstream of the rocks and throws a crankbait up to work back with the current. He wants to get it down to bump the rocks but be prepared; you will get hung up here. Fan cast all over the top of the rocks.
These ten spots hold bass right now and through the end of the month. Check them out and you can find many more similar places to catch February bass at Harding.
Two Tournaments in November
Two weeks ago 20 members of the Potato Creek Bassmasters fished our November tournament at Lanier. We landed 50 14-inch keeper bass weighing about 99 pounds in eight hours of casting. There were five five-fish limits and two people didn’t catch a keeper.
Sam Smith won with five bass weighing 11.80 pounds, Drew Narramore came in second with five weighing 11.19 pounds, Raymond English placed third with five at 9.89 pounds and Niles Murray was fourth with five at 9.47 pounds. Kwong Yu had big fish with a 3.51 pounder.
Last Sunday 11 members of the Spalding County Sportsman club fished our November tournament at West Point. We landed 37 keepers weighing about 49 pounds in eight hours of fishing. All but four were spotted bass. There were three five-bass limits and no one zeroed.
Kwong Yu won with five weighing 9.27 pounds and his 2.52 pound bass was big fish. My five at 8.28 pounds was second, Niles Murray placed third with five weighing 6.17 pounds and Russell Prevatt had three at 4.46 pounds for fourth.
Tactics and Techniques to Target Smallmouth Through the Changing Seasons
 The author with a trophy smallmouth bass from the James River in downtown Richmond. Fall is one of the best times of the year to target big smallmouth bass across the state.By Alex McCrickard, Virginia DGIF Aquatic Education Coordinator from The Fishing Wire There might not be a finer season to explore our freshwater fisheries across Virginia than in fall. Maples, tulip poplars, oaks, and sycamores turn red, orange, yellow, and brown as air temperatures cool to a comfortable range in the 60s and 70s. The cool crisp air during this time of the year is a welcome change to anglers who have fished throughout the hot humid Virginia summer. The changing of the seasons creates excellent conditions for anglers targeting smallmouth bass across the state.Smallmouth Bass in Virginia Smallmouth bass, frequently referred to as smallies or bronzebacks, are a freshwater member of the sunfish family: Centrarchidae. Their green and brown sides are often marked with vertical black bars. Some of these fish have war paint like markings extending horizontally and diagonally behind their eyes and across their gill plates. Smallmouth bass are native to the Great Lakes system and the Mississippi River Basin including the Tennessee and Big Sandy River Drainages of Southwest Virginia. However, these game fish have been introduced all across the Piedmont of Virginia and are truly a worthy opponent on rod and reel. Because of the smallmouth’s widespread range in Virginia, they are readily available to anglers fishing west of the coastal plains above the fall lines of our major river systems. This allows anglers who reside in cities and large metropolitan areas to fish local as smallmouth opportunities are plentiful. The James River in Lynchburg and Richmond, Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, Rivanna River in Charlottesville, Maury River near Lexington, and the New River in Blacksburg are fine examples of local opportunities. The mainstem and larger tributaries of these rivers are full of smallmouth. Anglers in Northern Virginia can focus efforts on the Upper Potomac River as well as the Shenandoah mainstem, North Fork, and South Fork. The North Fork of the Holston River and the Clinch River provide excellent smallmouth opportunities in Southwest Virginia. Floating these larger rivers in a canoe or raft can be a great way to cover water, just remember to wear your life jacket. You can also wade fish these rivers and their tributaries in lower water conditions.Changing River ConditionsRivers and streams across Virginia are typically in low flow conditions on average years as summer moves to early fall. As the days get shorter and air temperatures drop, water temperatures are soon to follow. As water temperatures cool from the upper 80s down to the mid 70s and eventually upper 60s, smallmouth will become very active. While the smallmouth’s metabolism might be highest in warmer water temperatures, these conditions can sometimes make the fish a bit sluggish, especially on bright sunny days in the heat of the summer. Therefore, the cooling trends that occur in early to mid-fall can oftentimes put smallmouth on the feed. Also, as water temperatures drop, dissolved oxygen will increase. During the hottest summer months, smallmouth often congregate at the heads of riffles in broken water where dissolved oxygen levels are highest. It’s the fall cooling of water temperatures that in turn can spread more smallmouth out evenly throughout various habitats from riffles and pocket water to long runs, pools, and flats. Smallmouth can also disperse when large rain events occur throughout fall and river levels rise from typical low late summer and early fall flows. As mid-fall progresses into late fall, water temperatures will drop even further. As water temperatures drop into the mid to low 50s, smallmouth will stage in transitionary water between their summer habitat and deep overwintering holes. In Virginia, this oftentimes happens from late October through the middle of November. Look for smallmouth to be on the edges of drop-offs as well as congregating around river points and bends. During this transitionary time smallmouth can also be found in the middle sections and tailouts of deep riffles holding around structure like log jams and big boulders.Early Fall – Techniques and ApproachTopwater lures and flies will continue to produce good numbers of smallmouth bass throughout the entire month of September and well into the month of October. Anglers should take advantage of this last opportunity to fish on the surface before winter kicks in. Popular topwater lures that anglers enjoy to fish in the summer will also prove to be productive in early to mid-Autumn. Make sure to keep buzzbaits, Whopper Ploppers, Zara Spooks, Heddon Tiny Torpedos, and the Rebel Pop-R in your box of topwater lures.  