Summer Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Virginia
By Alex McCrickard, Virginia DGIF Aquatic Education Coordinator
from The Fishing Wire

During the dog days of summer, many anglers put their rods and reels down and are content to wait until later in the fall for cooler weather. Unfortunately, these anglers end up missing some of the most exciting warm water fishing conditions of the year. During this time frame, I tend to focus my efforts on one species of fish in Virginia, smallmouth bass. Pound for pound and inch for inch, these fish fight harder than most other freshwater fish in 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 Riverin 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, especially in the lower flows of late summer.

Summer Conditions

My favorite conditions to fish for smallmouth are from mid-summer into early fall. During this time of the year our rivers and streams are typically at lower flows with fantastic water clarity. These conditions provide for some incredible sight fishing opportunities for smallmouth bass. Look for fish to be holding against steep banks with overhanging trees and vegetation. During the middle of hot summer days it can pay off huge when you find a shady bank with depth and current. It can also be productive to target riffles and pocket water during this time of the year. Smallmouth will often be in the faster and more oxygenated water when river temperatures get hot.

It’s important to think about structure when locating summer smallmouth. These fish will often be found along a rock ledge or drop off. Log jams, underwater grass beds, and emergent water willow also provide structure that these fish can use for cover. Smallmouth can be found along current seams where fast water meets slow water. Fishing a quiet pocket behind a mid-river boulder or targeting the tailout of an island where two current seams come together is a good idea.

During hot, bright, summer days the fishing can be most productive early in the morning and again in the evening. I try to fish during these times as smallmouth will often be active during low light conditions and can get sluggish during the middle of a hot bright afternoon. That being said, these fish can be caught in the middle of bright sunny days as well. Also, afternoon cloud cover and a light shower can turn the fishing on in a matter of moments.

Summer Feeding Habits

Smallmouth bass are piscivores, they feed primarily on other fish. Various species of shiners, darters, dace, and sunfish are bass favorites. These fish also prefer large aquatic insects like hellgrammite nymphs and crayfish. However, the abundance of other aquatic and terrestrial insects allow smallmouth to diversify their menu in the summertime. It is not uncommon for these fish to target damselflies and dragonflies during summer hatches. I’ve seen summer smallmouth feeding on the surface with reckless abandon as damselflies hovered along a water willow island on the James River. These fish are happy to eat large cicadas, grasshoppers, or crickets that find their way into the water. These seasonal food sources allow for exciting topwater action.

One time during a mid-August float on the James River I found a long bank with overhanging sycamore trees providing shade along the edge of the river. I had been fishing a subsurface Clouser Minnow without a strike for nearly an hour. Because it was a windy afternoon I figured I would try my luck with a small green Boogle Bug popper on my 6 wt fly rod. A few casts later I had a fine smallmouth explode on the popper underneath the overhanging tree limbs. I landed the fish and held it up for a photo just in time to see it regurgitate a half dozen large Japanese beetles. The fish had been utilizing the windy conditions to snack on beetles as they got blown into the water. It can really pay off to change patterns based on water and weather conditions.

Medium to medium light spinning and baitcasting rods in the 7 foot range are great for late summer smallmouth. It can pay off to scale down in low clear water. You may want to consider fishing 6-8 lb test instead of 10-12 lb. Soft plastics work well for smallmouth and favorites include swim baits and tubes. Various spinnerbaits can be a great way to cover water in the larger rivers during this time of the year. Sometimes you can be surprised at how well a simple Mepps spinner or Rooster tail will produce. Topwater baits are a late summer “go to” with low and clear water. Try fishing buzzbaits, the smaller Whopper Plopper 90, Zara Spooks, and Heddon Tiny Torpedos. Buzzbaits and Whopper Ploppers can be retrieved quickly across the surface enticing explosive takes. The rotating tail of the Whopper Plopper acts like a propeller and creates lots of noise and attention.

For fly fishing, 9 to 10 foot rods in the 6 to 8 wt range are best. A 9ft 5wt may work well on the smaller rivers across Virginia but you will want a heavier rod on our larger rivers. Heavier rods in the 7 to 8 wt range will also turn over some of the bigger bugs we tend to throw this time of year on floating fly lines. A 9ft tapered leader in the 0x to 3x range will work well depending on water clarity and flows. Fishing large poppers like Boogle Bugs or Walt Cary’s “Walt’s Bass Popper” will get the smallmouth going. The Surface Seducer Double Barrel popper by Martin Bawden pushes lots of water. Large foam cicada patterns, Japanese beetle patterns, and western style Chernoyble Ants are fun when fished tight to the bank. Don’t forget to include a few damselfly and dragonfly patterns in your summer smallmouth fly box.

