with Ryan Branch

Big largemouth feeding in the grass.  Coosa spots gorging on points in current.  Both species are easy to pattern and catch this month on Lay Lake.

    Lay is a 12,000-acre Alabama Power reservoir on the Coosa River south of I-20, running from its dam to the Logan Martin Dam.  Its shoreline is lined with a variety of grass and lily pads, and docks are on most banks.  Many creeks and sloughs enter it on both sides.

    Ryan Branch grew up near Birmingham in Destadia Hills where he fished on the local high school team and now fishes with the West Alabama College team.  Although his parents didn’t fish, local angler Bill Bonner took him under his wing, acting as boat captain and getting him into tournament fishing in the Anglers for Kids group.

    Ryan credits much of his skills to reading magazines and the internet.  He said he would pick a lure, watch and read all he could about fishing it, then go to local ponds to hone what he had learned.  He took it step by step to reach his current skill level.

    Lay is Ryan’s favorite lake and he fishes it often.  He has learned to catch both largemouth and spots on the lake, and June is a great month to catch both. 

    “I like to cover water all day, looking for feeding fish on a couple different pattern,” Ryan said.  His favorite way of catching them is flipping grass but he catches fish on a variety of patterns and baits.

    For June, Ryan ties on a frog, swim jig, and flipping bait for the grass.  He also rigs a shaky head, swim bait and drop shot for fishing current for spots. He has a few other baits to cast in specific situations, too.  Largemouth win most tournaments but it is easier to catch numbers of spots.

    We fished Lay in early May and caught fish on most of the following ten spots.  Although Ryan said the bass were in a post spawn “funk’” not feeding much for about a week, we still caught fish all day and had some quality fish.  These spots will be much better now and for the rest of the month.

    1. N 33 10.631 – W 86 31.629 – If you put in at Beeswax Ramp, go under the bridge. The creek splits and a big grass bed is in the mouth of the right fork.  Bass released at the ramp constantly restock this area, so it has a high concentration of fish.

    There is a channel running down the right bank as you face up the right channel, and another channel runs down the middle. There are points with grass on them on both sides of the channels.

    Ryan starts on the point on the right closest to the bank and fish a bluegill colored Spro Popping Frog early in the morning, and other low light conditions. He switches to a black frog when the sun is up, working the frog through the grass and across the points in it.

   
    Watch and listen for activity in the grass. If you see any movement, grass moving, swirls or splashes, cast to it. Also hit any openings back in the grass. If you hear bream “popping,” indicating they are feeding in the grass, the bass are likely to be feeding on them.

    When the sun is bright on the grass, drop a punch bait through the grass. Be sure to hit the thickest spots and any isolated clumps out from the main grass bed, too.

    2.  N 33 11.680 – W 86 30.238 – Run up the river and go into Bulley Creek. There is a small island about half way back and the channel runs between it and the right bank.  Stop at the house with the cut yard running down to the water and start fishing upstream along the right bank.

    Fish your frog in the water willow grass here. This bank stays shady for a while in the morning so it can be better for the frog later than places that get early sun.  After fishing up the right bank to across from the upper end of the island, go across to the island and fish it, too. Work the channel side around the downstream point and up the opposite side until it gets very shallow.

    Try a swim jig in this grass and all other grass.  Ryan casts a white Super Cotton three eights ounce jig with a matching Zoom Z Craw when the bass are eating shad but switches to a March Madness black and blue jig and trailer with the main food is bluegill. Also punch the thicker mats.

    3.  N 33 11.410 – W 86 29.932 – Back out at the mouth of Bulley Creek, the downstream point is flat and shallow but slopes out and drops into the river channel.  The creek channel swings in by the point, too.  Spots group up on the point and feed, especially when current is moving.

    Stop out on the river side of the point with your boat in about seven feet of water and fan cast the point, toward the bank as well as toward both channels.  Ryan fishes both a shaky head worm and drop shot here. He rigs a morning dawn color Reaction Innovation Flirt worm 10 to 12 inches above a one quarter to three eights ounce sinker, using the heavier weight in stronger current.

    Work around the whole point and check the upstream point at the green channel marker 43.  Drag the drops shot slowly, twitching the rod tip to make the worm wiggle.  Bump the bottom with a shaky head worm the same way. Ryan caught a good keeper spot here when we fished.

    4. N 33 14.567 – W 86 27.455 – Up the river the discharges from the power plant produces current that attracts spots and largemouth.  Its on the outside bend of the river and the water is 25 feet deep just off the bank.  The current is so strong it can be hard to fish, but worth it.

    Ryan stops about 20 yards off the bank about 50 yards downstream of the lower discharge and casts a green pumpkin three quarters ounce Buckeye Ballin Out jig with a matching Zoom Z Craw trailer close to the bank.  Cast upstream and work it back to the boat with the current, keeping it on the rocks, working down them to 20 feet deep.  He says you will get hung but can catch some good fish doing this. Work your jig all the way up past the upstream discharge.

    Also throw a Tennessee Shad Kitech 4.3 swim bait on a half-ounce Dirty Jigs jig head.  Cast it to the seams and eddies in the current and swim it back with the current in a natural movement.  Be ready to set the hook fast, the current pulling your line lets the fish know to spit it out fast. I lost a 3.5-pound spot that hit my swim bait and jumped and threw it because I didn’t get a good hookset.

    5.  N 33 14.617 – W 86 26.820 – On up the river, Yellowleaf Creek enters the river on your left.  The
downstream point is another good place to find spots and the occasional largemouth schooled up feeding in the current.

    Stop out on the point in about 20 feet of water and idle over it, looking for brush and fish.  Wood washes in and hangs on the point but it changes often with the current changes, so you need to find it. When you locate either, back off and cast drop shot, shaky head and jig and pig to it, working all around the area holding fish.

    Ryan rigs a green pumpkin or Junebug Trick worm on a one quarter to one half ounce Davis head.  Use the heavier head in current but the lighter head will get hung less if the current allows you to work it. Current does help the bite here and similar places.

    Ryan says he catches about 95 percent spots here, but some largemouth do user the area.  He added you can catch 30 fish here on a June day with current moving, and he landed a couple nice spots the day we fish, although it was early for them to be on this pattern.

    6.  N 33 12.037 – W 86 28.994 – Going back down the lake Dry Branch is on your right. Across from it and a little downstream, a small pocket has a downstream grassy point running out across the mouth of it. It is very shallow but creates a good ledge where it runs out and drops into the river channel.