September and October are great months to fish topwater lures and flies for Virginia smallmouth bass. Photo by Meghan Marchetti/DGIF.For fly fishing, make sure to keep your flybox stocked with your favorite poppers. I always carry Boogle Bugs, Double Barrel poppers, and Walt’s Bass Popper in a variety of sizes and colors in early fall. It’s best to experiment with your retrieve to figure out if the fish are looking for fast or slow action. Your retrieve and approach can also depend on the type of water you are fishing and the action of your fly or lure. Sometimes in choppy riffles a faster retrieve can allow the lure or fly to move more water where as a slower pop and pause retrieve can be very productive in flat water stretches. Late Fall – Techniques and Approach As water temperatures continue to drop in late October through November, a subsurface approach is best. It’s still possible to catch bass on topwater lures and flies but you will find more fish feeding subsurface with water temperatures in the 50s. Smallmouth will actively ambush smaller forage fish during this time of the year as they attempt to put on weight for the upcoming winter season. This makes mid to late fall one of the best times of the year to target large smallmouth in our rivers and streams across Virginia. Use baitfish imitations and target the transitionary water that smallmouth occupy during this time frame. A variety of subsurface crankbaits, soft plastic swimbaits and flukes, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits will prove productive. The Rebel Crawfish, a crayfish crankbait, should also be in your selection of subsurface lures as smallmouth will prowl pools and flats for crayfish in the fall. When fishing some of these subsurface lures, especially soft plastic swimbaits and flukes, its important to apply action to the lure on occasion by quickly jerking your rod to the side and then pausing briefly during your retrieve. This will give your lure an erratic motion and imitate a stressed and injured baitfish which is exactly what the smallmouth are looking for. When fishing soft plastics with a jig head, you can adjust the size of your jig head based upon the depth and current that you are focusing on. Anglers can also fish a variety of different colored jig and pigs for targeting late fall smallmouth that are holding lower in the water column closer to the bottom of the river.  Subsurface lures work well when targeting fall smallmouth. Photo by Meghan Marchetti/DGIF.Late October through November is an excellent time to fish large streamers for big smallmouth bass. When fly fishing in mid to late fall, consider fishing with a sinktip or a 250 grain full sinking line in the deeper riffles and pools on our larger rivers. Sometimes it pays off huge when you can get your fly down to the fish during this time of the year, especially in the latter part of the season as winter approaches. I have had great success in the fall fishing Bob Clouser’s Clouser Minnow, Lefty Kreh’s Deceiver, as well as the combination of the two patterns: the Half & Half. Large articulated streamers that were originally developed for trout fishing in western states likes Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming will also be productive on fall smallmouth. Kelly Galloup’s articulated streamer patterns from Montana work well and most of these flies have large profiles as some of them are tied with wool or spun deer hair heads. Charlie Craven’s patterns from Colorado are also quite productive on our Virginia smallmouth. The profile of these large articulated streamers attracts fall smallmouth and these patterns swim really well through the water as they are articulated. The multi-sectioned Gamechanger tied by Blane Chocklett also works quite well this time of the year. You should also carry large beadhead or conehead Woolly Buggers. I like fishing this classic pattern in sizes 2-4 in black, dark brown, and olive. Chuck Kraft’s Clawdad and Harry Murray’s Hellgrammite are also productive patterns to fish lower in the water column this time of year.  Fishing large streamers is a great technique for targeting big smallmouth bass. Consider fishing a sinktip or full sinking line in mid to late fall on our larger Virginia rivers, especially in higher flows. Photo by Meghan Marchetti/DGIF.Autumn can truly be one of the most pleasant times of the year to target smallmouth across the Commonwealth. Anglers will enjoy cooler temperatures and wearing waders when fishing these rivers during this time of the year. As the season progresses from October into November, it’s important to bring a dry bag with a towel and an extra change of clothes for safety precautions due to cooler water and air temperatures. Make time to get out this fall and take advantage of the prime fishing conditions for smallmouth across the state. |
Flint River Bass Club November Lanier Tournament
Last Sunday the Flint River Bass Club fished our November tournament at Lake Lanier. Eight of us cast for eight hours to land 13 14-inch keeper spots weighing about 20 pounds. There were no limits and three people zeroed.