Don’t let the dog days of summer keep you from missing some of the most exciting warm water fishing conditions of the year!
When fishing these surface flies and lures, the takes can be very visual. Sometimes during a strip and pause retrieve, the smallmouth will slowly approach the fly from 5 feet away to gently sip it like a trout. Other times a fast strip retrieve will generate explosive takes. These visual late summer takes are hard to beat!

If the fish aren’t looking up you can do well stripping streamers. Bob Clouser’s Clouser Minnow was developed for smallmouth bass and a variety of colors can be productive this time of the year. My favorite color combinations for this fly are chartreuse and white, olive and white, as well as a more natural brown and white. The dumbbell eyes on this fly make it swim up and down through the water column as you retrieve. Lefty Kreh’s Deceiver is another fine smallmouth fly along with the famous Half & Half which is a combination of the Clouser Minnow and Deceiver. Chuck Kraft’s Kreelex has become a favorite amongst fly anglers in Virginia and the smallmouth can’t seem to ignore it. The flashy profile of this fly attracts fish in clear and stained water. Another popular smallmouth streamer is the Gamechanger developed by Blane Chocklett. The Gamechanger is multi-sectioned allowing it to swim naturally through the water column. Most other articulated streamers developed for trout fishing will also be productive on smallmouth bass as well. All of these streamers come in a variety of sizes. When choosing fly size, it’s essential to match the size of the forage fish the smallmouth are keying in on. This can vary from larger rivers to smaller tributaries but typically sizes 2-6 will work well with larger patterns being in the 1, 1/0, and 2/0 sizes.

Crayfish and Hellgrammite patterns can be productive during the heat of the day in late summer. Harry Murray’s Hellgrammite and Strymph can be fished with success lower in the water column closer to the bottom of the river. Chuck Kraft’s Clawdad and Crittermite are two other go to patterns. Its best to try numerous different approaches and techniques until you can find out what the fish are keyed in on each day.

In all, late summer smallmouth should be on your angling to do list. The conditions during this time of the year are excellent for sight fishing and cater to a topwater approach. From the smaller tributaries to the larger rivers, smallmouth opportunities are diverse across the state. Make time to get out this summer and fish local in Virginia.

October Bass at High Falls
with Wayne Glaze

Georgia has an abundance of smaller public lakes that bass fishermen often overlook. Many of them have excellent populations of keeper bass, and some harbor good numbers of big bass. High Falls Lake is one of them that has both.

Located just off I-75 north of Forsyth, High Falls is a 660 acre Georgia Power Lake and Georgia State Park. It is a very old lake, ringed by cabins and docks. Boat motors are limited to 10 horsepower, eliminating skiers and jet skis. All boats must be off the lake at night, so you can not launch until just before sunrise. And you must come in at sunset.

The lake is on the Towaliga River and has three main creeks entering it. Buck and Brushy Creek enter close together on the west side about half way up the lake and Watkins Bottom enters from the east across from them. Two ramps serve the lake, both State Park ramps so you will need a parking permit. One is right at the dam and the other is just off High Falls Road where it crosses Buck Creek.

High Falls is a fertile lake and the water is usually tinted green. Bass grow fast and fat there, and eight pounders are caught regularly. The lake gets a fair amount of fishing pressure on weekends, but on many week days, especially this time of year, you can go hours without seeing another fisherman on the water.

Wayne Glaze lives less than an hour from High Falls and likes to fish it. He fishes with four different jon boat trails and some of them fish tournaments there regularly. He has studied the lake and learned where and how to catch bass on it from his hours tournament fishing there and practicing for tournaments.

Wayne really likes the jon boat trails and fishes one just about every weekend. The first week of September he told me he had already competed in 32 tournaments during 2004, and was planning on fishing many more. He qualified for the end of the year Top Ten Tournament in three of the four trails. He also fished the BFL as a co-angler for three years, but prefers the smaller waters.