    Keep your boat in the channel in 20 feet of water and cast your drop shot, jig and pig and shaky head toward the grassy point. Work those baits from three to 15 feet deep, keeping in contact with the bottom.  Angle your casts upstream to move your bait in a natural motion with the current. 

    Fish from the dock on the river just down the from the point up to the middle of the cove where the grass on the point ends.  Work slowly and probe for any wood cove hung on the bottom.  When you hit it make several casts to it with different baits.

    7.  N 33 08.560 – W 86 28.980 – Going down the river past Beeswax Creek, Kelly Creek enters on your right where the river makes a bend to the left. The point turns into a bluff bank going downstream.  There are rocks and brush on the point, and current is concentrated by the outside bend.

    Stop out even with the point in about 20 feet of water and cast to the point, working shaky head, drop shot and jig and pig down the slope.  Fish from the end of the point in the mouth of the creek about 200 yards down the bluff bank.  This place holds mostly spots with the rock and current.

    When fishing a drop shot, Ryan keeps his sinker on the bottom and slides it along slowly, shaking his rod tip constantly to make the worm dance. With the shaky head, he starts with aggressive shakes and moves it fast, but he will slow down dragging it along with little action if he does not get bit. Try different actions until the bass show him the action they want.

    8.  N 33 09.237 – W 86 26.803 – The Cedar Creek Road Bridge is a good concentration area for bass this month. Late spawners are joining earlier ones that stopped to feed on the bridge, and shad have been spawning here in May, so many bass are still holding around the riprap, especially early in the month.

    Ryan fishes the long, left side riprap and says the downstream side is best.  Some current coming under the bridge will concentrate them on the corners, but they feed all along the rocks.

    Try your shaky head worm, but Ryan will also fish a white and chartreuse chatterbait and shad colored squarebill here.  Try to bump the rocks with both those baits then follow up with your shaky head in any area you get bites on the faster moving baits.

    9.  N 33 16.634 – W 86 29.553 – Down the river around the bend to right, as the channel turns left, a small double creek with Okomo Marina in the back enters on your right.  It is lined with docks and has some grass in it.

    Start at the downstream point and work the docks inside the cove.  Ryan fishes them with a green pumpkin three eights ounce Ballin Jig with matching trailer and a Texas rigged green pumpkin Baby Brush Hog behind a three eights ounce sinker.  In muddy water, go to black and blue on both baits.

    Also skip your baits into shady areas along the seawall here. Pay attention to where you get bites and look for a pattern on the docks and in the shade. Bass tend to set up in the same places on docks all down the bank, so concentrate your pitches to those places when you get the pattern.

    When you get to the back, punch the mats with your punch bait. Ryan rigs a black and blue Sweet Beaver behind a one-ounce tungsten bait to punch them. He caught our best bass of the day here, a largemouth pushing five pounds.  It hit in a small mat out from the main bed.

    10.  N 33 04.974 – W 86 30.874 – A little further downstream, a big island sits in the mouth of Spring Creek.  The river side of it drops off fast with a clay bank back off the water. It has a good grass bed running from the point where there is a danger marker for stumps down the outside bank. 

    Ryan says there is usually a lot of baitfish in this area, concentrating the bass. Fish your frog and swim jig in this grass.  If you see a thick patch, punch it.  Work this area slowly and carefully if you get bit since schools of bass often hold over deep water and run in to the grass to feed.

    Try these places with Ryan’s bait choices or yours, find the pattern and use it on other places for Lay bass this month.

Ryan is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ryan.branch.3511

with Sean Murphy

Alabama River spots spawning on main river sandbars and rocks.  Largemouth spawning in sloughs and creeks.  This is a great time to catch both during prespawn, post spawn and bedding.

The Alabama River runs from the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers near Montgomery 105 miles southeast in twisting, turning loops.  It is well known for big spots but has a good population of quality largemouth, too.

Sean Murphy is a senior at Auburn on the fishing team.  He grew up in Lutz, Florida near Tampa and got started fishing at a very young age, but the first bass he caught in a pond near home hooked him on bass.  He chose Auburn mainly for its Aviation program but the bass fishing team there helped him make his decision.

“Team members took me under their wing and taught me a lot about catching bass,” Sean said.  Fishing Alabama lakes and rivers is very different from Florida waters and he had to learn to adapt to new methods to catch bass.  He has learned well.

“Both species of bass on the River are in the spawning mood in April,” Sean said.  The spots don’t like to move far from the river current to spawn, but largemouth will go back shallow in sloughs and creeks.  Spots will bed on sandbars and rocks near the river, but largemouth look for hard bottoms a long way from the current.

For the two different methods of fishing Sean will have two groups of baits ready.  For largemouth, a bladed jig, jig and pig, Carolina rig and spinnerbait cover the bedding areas around grass and pads. When trying for spots he uses a rattlebait and medium diving crankbait. The jig and pig and Carolina rig work for them, too.

We got on the river in early March when it was running eight feet high and the current was so strong it was almost impossible to fish on the river.  If those conditions persist, fishing for largemouth will probably be your best bet but you can catch spots even under those conditions if you work at it.

1. N 33 26.346 – W 86 23.445 – Cooters Pond near Prattsville is a good central ramp for these spots. It is near the mouth of a big slough and a creek enters in the back at the golf cart bridge.  There is standing timber and stumps all through it where largemouth stage, then move to the shallows to feed.

Idle toward the bridge, it is very shallow and dangerous if you don’t know it.  From the timber patch on the left facing the bridge to it and down the other side is a big lily pad field.  Lily pads indicate a hard bottom where bass like to spawn.

Cast a bladed jig and jig and pig around the timber for both pre and post spawn largemouth.  If a cold front pushes the fish back from the bedding areas, they will move to the trees until conditions get better, too.  Sean likes a three eights ounce black and blue bait in stained water and a green pumpkin jig in clearer water, with a matching three-inch swim bait trailer.  He will also pitch a jig to a visible tree, let it sink beside it then work it back to the boat, hitting hidden wood.

Run your bladed jig through lily pad fields, too. Early in the month stems may be all you see, but they indicate places to cast just like the pads do.  Fish all around the bridge on both sides and watch for the small channel coming under it.