Chuck Croft won with four weighing 7.57 pounds and had big fish with a 3.38-pound spot. Don Gober placed second with two at 4.61 pounds, my two weighing 2.90 pounds was third and Dan Phillips had one weighing 2.71 pounds for fourth.
The wind made it tough to fish like I wanted, but I tried a variety of types of places, lures and methods. The two I caught hit a jig and pig in about 15 feet of water, one on rocks and one in a brush pile. I was frustrated all day watching fish follow my bait on my Garmin Panoptix but not hit it.
Tournaments like this make me feel like I do not know what I am doing. There was a high school tournament the same time we fished, and
I was told it took 17 pounds to win it and 16 pounds to place second. It seems high school kids are much better fishermen than I am!
Fishing Tournaments In Early October
It was a busy three weeks in early October. I left home with my boat and camper on October 1st and stayed at Blanton Creek Park at Bartletts Ferry until Monday for the Sportsman Club Classic on Sunday.
On Monday I drove from there to Wind Creek State Park and camped for the three club tournament that weekend. Monday after the tournament Linda joined me and we fished until Thursday October 15th.
I was on the water every day but two while gone!
In the club classic, 11 of us qualified by finishing in the top eight for the year in points or fishing at least eight of the 12 tournaments last year. We landed 41 12-inch keepers weighing about 45 pounds in eight hours of casting, There were four five-bass limits and no one zeroed.
Raymond English won the classic with five bass weighing 7.55 pounds. My five at 6.63 pounds was second and I had big fish with a 2.24 pound largemouth. Wayne Teal was third with 5 at 5.92 pounds, Kwong Yu was fourth with five weighing 5.72 pounds and Jay Gerson came in fifth with five at 4.92 pounds.
At Martin we pay back each day like two one day tournaments. The first day in ten hours of fishing the 26 of us had 22 five bass limits and no one zeroed. Lee Hancock won with five weighingg 11.07 pounds and Tom Tanner was second with a limit weighing 9.92 pounds. My five at 9.84 pounds was third and I had a 3.74 pound spot for big fish. Zane Fleck plaaced fourth with five at 8.04 pounds.
On Sunday we fished for seven hours in the wind and rain, again. We had 21 limits and no one zeroed again. that’s why we love Lake Martin in October. We catch a lot if bass even if they aren’t big. Martin has millions of hungry 13 inch spotted bass!
Tom Tanner won, the only one to place in the top four both days, with five weighing 9.74 pounds. He is consistent! Don Gober came in second with five at 8.38 pounds, Raymond English placed third with five weighing 7.71 pounds and Shay Smith placed fourth with five at 7.64 pounds. JR Proctor had big fish woith a 3.45 pound largemouth.
I should have done better with all that practice!
On Friday at Bartletts Ferry I went up the river and caught five bass on four different baits in five different kinda of placees. A largemouth hit a weightless Trick worm under a dock. Then a nice spot hit a topwater plug three times on a bluff rock bank berore I hooked it. My third fish hit a spinnerbait on some wood then another largemouth hit a Senko on a sandy point. The fifth fish hit the Trick worm around grass.
Although they were all keepers there was no pattern at all that would give me confidence in the tournament.
I tried a variety of things down the lake without a bite Saturday. At 11:00 I went to a point with some brush on it I found a few years ago and caught a four pound largemouth on a shaky head. I started riding points looking for cover 15 feet deep, the depth the largemouth hit. The next one I found had stumps at the right depth and I caught a 14 inch spot on the shaky head. A third point with stumps at the right depth showed a lot of fish and I caught a small spot on a drop shot worm.
Those fish gave me some hope in that pattern, especilly he four pounder.
Sunday morning I tried some shallow points early then went to the brush on the point at 8:00 and didn’t get a bite. Hoping it was too early, I went to a dock with some brush and caught a keeper spot. A few more docks didn’t produce, so back to the point at 10:00. I immediately caugt the two pound largemouth and another keeper spot.
The next point with stumps produced two keeper spots. I had my limit by 11:00.
Although I rotated around those points the rest of the day I didn’t catch another keeper Sommething big hit my shaky head about 1:00 but it got into a stump and broke my line.
Martin is a big lake with two long arms, the Tallapoosa River and Kowaliga Creek. Wind Creek Park is way up the river. That area seems full of one pound fish and I have fished that area for 46 years so I know some good places. But a few years ago blueback herring got started in Kowaliga Creek and the fish there seem a little bigger and fatter, based on what I caught when I started fishng it a little three years ago.
I went over there the first three days of practice and found many brush piles in 25 feet of water that were covered in fish. But everything I caught were small spots. Friday morning I fished my favorite creek near the park and caugt 13 keepers in three hours. There is a shallow point in Kowaliga Creek where big bass usually feed, but it is a 25 minute run at 60 mph. And the bite ends at sunrise so I have only about 20 minutes to fish it.