The four jon boat trails are the Southern Jon Boat Anglers, headquartered in Walton County, a group Wayne has fished with for 10 years, the Jon Boat Association (JBA), out of Logansville, the Hi Voltage Anglers, from Athens and Lil Waters Anglers out of Griffin. These four trails are each sending their top 10 teams to an end of the year classic this year.

Boats for these trails are specially set up for fishing smaller lakes. Some lakes like High Falls allow small gas motors, others are electric only. So it is not unusual to see a 16 foot jon boat with three to five electric motors on the back and another one up front. The day we fished High Falls Wayne had replaced his back middle electric motor with a small gas motor for a little more speed.

High Falls is so old most of the old channels are nothing but depressions now. Silt has filled them in and covered most of the deep wood and rock that bass like. The shoreline is full of wood cover, though, and the docks offer even more. Grass has grown thick in many areas of the lake, filling the shallows out to five feet deep in some places.

Wayne likes to fish the bank and works a variety of lures along them, probing all the cover. The bass hold and feed in the shoreline cover all day and can be found there in October. Some schooling activity on open water is worth checking out, but many big hybrids are in High Falls and you are more likely to catch them out away from the bank.

Wayne starts each morning with topwater and will fish a Lucky Craft buzzbait or a Pop-R. The Lucky Craft buzzbait does not have a skirt, just a minnow shaped body, and Wayne likes a gold blade. A silver Pop-R is good here. Fish both baits around all wood cover and over the grass and you should draw some early strikes.

If the water is open enough, usually out past 5 feet deep or so, Wayne will throw a big crankbait to attract bass. A Mann’s 20+ or a DD22N by Norman is his choice and he makes long casts with both. He wants to get the crankbait down to the bottom where there are rocks or a clean bottom.

For pitching docks and fishing the grass beds, Wayne will Texas rig a Zoom Old Monster or Mag 2 worm with a 3/16 ounce weight. This can be fished under docks and around the post, worked through blowdowns, on rocks, and also dropped into pockets in the grass. When he fishes green pumpkin or watermelon colors he dips the tails in chartreuse JJs Magic and when using black or other colors he dips them in the clear JJs Magic to give them the garlic scent.

A spinnerbait is good around the grassbeds, too. Wayne likes a half ounce white spinnerbait with double silver blades and a split tail trailer. He will cast it over the grass and run it along the surface, then drop it into holes in the grass.

In early September Wayne took me to High Falls to show me some of his spots and explain how to fish there. We spent almost eight hours fishing the lake and looking at spots to fish, and saw only three other boats. One was a DNR employee taking inventory of shoreline structures, and he told us if we would be out on the big water where Buck Creek joins the river at 6:30 PM hybrids and largemouth would school up there.

Although we had seen fish schooling there that morning and tried to get on them, they went down before we got to them and did not come back up. Unfortunately we had to leave in mid-afternoon and did not get to try for the schooling fish, but keep that in mind if you go to High Falls this month.

The following ten spots will give you an idea of what Wayne fishes and a variety of places to try. Check them out and then try other places on the lake that are similar.

1. N 33 11.820 – W 84 01.871 – Going up the Towaliga River past where Buck and Brushy Creek enter, the lake will narrow down then widen back out. Watch on your left as you go upstream and you will see a point just as that bank drops back to widen the lake. It is a round point and if you are there right at sunrise you will see two lights burning on it.

The first light is on a dock and you want to start fishing just before you get to it. It is the last dock before the point drops back. Start here with topwater, casting close to the bank and working your bait back to the boat. You should be sitting a long cast out and you want to cover all the water between you and the bank.

Fish the dock when you get to it, working around the light. Some bass might still be holding here from feeding during the dark around the light. Just past the dock is a big blowdown in the water. Fish it with topwater and a spinnerbait, then work your worm through it.

Continue up the bank and right where it drops back there will be another light sticking out over the water on a pole with no dock. At that light the bottom drops off some and there are rocks along the bank as it dips back. This is really the outside bend of the old river channel.

Fish all along this bank, too. This is a good place to run a crankbait as well as topwater. If you don’t get bit on the active baits, try a worm moved slowly down the slope. There is some wood trash here as well as the rocks to hold bass.