2.  N 32 25.838 – W 86 23.914 – The canal going out to the river from the Cooter Pond ramp offers a highway for largemouth moving in and out to feed.  Across from the downstream end of the old docks there is a hole near the opposite bank where the channel runs right by it. It was 20 feet deep the day we fished, so at normal pool it is about 12 feet deep.

Bass stack up in this hole and it, like hole 1, is constantly restocked with released bass.  Sean gets in close to the wood on this bank and flips a jig and pig to all the cover. There are limbs right on top and many deeper ones you can’t see. Work them all.

Sean flips a custom made Spotsticker  green pumpkin and blue three eights to three quarter ounce jig, depending on current, and puts a three-inch swim bait trailer on it. If the water is heavily stained, he goes with black and blue.  He wants to get his jig right in the bass’s face, so he covers the water thoroughly and carefully.

3.   N 32 25.759 – W 86 23.496 – Go out to the river and go upstream past the island where the canal comes out.  Cooters Pond opens up here and there is a good sandbar off the upstream point.  Spots bed on the sandbar and sandy bottom along it to the point of the island back in the slough a short distance. 

Idle in even with the upstream point and fish from it to the end of the island.  Spots stage here both pre and post spawn, and bed on the sand, so it is good all month.  There are scattered stumps on it, too, that are key places for them.

This is a good place to bump the bottom with a crankbait and drag a Carolina rig all over it. Sean rigs a dark colored lizard about six inches above a three quarters ounce sinker and covers the whole area with it. Fish from two feet deep back to the boat.

4.  N 32 24.675 – W 86 24.094 – Run down the river until you see the highway 31 bridge.  On your left a small creek enters the river and is a holding and spawning area for both spots and largemouth.  Spots will be on the upstream point largemouth will be there, too, as they move in and out. 

Fish both crankbait and Carolina rig on the point, bumping bottom from all angles.  Sean fishes a shad or chartreuse with black back colored bait that runs six feet deep. Drag a lizard all over it, too.

For bedding largemouth, work into the creek as far as you can go, depending on water level. Pitch your jig and pig to all the wood cover on both sides. Try to get it right on the bank under overhanging limbs and drag it along the bottom.  Run a bladed bait through any grass.  Here and other places you may see fish on the bed if the water is clear, and you can sight fish for them.

5.  N 32 24.684 – W 86 24.261 – Spots love to hold on offshore rocks and there is a good ledge just downstream of hole 4.  If you idle downstream toward the bridge about 50 feet off the left bank and watch a side scan sonar, you can see the rocks as they come off the bank and drop down.  There is a wooden structure that looks like a box deer stand and the rocks are just upstream of it.

When you find them, sit downstream of them and cast a jig and pig upstream far enough to get it down to the rocks.   If the current is running strong, you need to go to a heavier jig, up to three quarters an ounce.  Fish it slowly, keeping it right on the rocks and it comes down current with a natural action.

6. N 32 24.098 – W 86 26.637 – Go under the highway 31 bridge. There is an open pasture along the right bank. Where it stops at the end of a small bluff bank a small creek enters the river.  The downstream point of this creek runs upstream and has stumps on it.  It is a good holding area for both species and spots bed on it, too.

Stop just downstream of the ditch and cast a crankbait and Carolina rig upstream, working them back with the current.  In places like this Shawn will also fish a rattlebait like a gold with black back Rat-L-Trap over the point for both species.  Probe with your Carolina rig for stumps and stop it when you hit one. Both species will hold on the downstream eddy of them and spots will be there, too.

Then work into the ditch, fishing the wood cover on the upstream side as well as on both sides of it. Sean says he moves more and covers water with bladed bait and spinnerbait when looking for largemouth in most places but sits in one place more and covers specific areas for spots since they tend to stack up more in one place

A spinnerbait works better here and other places with lots of wood cover since you can bump it without getting hung up as easily.  Sean chooses a three eights ounce white Spotsticker spinnerbait with silver willowleaf blades around all wood cover as well as pads and other grass.

7.  N 32 24.923 – W 86 22.071 – Go back up the river past Cooters Pond. In the long straight section past the bend, power lines cross the river. On the right side the base of the tower is in the water near the bank.  There is gravel and rocks around the bottom of it and wood is usually hung up on it from the top of the water down to the bottom.

Spots hold here and will spawn around it, too, and Sean says he can almost always catch a fish on it.  The key area is the outside corner. He will position his boat downstream of it and cast rattlebait or crankbait up past the wood and concrete pilings and work them with the current along them.  Fish both baits through the eddies formed by wood and pilings, too.

8.  N 32 24.495 – W 86 22.028 – A little further upstream the river opens up a little as it swings to the left.  There is a round point on the right where it opens up that drops fast and has rocks on it. Spots hold on this deep point, they like a place where they can change depth quickly. Work your jig and pig from the edge of the water down ten feet or deeper.

As you round the point going upstream, the water is shallower near the bank.  Largemouth hold on wood and any grass all along this bank and Sean will fish upstream all the way to the house several hundred yards away. Cast spinnerbait, bladed jig and jig and pig to all the wood cover and grass along this bank.

9.  N 32 23.904 – W 86 21.278 – A little way upstream the river narrows back down some and a big slough is off to the right behind an island.  The opening to has a smaller island in it.  It is sandy and spots bed here, and both species stage on the point of the small island.  

Fish the point with all your baits, using crankbait, spinnerbait, rattlebait, crankbait and Carolina rig on the sand. Then fish back into the slough with your largemouth baits. Work all the wood cover and watch for bedding fish if the water is clear enough to see them.

If the water is stained but warm enough for them to be bedding, a Carolina rigged lizard or jig and pig dragged slowly along the bottom will get bedding fish you can’t see to hit.  Fish fast if you think they have not gone on the bed yet, but slow down it the water is warm enough for them to be on the beds, especially around the full moon this month.

10.  N 32 23.787 – W 86 21.120 – Going upstream, a golf course runs along the bank. There is a small wooden deck right on the water and the bank on both sides of it is riprap.  There is natural rock along the bank, too.

Fish all the rocks with crankbait, spinnerbait and jig.  Watch for a drain pipe on the bank, it is a key place for bass to hold. Work all this bank carefully, spots and some largemouth stack up on it in April.

Just upstream of this bank an island sits not far off it. The area behind the island is shallow and is a good spawning area. Work it for largemouth bedding on the sandy bottom.