The wind and rain almost made me stay near our takeoff point but at the last minute I decided to go there on Saturday. As I made the rough wet ride in the dark, watching lights on docks and danger buoys and my GPS, I kept thinking about the millions of bass I rode past. It was worth it I guess. In 20 minutes I landed six keepers including the big one on topwater.
Edward Fouker fished with me on Sunday and we made the long run. And caught nine keepers in 20 minutes. But none much over a pound Not worth the three quarters tank of gas that day!
I’m already thinking about that run next year!
Fishing West Point Lake in September
As expected, the weather threw me a curve in our club tournament in September at West Point Lake. I was hoping the bass at West Point would be feeding in response to the cooler water but was disappointed.
The water temperature was around 80 degrees, the coolest it has been since last May. But it was still too soon, I guess, for the bass to really respond. And the day was hot with no breeze and bright sun all day so it was not as comfortable as I had hoped.
In the Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament 12 members fished eight hours to land 41 bass weighing about 54 pounds. There were four five-bass limits and one person didn’t catch a keeper. There were only two largemouth, all the rest were spots.
Raymond English won with five at 8.53 pounds and his 2.76 pound largemouth was big fish. Kwong Yu was second with five weighing 7.03 pounds, Billy Roberts came in third with five at 6.58 pounds and my five weighing 6.05 pounds was fourth.
I started fishing around the ramp, thinking some of the bass released in tournaments there might hit, but they didn’t. The third place I stopped my biggest fish of the day, not very big at all, hit a Texas rigged worm in about 8 feet of water in a cove around some brush. Then I caught a keeper spot on a rocky point in about six feet of water on a jig head worm.
I tried a few more places then at 11:00 I went to what I hoped was my ace in the hole. There is a brush pile in about 17 feet of water and I have caught a lot of fish around it. When I rode over it to mark it my depthfinder showed it covered in fish.
Almost as soon as my drop shot worm got to the top of it a keeper spot thumped it. Then a couple of minutes later I got another one. But after fishing it for thirty minutes I had not gotten another bite.
I left and tried another place, then went back to the brush and quickly caught two more keepers. It is strange. Jordan and I caught two off that brush the last tournament we fished then didn’t get another bite for an hour. The pattern seems to be catch two and leave.
The water at West Point is clear and to fish a drop shot worm, a good tactic in clear water, you get right on top of the brush and drop it straight down. Although 17 feet deep sounds pretty deep, when you stop and think it is less deep than the boat is long.
I think the boat right on top of the fish scares them and they quit hitting. If you leave and come back after they settle down they will hit again – for a few minutes until they get scared again. I have tried staying out from that brush and casting to it from distance but can’t seem to get bite that way.
I fished a lot more places and caught several short fish before quitting time at 3:00, but no more keepers. As I said, the fish were much harder to catch than I had hoped!
Fishing with Matt Baty on Lake Seminole
Back in August, 2017. I drove down to Bainbridge and met Matt Baty at Wingate’s Lunker Lodge Saturday morning to get information for my October Map of the Month article in both Georgia and Alabama Outdoor News. Since Seminole is a border lake between the two states the same article will run in both magazines.
Matt grew up in Faceville, right on the lake, and has fished it all his life. He now guides there and on nearby Lake Eufaula and keeps up with the bass and knows where they are and what they are eating.
He and his partner had won an evening tournament on Seminole on Thursday night, landing five bass weighing 14 pounds in the three-hour tournament. It amazed me when he told me the tournament launched in Bainbridge, a 30-minute fast boat ride up the Flint River from where he caught the fish.
And he had to make the run back in the dark. That meant they had less than two hours to actually fish when they got to their honey hole at the mouth of Spring Creek. I have made that run many times in tournaments and you have to follow a twisting, turning channel. Its a good thing he knows the lake well to make it in the dark.
Matt took me to the grassy flat with hydrilla forming a mat on the surface along the edges of the deeper Spring Creek channel. We started with topwater but got no bites, but when he switched to a crankbait he caught five keepers up to two pounds each on five consecutive casts. That is hole #1 in the article.
I landed a three-pound largemouth on a worm there but then it got tough. We fished all morning without another keeper but then, on what is hole #7 in the article, he landed three bass about three pounds each by punching a plastic bait through the hydrilla behind a 1.5-ounce sinker.
I don’t even own a sinker that big and did not try his method. He offered me one but you have to stand up to fish that way and my back will not let me do it more than a few minutes.
Seminole is a beautiful lake and has a lot of three and four-pound bass in it. Fishing there seems much better this time of year than around here and is well worth the four-hour drive!
This Map of the Month article is available to GON subscribers at https://www.gon.com/fishing/seminoles-fall-bass-with-matt-baty