2. N 33 11.937 W – 84 01.881 – From where you are sitting near the point in hole #1, look out toward the middle of the lake and upstream. You will see a stump and a white jug on an iron rod sticking up. Ease out to this stump and stop a long cast back from it. If you watch your depthfinder you will see the bottom rise up to a hump with the stump on top of it. A few feet upstream of the big stump you will see another iron rod sticking out of the water.

Stay back and fish all the way around this hump. Keep your boat in 11 or 12 feet of water and cast up into five feet. There is a little brush on it, and a few stumps under the water. Cast a crankbait and work it from shallow to deep, then fish a worm down that same slope. Wayne has had better luck on Texas rigged worms, but this area might also be good for Carolina rigging.

3. N 33 12.259 – W 84 02.086 – As you head upstream it looks like the lake ends, but the river swings to the left. The bank you will be facing has docks lining it and there is a small cut to the far right in the corner. The docks along this bank have 4 to 5 feet of water out on their ends, and this is a good place to pitch worms to them.

Start at the docks on the right where the small cut is, and work toward the point to your left. Stay back from the dock and pitch a worm under it. Try to drop your bait beside each post as you work the dock. Watch for cross bars supporting the dock and fish them, too.

Between the docks along here is some grass and you can fish topwater over it early then drop your worm in holes in the grass. You can also run a spinnerbait through this grass and fish the docks with it, too. Go slowly along this bank and fish all the cover carefully.

4. N 33 12.260 – W 84 02.263 – The point out past the last dock is good. There is grass up shallow on it and it has a drop to the old river channel out on its end. Stay way back and make long casts across the point with a top water bait, then try your worm. Out on the very end fan cast a crankbait across it where it runs out to the old channel, and then work a worm across it.
5. N 33 12.383 – W 84 02.300 – As you round the point the water gets shallow and there are docks on the bank past the point. The grass has grown thick all along here and you should fish topwater and spinnerbaits over it, then fish the grass with worm. Swim the worm over the grass then let it drop into holes in the grass. Wayne caught a solid 2 pound bass here by dropping his worm into a hole in the grass the day we fished.

This bank stays shady a good while in the mornings and you can fish the grass as well as the dock post. Grass is thick around all these docks. Wayne fishes all the way up to a red tin boathouse with a rusty front.

6. N 33 11.447 – W 84 01.697 – Back down the lake the upstream point between the river and Watkins Bottom is good. It runs way out shallow and the old channel from Watkins Bottom swings in near it on the downstream side. Start fishing upstream of the point, working crankbaits, spinnerbaits and worms along the bank. When you get to the point make fan casts across it with crankbaits and then rake it with worms.

7. N 33 11.353 – W 84 01.806 – Across the lake the upstream point between Brushy Creek and the river is also good. This is the area where fish were schooling in early September, and they school here often. It is a big round clay point and it runs out toward the river There is some grass and a few stick-ups on it.

Stay way off the bank and fish a spinnerbait around it, the follow up with a worm. Wayne says this is a good Carolina rig point. When you hit grass with either worm rig, pull it through the grass and let it fall.

8. 33 11.324 – W 84 01.779 – Straight across from the point in #7 is the last point in Buck Creek. There is a sand pile out on it and a mercury vapor light on a pole right on the water. This can be a good place to start in the morning while the light is still on, and bass feed here during the day, too.

There are a lot of old dock post in the water off the point. Fish them all. Then fish all the way around this point with a crankbait. The bottom is sandy and there is some brush up shallow. Fish the crankbait along this point and then follow up with a worm.

9. N 33 11.344 – W 84 02.053 – Go into Brushy Creek past the first bend and you will see power lines crossing the creek. Where they cross on the left going upstream is a small point with rocks and stumps on it. Sit well off the bank and cast up shallow, fishing crankbaits as well as Texas and Carolina rigged worms. Probe for the rocks and stumps and hit them hard with both baits.

10. N 33 11.079 – W 84 02.016 – A short distance up Buck Creek, just before you get to the boat ramp, High Falls Road crosses the creek. The bridge riprap on the downstream side is good, according to Wayne. He will sit back off it and cast his crankbait up to the rocks and fish it back to the boat. Work both ends of this side of the bridge.

Although High Falls is a small lake, these spots cover only about half of it – there are others toward the dam and up in Buck and Brushy Creek that are good. And Wayne says other spots around these also produce good bass this month. You can’t run around fast on High Falls, so spend some time fishing these and other nearby spots until you learn them. They will produce bass for you.