All these places are good right now and will be all month long.  Give them a try, look at the kinds of places Sean fishes, and you can find many more on the river.

You can see some of Sean’s catches on his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sean.murphy.3781

February Millers Ferry Bass with Billy Black

Spots schooling up on creek and slough mouths withh largemouth moving into shallows to feed.  Pre-spawn is a great time to fish Millers Ferry, it is getting started now and is stronger all this month.

Millers Ferry, also known as William B. Dannely Reservoir, is on the Alabama River south of Selma.  It is mostly a river run lake with many acres of shallow sloughs, backouts and creeks.  The shallows are full of wood and grass cover where largemouth live.  Alabama spots prefer to live on or near them main river.

Billy Black lives in Monroeville where he is fire chief.  He fished the river for anything that would bite when younger but got into bass fishing in the late 1980s.  In 1991 he helped form the Monroeville County Bass Anglers and they fish several tournaments each year on the river. 

He fishes the Alabama BASS Federation Tournaments and Fishers of Men trails most years, and has fished the Alabama Bass Trail tournaments as well as area charity and pot tournaments. He knows Millers well.  

“In late January both spots and largemouth start getting the urge to spawn,” Billy said.  Spots set up on river points at the mouths of sloughs and creeks, staying near current and deeper water. Largemouth move further back into the shallows, feeding around wood and grass cover to get ready for bedding.

    Billy is prepared to fish both patterns this time of year. In a tournament he usually tries to catch a limit of spots then go looking for bigger largemouth to cull up.  You can catch more spots but the largemouth, although providing fewer bites, will be bigger.

    “The problem with Millers, like other river lakes, is rain upstream can blow them out and mess up fishing for a few days,” Billy said. That has been a problem since December, when heavy rains made the river rise and get muddy repeatedly.

    For spots, Billy rigs a crankbait, Carolina Rig and jig and pig, for fishing points and deeper water.  For shallow largemouth he likes a squarebill crankbait, bladed jig, swim jig spinnerbait, jig and pig and punch bait for covering the different kinds of cover.

    We fished the day after Christmas.  Billy warned me the river was full and stained, but much more rain was predicted over the next two weeks, making it worse. We put in at Ellis Ferry and the water was at the top of the ramp, but the dock was above water. The next week the dock was covered, and water came half way up in the parking lot.

    The following places are good right now and get better all month for both species.

    1.  N 32 03.308 – W 87 18.710 – The upstream point at the mouth of Gee’s Bend has a marker buoy where the ferry crosses it.  The river channel swings in on the outside and the creek channel is on the back side of this long point, offering good access to deeper water both ways.  Largemouth stop and feed here on their way into the flats and spots hold on it all the time.

    This point has a clay bottom with scattered shell beds, and there is usually some brush that has washed in and hung up on it.  Current coming down the river makes the bite, especially for spots, much better.

    Stop near the buoy and try a crankbait and Carolina rig on it.  Billy uses a chartreuse with black or blue back Strike King 5 or 6 XD or Bomber to bump the bottom.  Start out in deeper water, keeping your boat well off the point and cast across it, bumping the top.  Watch your electronics for brush on the bottom and mark it when you see it.

    Fish all the way around the point, covering both sides and the end.  Then drag your Carolina Rig all over the point, too.  Concentrate on brush and shell beds you find. Also try a jig and pig in the brush here.

    You can spend all day here and catch fish as they move up and feed or hit it several times during the day hoping to be there at the right time.  Billy said a six-pound, four-ounce bass here in his last tournament so it offers the possibility of big fish as well as numbers.

    2.  N 32 02.771 – W 87 15.963 – Upstream around the bend Bridgeport Landing is on your right.  A line of small islands goes across the mouth of the big slough here and the river channel runs right along the outside bank of the downstream one.  The water comes up fast and the point is very shallow out on the point.

    Stop out from the point in the river and fish crankbait and Carolina rig from the shallows down the drop. Billy will rig a Junebug Fluke or Baby Brush Hog on a 12 to 18-inch leader with a one-ounce sinker.  Fish it so it stays on the bottom on the steep drop.

    Work up toward the end of the point with grass on it, then cast upstream parallel to the bank.  There is always wood cover on the bottom and fish hold on it.  Switch to a jig and pig to more effectively fish the brush with fewer hang-ups. Try to bump through all the wood you can hit, moving your bait with the current.

    3.  N 32 03.329 – W 87 15.500 – Across the river a little upstream, Gold Mine Slough is on your left.  The first small entrance to it between two islands is another example of the kind of places bass use, with current hitting it and a ditch dumping into deep water with shallow points and a drop.

    The mouth of the ditch is only about two feet deep, but the channel is about 20 feet deep. Keep your boat in the deep water and cast crankbait and Carolina Rig into the ditch, bumping the bottom down the drop out to 12 feet deep. Cover both points on the ditch.

     After fishing across the drop, move in near the downstream point and cast upstream, running both crankbait and Carolina Rig across the ditch mouth, moving them with the current. There is some key wood here to hit.  Then work on up across the ditch upstream, casting to the wood and grass on the bank with a bladed jig and jig and pig.  Some fish move in to it to feed.

    4.  N 32 03.431 – W 87 15.432 – Across the river upstream there is an entrance to Ladell’s Slough in front of the campground at Roland Cooper Sate Park.  There is a small island in the middle of it and there was a big log jam off the downstream point just inside the slough when we fished. The water drops fast from four to 25 feet deep across the mouth of the entrance.

    Fish across it like the others, working from the downstream point upstream.  Make a few casts to the log jam with a jig and pig but concentrate on the drop.    Fish across it as well as parallel to it with crankbait and Carolina Rig.  Billy says it is important to keep your crankbait bumping the bottom as much as possible.

    5. N. 32 04.954 – W 87 14.221 – At the upstream point water several feet deep runs along the left bank if you go into it but it runs a long way parallel to the river. We went into the slough behind the upstream point and fished the grass and wood along the bank to see if fish were here, then idled through the shallows and stump fields to the highway 43 Bridge back in the slough.  When you get to the bride start in the pocket on the downstream side to the left facing upstream. Work the wood and brush out to the bridge, then fish all around the bridge, hitting riprap and pilings.  

    You will catch mostly largemouth back in here as they move in to spawn.  The bridge is a pinch point that concentrates them and offers them as good feeding place. 

    Billy uses a Strike King 1.5 or 2.5 squarebill and a chatterbait around the rocks, pilings and wood here He likes a Jackhammer chartreuse and white bait with a matching trailer in stained water but switches to a green pumpkin bait with matching trailer in clearer water.

    Hit both sides of the bridge and try upstream of it around the grass and stumps. This slough is full of stumps above the bridge so be careful. 

    6. N 32 04.240 – W 87 14.592 – Go back out to the main mouth of Ladell’s Slough just past the standing timber downstream of the bridge.  It drops deeper in the middle without a ledge across the mouth but the points on both sides are good.  The bottom is sandy with some hard clay spots in it.

    Go back to crankbait and Carolina Rig to bump and drag the mostly clean bottom.  Fish the upstream point from the middle of the ditch, fan casting all over it from the inside to the outside.  Billy drags he rig along the bottom letting the current move his bait.

    Try that angle on the downstream point, too, but current will set the bass up to be facing upstream.  Work out to the river side of that point and cast to the middle of the ditch, moving it up the slope. 
You will catch both spots and largemouth here since it opens up to vast spawning areas.

    7. N 32 05.590 – W 87 15.607 – Foster Creek is the next creek upstream on the left.  After going through the narrow opening it opens up and the channel is to the right after going around a shallow point on that side.  The bank just past the first little pocket on the right side drops off into ten feet of water, has lots of wood and grass, and the water is usually clearer in here than on the river.

    Billy says the biggest Miller’s Ferry bass ever weighed in his club came from here, an eight pounder. This bank faces south so it warms faster than some other areas, and this draws the largemouth to it.

    Billy keeps his boat in ten feet of water and fishes up the bank, working into the creek.  He starts with a spinnerbait and chatterbait, covering water.  A white War Eagle spinnerbait with silver blades is his choice.  Run both all around wood cover and along grass edges.

    If the bass don’t seem to be chasing a faster bait, Billy slows down with a swim jig, fishing it all through the cover.  If that is too fast, he will go to a punch bait, a Junebug Baby Brush Hog behind a one to one- and one-half ounce sinker, and drops it through the thick mats of grass.  Fish up the bank until the water near it gets shallow near the next pocket on the right.

    8. N 32 08.902 – W 87 15.775 – Chilatchee Creek further up the river on the left has Chilatchee State Park on the left as you go into the creek. Billy was able to follow the channel around to the left but be very careful until you learn it.  The water is very shallow in some areas.

    Go around the big island in on the right side and stop about even with the little one out in the middle of the creek. The channel makes a sharp bend near the right bank here and the is a lot of wood cover and grass along it.  About half way up the point this bank is on, a big tree with root ball and limbs sticking out of the water was lying out off the bank.

     Work the shallow cover here like in Foster Creek, covering water with spinnerbait, chatterbait and swim jig.  There is a lot of hyacinth covering the edge of the bank and is an excellent place to punch your Brush Hog through it.  It gets a lot of afternoon sun and warm fast.

    Fish from one end to the other on the big round point.  The water is deeper along the point and bass hold here rather than moving back into the very shallow pockets on both sides. Billy caught a solid keeper largemouth here on his punch bait.

    9.  N 32 03.145 – W 87 15.103 – Go back down the river to Roland Cooper State Park into the creek between it and Bridgeport Landing.  There is a small campground ramp on the left with rental boats on it, but the main ramp is on back in the creek. Stop downstream of the small ramp where there is a grass yard leading up to the bathrooms.

    A lot of tournaments are held here and restock the area often.  The bank from downstream of the ramp up just past it has six feet of water near it, deep enough to hold fish, and there is a lot of hyacinth along the edge, wood cover and some rocks just upstream of the ramp.

    Fish it like all shallows, covering water with faster moving baits first. If you catch a fish or two on them it is worth going back over it, picking it apart with a punch bait or jig and pig.  Billy fishes a black and blue jig with a matching trailer in the thinner grass and other cover, but the punch bait is needed for the hyacinth.

    10.  N 32 03.363 – W 87 17.857 – Go into Gee’s Bend past the ferry landing on the left.  The bank past it has a line of docks that are good staging areas for largemouth.  Billy says you won’t get a lot of bites, but they are usually quality fish.

    Run a squarebill along the post, bumping them and making it deflect.  Then probe for brush in front of the docks and under them with a jig and pig.  There is about six feet of water on the ends of them. Work the whole line of docks but be careful, dock owners have run a rope along and between the front of most of them.

    Give these places on Millers Ferry a try for both spots and largemouth. You will catch both, and there are many similar places to fish.

January Lake Martin Bass

with Anthony Vintson

Spotted bass holding on deep rocks and brush on main lake points. Largemouth feeding around shoreline wood cover. If you want to have fun catching both on these patterns, head to Lake Martin this month.

Lake Martin on the Tallapoosa River near Alexander City is well known for its numbers of spotted bass, but as the BASS Elite tournament last February showed, there are a good many quality largemouth in the lake, and more big spots than many fishermen realize.

Anthony Vintson lives in Cullman and fishes Martin a lot.  After junior college he went in the Army for eight years and bought his first bass boat. He fell in love with tournament fishing and honed his skills on Martin, Smith and other area lakes as well as any station he was on that had a lake nearby.

Anthony is now a junior at Auburn where he is on the bass fishing team.  Auburn has produced some great pros that help mentor the team. And the team was fourth in the nation last year and is in the top ten this season. 

He fishes as many area tournaments on Martin and Smith as his college schedule allows.  This past year he had a limit weighing 15 pounds that included a six-pound largemouth in a local derby on Martin.

“January is a great month to find big schools of spots holding and feeding 20 to 40 feet deep on main lake points,” Anthony said.  Rocks and brush piles concentrate them deep. They will move up to feed but most of the time they are stacked up on deep cover.

Anthony goes out after a quick limit of spots in tournaments, hoping to put ten pounds in the boat. He then goes to more shallow wood cover to find a kicker largemouth or two.  This plan has helped him do well in many tournaments.

For spots, Anthony will tie on a jerkbait, drop shot, shaky head and jig and pig.  When trying for largemouth he likes a shaky head with a Rage Craw on it.  Those five baits will work all over the lake and cover the ways he fishes.

We fished the week after Thanksgiving on the second day of a strong cold front.  We found many schools of spots and caught a dozen small ones in the five hours we were on the lake, even though the heavy wind made it hard to stay on them. And we got some bites around wood cover, but the wind made it very hard to detect strikes.

Spots hit on all the first nine holes and there are quality fish on them as well as large numbers of smaller ones.  Anthony says you often catch several small keeper fish then a two pounder will hit. The smaller fish seem more aggressive. And the largemouth will bite much better under settled weather conditions on places like hole 10.

1.  N 32 43.599 – W 85 53.698 – Across from Ridge Marina a narrow point runs upstream from Fishbone Island.  Very deep water is all around it, with the river channel on the east side and an old channel on the west. Big rocks and several brush piles are one it, the perfect set-up for spots right now.

On this point and others Anthony will stop well off the point and ease in toward it, casting a jerkbait across the point and on the sides. He keeps two rigged, a shallow Strike King J300 in ghost shad and a J300D in chrome Ayu shad. 

He starts by casting the shallow one near the bank, switching to the deeper running one out from the point.  Spots will move in shallow to feed, especially early in the morning, and he can quickly cover the point with those two baits for active bass pushing baitfish up on the point.

As he fishes the point Anthony keeps an eye on his electronics, watching for brush and fish.  Spots will hold anywhere from 20 to 40 feet deep and will often suspend over brush piles or boulders and will hit a drop shot worm. If they are in the brush or right on the bottom, he will also try a shaky head worm and a jig and pig.

2.  N 32 43.296 – W 85 53.634 – Go down the river side of the island to the downstream point where you can see through to the other channel. It runs downstream, and the river runs in right beside it.  The big rocks on it above water run on out.  There are several brush piles here.

Work around the point with jerkbait. When you see fish or brush, use your drop shot to catch them.  Anthony rigs a green pumpkin Strike King Dream Shot worm on a VMC Neko rig hook 12 to 18 inches above a one quarter to three-ounce sinker.  The heavier sinker is used when the wind is blowing like it was the day we fished.

Anthony drops his bait right into the fish, jiggling the rod tip to make the worm move.  He will ease around the area the fish are in with a slow controlled drag, moving very slowly so his line is still at a sharp downward angle.  This moves the bait through the fish until an active one hits.

Cover both sides of the point before leaving.  If the wind is blowing down the side of the island or through the gap, try both windward and lee sides. Fish will move from the slight current on the windward side to the calmer lee side following baitfish.

3.  N 32 42.846 – W 85 53.596 – Going down the river channel, Chimney Rock, marred by graffiti, is on your right.  On the downstream end of the cliff a point covered with big boulders runs downstream, dropping fast on the river side.

There isn’t much brush here, but the fish hold on the big boulders. We saw fish suspended just over them from 20 to 40 feet deep.  That is the range Anthony expects the fish to hold when they are not up actively feeding. He will “wander” around with his trolling motor here and the other places until he finds them.

 If the fish are close to the rock let your sinker hit it then jiggle your worm. If they are holding well above it stay directly on top of them and watch your drop shot fall, stopping it so the worm is at the depth the fish area holding.

Fish all these places the same. Work around the boulders with jerkbait, then drop a worm to them.  Wind blowing on them helps the jerkbait bite a lot, and it can position the deeper fish as it funnels baitfish from the current it produces.

4.  N 32 42.193 – W 85 54.527 – Follow the river channel to the mouth of Kowaliga Creek.  The last island by the river channel before you can go over and into Kowaliga Creek has a small hump about 100 yards off the end of the island lined up with the sandy beach between two points. It comes up to 15 feet with the water down six feet like it was the day we fished it.

A hump coming up out on the end of a point like this makes it even better.  Stay off the hump and cast your deep diving jerkbait all over it. There are logs and brush piles on the hump where they hold. Fish in the cover on it will come up to hit a jerkbait at that depth.

    After working around the hump, try a shaky head worm and drop shot on it. You can cast both then get over the brush and fish with your drop shot straight down.  Anthony rigs a green pumpkin Strike King Baby Rage Craw on a one quarter ounce jig head and drags it along the bottom with little hops to make the tails wave.

    5.  N 32 42.318 – W 85 55.082 – Power lines with big airplane warning balls crosses the mouth of Kowaliga Creek.  On the left side going into Kowaliga Creek a hump comes up off the point on that side. It is under the gap between the third and fourth balls from the bank.

    This hump tops out 20 feet deep with the water down six feet and has brush on it. That is a little deep for a jerkbait but your drop shot works well here and you can catch fish on shaky head and jig, too.

    When working a drop shot to fish on the bottom, stay right over them and fish straight down then try a controlled drag. For brush piles start on the sides, especially if you see fish around rather than over the brush.  Then work into the brush so if you get hung and disturb the fish you have already fished the outsides of it.

    With fish suspended over the brush, play video game fishing, watching your bait as it drops then fishing it in the suspended fish. If you see fish holding way above the brush on these places your jerkbait may get deep enough to attract them.

    6. N 32 42.325 – W 85 54.876 – Across the mouth of Kowaliga Creek the second point on your left going back toward the river has danger markers all around it way off the bank. There used to be a long dock running out on this point so even with the water up it is very shallow. We could see the rocks above the water when we were there.

    Stop a long cast from the top of the point with your boat in about 20 feet of water and go all the way around it with both shallow and deep jerkbaits.  Watch as you go around it, there is a lot of brush and some stumps here. 

    Try drop shot around the brush under the boat. You can also catch fish here on shaky head and jig, fishing around the point casting from deep to shallow. Move your boat out deeper and watch for brush and fish, and work your jig or shaky head from a few feet deep out to 20 feet deep.  Rocks run well out from the top of the point and brush and stumps hold fish shallow enough that you do not want to get right on top of them for the drop shot.

    7.  N 32 44.320 – W 85 52.760 – The upstream point of Blue Creek is on a peninsular. There is a big rock pile off the bank on it that is marked but the big boulders on it were plainly visible with the water down.  Anthony says there is always a lot of bait here, a good sign this time of year, and holds big schools of bass feeding on them.

    Fish across the deep side of the rock pile with jerkbaits.  Also try drop shot on fish you see off it, and try dragging your shaky head and jig and pig from near the rocks to 20 feet deep.  Anthony fishes a green pumpkin half ounce Strike King jig with a matching Rage Craw trailer.

    8.  N 32 45.291 – W 85 52.850 – Up the river on the river side of the last island before the channel swings left and the lake opens up, a rock pile sits on the end of a ridge coming off the bank. The ridge and rock pile were visible when we fished and there is no danger marker on it.

    The river channel swings in right beside the rock pile. Get in close, you will be in 20 feet of water 30 feet off the bank, and fish your jerkbaits along the rocks.  Watch for fish and stumps on the bottom. There is not any brush here that we saw or that Anthony knows about, but the rocks and stumps hold fish.

    The ends of the rock pile are a good place to work jerkbaits and your jigs.  Bigger spots are often attracted to the jig and pig more than to the smaller baits, so try it if your goal is size rather than numbers.

    9.  N 32 45.615 – W 85 52.692 – Across the narrow gap where the river channel goes left, the upstream point runs downstream with the channel just off it.  Inside the point you can see the docks and buildings of Alamisco Camp.

    A good brush pile is out on this point and it was loaded with fish when we were there.  They really stack up on it when the wind blows through the gap from the north north west, like it was the day we fished.

    Fish jerkbaits over the brush first, especially when the wind is blowing.  Wind usually makes the jerkbait bite much better.  Then follow up with drop shot, shaky head and jig and pig. There are rocks and some brush other than the big pile scattered around this point that do hold fish, but the big one should be your main target.

    10.  N 32 51.023 – W 85 55.853 – For a change of pace to go after largemouth, Anthony goes up to the Wind Creek area where they are more plentiful.  There is a lot of wood cover in this area, both blowdowns and brush piles around docks, that largemouth love.

    One of the best is the left bank going in to the docks at Wind Creek State Park.  The bank across from the campground is steep and is lined with fallen trees, the ideal kind of place to find them. And tournament released fish constantly restock this area.

    Keep your boat in deep water off the end of the trees and cast a jig head worm to the wood.  Anthony fishes a quarter ounce jighead with a green pumpkin Rage Craw on it and moves it extremely slowly through the wood. 

    Although the cover is thick, Anthony uses 12-pound line since it is heavy enough to get the fish out but thin enough to get better feel of light bites.  Largemouth don’t seem to be as active as spots in cold water, so you must fish slowly and be ready to set the hook at the lightest indication of a bite.

    All these spots are good all this month. Decide if you want to catch a lot of small spots or quality largemouth and spots, and choose your baits and places based on that.  Try Anthony’s places and baits then use your favorite baits and find many similar places to fish them.

December 2018 Alabama River Bass
with Cole Burdeshaw

Big spotted bass actively feeding on river points and bluff banks. Quality largemouth looking for something to eat around creek grass beds and blowdowns. The Alabama River has both this month and offers you options for catching them.

The River, as locals call it, also goes by Woodruff Lake or Jones Bluff and runs right by the amphitheater in Montgomery. It starts where the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers join near Wetumpka and runs 80 miles west to its lock and dam. It is full of Coosa spots but also has a good population of largemouth.

Cole Burdeshaw lives in Headland and helped start the high school fishing team there. He is a senior on the Auburn fishing team now but also fishes many pot and local tournaments. He won the Alabama Nation adult division Federation State Championship tournament on Eufaula in October this year.

In September he teamed up with Peyton McCord, also from Headland and on the Auburn team, to fish the Reel Money Team Trail Championship on the Alabama River. They won with ten bass weighing 29.14 pounds, taking home $10,000 first prize. He knows how to catch bass on the river.

“The Alabama River may be the most underappreciated fishery in this area, or even the state.” Cole said. There have been big tournaments here like BASS Elite and Open tournaments, FLW, Alabama Bass Trail and the Reel Money Championship and they show how good the fishing can be, but it just does not get the publicity of other fisheries.

The Alabama Bass Anglers Information Team tournament results back this up. In pounds per angler day the Alabama River ranks ahead of well-known Eufaula and Guntersville. In bass per angler it ranks above those two and Pickwick.

By late November, most of the spots on the upper end of the river have set up on the main channel. Those are the ones Cole targets in tournaments, since their average size is better and there are many more of them. But some big largemouth are in the creeks feeding and one of them goes a long way when you need a kicker.

For December spots, Cole will have a jerkbait, jig and pig and crankbait ready to cast. When looking for a kicker largemouth he chooses a swim jig and spinnerbait.

The day before Halloween Cole and Peyton showed me how they won the Reel Money Championship and places they will be fishing in December. Some of them are the same places they won the championship since bass hold on them all year. Some of them get better and better as the water cools.

They fished a little different in September than they will be fishing in December. Most of their winning fish hit topwater and fast moving jerkbaits. This month topwater may still draw a few bites, and it is a good idea to try them, but jerkbaits and crankbaits fished slowly, and a jig and pig, will get more bites in the colder water.

1. N 32 25.582 – W 86 23.268 – Across from Cooters Pond, going upstream about a half mile, power lines cross the river. Just downstream of them on the right bank going upstream, a small ditch enters the lake. This is one of the kinds of places Cole targets in December.

Cole calls these places “U-ins” since they show a small indention on maps. Runoff in these places often build up a small delta, forming a point that breaks the current. This one and most others have blowdowns and wood cover on them, especially on the banks on both sides, offering more feeding places.

Stop downstream of the downstream point with your boat in about 25 feet of water and cast a jerkbait near the bank in the ditch. Work it back slowly, with a jerk-pause or jerk-jerk-pause. Make the pauses longer the colder the water. Work the jerkbait faster at the beginning of the month and slower later in

December. Also work a crankbait in the same areas, and drag a jig and pig through it.

After fishing the mouth of the ditch work the wood cover on both sides. Since so many released bass at Cooters Pond move to this area, Cole will fish the wood all the way from the ditch almost down to directly across from Cooters Pond. Work a jerkbait over the trees, bump a squarebill through them and bump limbs with a jig and pig.

2. N 32 22.557 – W 86 27.814 – Run down to the mouth of Catoma Creek on the left side going downstream. The mouth of it has a good point for spots and the
creek has grass beds and blowdowns that hold good largemouth. This is about as far downstream as Cole goes and it is his target when looking for a kicker largemouth.
Stop out in the middle of the mouth and cast over the downstream point with jerkbait and crankbait. It is gravel and clay, an ideal bottom for spots. A sexy shad or chartreuse sexy shad 5XD will bump the bottom, which it must do for consistent bites.

On the upstream point there is a good grassbed to fish. The water around it is shallow but the river channel is not far away. It was completely out of the water when we were there but the water was unusually low. Cast a three eights ounce chartreuse War Eagle spinnerbait with a silver and a gold willowleaf blade into the grass and work it out, looking like a baitfish coming out of the grass.

Swim a dirty white one quarter to three eights ounce Dirty Jig swimjig in to the grass and fish it out. If the water is high, cast back into the grass as far as you can work the jig.

Go into the creek and fish other grassbeds the same way. Try the spinnerbait and swim jig in blowdowns, especially on outside bends of the creek. Bump a jig and pig through the limbs of the trees before leaving. You could spend all day fishing for largemouth in Catoma Creek and have a decent catch, but you will catch a lot more fish out on the river.

3. N 32 24.070 – W 86 26.643 – Back upstream around the bend where the substation sits in the water, where the river straightens back out, a ditch enters the river where a big pasture starts up on the bank. The delta of this creek runs a little upstream from the downstream point and there are stumps on it that are key to fishing here. Blowdowns are on both sides of the creek.

When current is moving across this point and others Cole picks up his 5XD first. In slack water he starts with a jerkbait. Work both cross the whole mouth of the ditch. Then bump through the stumps with a jig and pig.

Cole fishes a three eights to one half ounce green pumpkin War Eagle jig with a tilapia Fighting Frog trailer. Use the heavier jig in stronger current. Cole says the Fighting Frog is by far the best trailer he has tried
.
4. N 32 24.748 – W 86 24.230 – Go under the Highway 31 bridges and stop on the small creek on the left just above it. This water is usually clearer, probably from a spring, and can be a little warmer in December, making the fish a little more active. It is always flowing.

The point here is sand and gravel and holds spots. Keep your boat in 25 plus feet of water and cover the area with all your baits. It is important to keep your boat outside the point. Don’t get closer than where the bottom starts to come up, around 25 feet deep.

5. N 32 24.537 – W 86 22.025 – Go upstream past
Cooters Pond and hole 1. On the right is a point with big rocks on the bank and under the water that hold big spots. The river channel swings right by it and the rock ledge drops off fast. This vertical drop is a good place to fish your jig.

Cast right to the edge of the water and keep your line slack. Slowly move the jig when it hits bottom and let if fall. Don’t move it more than an inch or two before letting it fall. The bottom drops so fast that if you move it more that that it will fall too far from the rocks.

A jerkbait or crankbait will catch fish here. Get your boat near the bank and cast upstream, running both baits right along the bluff drop. Spots love to hold on bluff banks like this in December and this is a very good one to fish.

6. N 32 23.700 – W 86 20.839 – Going up the river, just as the buildings in Montgomery come into sight, a good ditch is on the left. A sand bar comes off the upstream point and is your target. Across and about a half mile upstream from it is the ramp and pier at Powder Magazine access.

Stop downstream of the point out from the mouth of the ditch and cast your crankbait and jerkbait over it.
As you work upstream, keep your boat in 20 plus feet of water and cast to the bank. Bump the bottom out to ten feet deep with the crankbait and work over it with jerkbait. Then drag your jig along the bottom along this bar.

7. N 32 22.955 – W 86 19.678 – Downstream of the I-65 Bridge, near the power line crossing, the right bank gets very steep and turns into a bluff that runs all the way upstream past the amphitheater. It starts on a small point with flat rock ledges on the bank then gets deeper as you fish upstream.

Your boat should be in 40 plus feet of water at the point and fishing up the bluff. Cast your jig right to the bank and fish it like other bluffs, very slowly. Work your jerkbait right against the edge.

Current is very important here and in other places, it makes the fish bite much better. Water released at the Bouldin Canal on Jordan Lake creates more current than the Jordan dam release so checking the times of generation will tell you the best time to fish here.

Cole says you can spend all day fishing from here all the way up the bluff bank to the amphitheater. This big outside bend bluff wall holds a lot of big spots and is worth fishing slowly and carefully.

8. N 32 22.959 – W 86 18.815 – A small creek enters the river just upstream of the amphitheater and a rocky point runs out from the seawall where it enters. The rocks are shallow on top and run out to the river channel where it drops into deep water. Spots feed on this point.

Stop well off the point in 20 plus feet of water and cast across it with a jerkbait. Then try a 1.5 squarebill, bumping the shallow rocks. As you work out to deeper water, work your jig and pig on the deeper water.

Several big tournaments have been won here, and it gets a lot of pressure. Be patient, the reason it is a community hole is because so many fish are caught here. Try different baits and try to be on it when current is moving over it, turning on the fish.

9. N 32 23.387 – W 86 18.9.891 – A ditch with a flat sand point on the downstream side and riprap on the deeper upstream side is downstream of the Highway 152 bridge, about half way between Hole 8 and the bridge. The point provides a break in the current that the spots use to feed.

Stop on the downstream side of the ditch and fish the back side of the point. Current eddies on the downstream sides of these points and are a feeding and holding area. Cover the whole point since the fish will move up on it to feed, and the upstream side also create eddy feeding areas.

10. N 32 23.670 – W 86 19.189 – Just above the Highway 152 bridge another ditch enters the river. Just downstream of is a small shack sits up on the bank and a handrail runs down the slope of the bank. The ditch forms a flat point on the downstream side. Cole caught a good spot here on his jerkbait.

Start in front of the shack and work upstream, or you can fish from Hole 9 to here. Fish feed along the bank between the two points and you can catch some along it, but the key places, holding more bass, are the points.

Cole likes the Megabass 110+1 since it has a stronger bill and runs a little deeper. A bright and flashy color works best since the water is usually stained in the river. It will catch bass all month, but you have to slow it down in colder water.

Fish the entrance to the ditch and a little past it. Blowdowns on the bank hold some fish on them and you can catch them here and other places with a crankbait or jig and pig.
All these places hold fish right now. Give them a try, going for spots or largemouth, or both, with your favorite December baits.

Cole and Peyton are starting to guide some on Eufaula, Martin and the Alabama River. Contact them on
Cole’s Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008241942210 and you can also see some of his catches there.

Do you find these Map of the Month articles helpful? If so visit http://fishing-about.com/keys-to-catching-georgia-bass-ebook-series/ – you can get an eBook or CD with an article for each month of the year on Clarks Hill and Lanier.