Jackson Lake June Bass with Mike York

The bass at Jackson Lake are moving off their spawning areas and stacking up on summer time holes in June You can go to Jackson and catch a bunch of bass sitting on one hole when you find the right spot. They are hungry, hitting good and have not moved real deep yet.

Although Jackson is a fairly small lake it has very varied structure and cover. Fed by three main rivers and several creeks, it is full of main river and creek points that are magnets to bass after the spawn. Many have log jams, brush piles and rock cover that are perfect hiding spots for bass.

Recently the population of spotted bass at Jackson has exploded and those aggressive fish can be found in the same places as largemouth. Although the smaller spots may have replaced bigger largemouth, they seem to cooperate better with fishermen and give a great fight.

If there is a drawback at Jackson this time of year, it is the boat traffic. During the day it can be almost impossible to sit on a main lake point and fish. Skidoos will buzz you and bigger boats with skiers also ignore state law and will sometimes even run between you and the bank you are fishing. Go early in the morning or during the week if possible.

Mike York lives in Jackson and works for the Butts County Sheriff’s Department. Although he has been fishing all his life, he has been fishing with the Butts Bass Busters Bass Club for the past three years and made the state team last year at the Top Six. This year he finished 24 at the Top Six. He also qualified for the Stratos National Championships by finishing 24th in the state tournament.

This year Mike is also fishing the BFL and Everstart trails when possible. He catches a lot of bass and knows most Georgia lakes well, but knows Jackson better than others. He fishes a lot of the Berry’s Boat Dock night tournaments as well as their trail, and does well at Jackson, especially after the bass move out to the summer patterns.

Mike took me to Jackson in mid May to show me some patterns and places to fish for June bass. Due to the strange weather we have had this year, bass were still bedding in the middle of May and we saw many fresh beds. There were some bass on their summer holes already, and we caught about 8 or 9 fish off one spot that day.

This is Mike’s favorite time of year to fish for bass. They are settling down off their post spawn pattern and becoming more consistent in their behavior. For June fishing Mike looks for main lake points that drop into deep water. If they are on the outside bend of the creeks or rivers, they are even better. But the key is shallow feeding areas that drop fast into deep water.

He expects to find fish feeding in 12 to 16 feet of water in June, and concentrates on this range of depth. The bass will be a little more shallow the first of the month, moving deep as the water gets hotter.

Early each morning Mike will start with a top water plug like a Pop-R and a Zoom Fluke and fish it till the sun gets up. Topwater baits will catch fish that have been up feeding shallow at night, as well as bass that are still in a post spawn pattern. Not only can you move fast and cover a lot of water, getting bites on a top water plug is exciting.

Seawalls on points near deep water are good top water spots. Mike will cast right against the wall and fish the bait back out to the boat. Wood, riprap and concrete walls are all good. If you see bait fish flipping around them, they are even better. Seawalls in the area of the lake where Tussahaw Creek and the Alcovy River come together are the best.

After the sun is high, Mike moves out onto the points and throws crankbaits and Carolina rigs. He likes the Mann’s 15+ and Norman’s DD-22Ns with chartreuse sides and a blue back or the blue back with white or pearl sides.

On his Carolina rig Mike will stick with a half-ounce sinker if the wind and current will allow, going to a ¾ ounce only if necessary. Mike likes a lighter sinker and says he hardly ever fishes a one ounce sinker. He ties a 2 ½ to 3 ½ foot leader and uses a 1/0 or 2/0 hook in a Zoom Trick or Finesse worm. Junebug and green pumpkin are his favorite colors in both baits.
The following 11 places at Jackson are some of Mike’s favorite June holes. They will hold fish and give you an idea of the kinds of spots Mike looks for this month. You can check them out then use the information here to find many others like them.

1. This point was called “Snoopy’s Point” for many years because of the cutout of Snoopy on the bank. After you leave the island at Martin’s Marina, it is the upstream point of the third big cove on the right going upstream. The cove itself has two jug lines across its mouth, and the point has some big rocks on it.

Running off this point there is a ridge that runs out downstream and comes up to 17 feet deep on top well out from the bank. You want to locate this high spot and fish all around it, casting across it with both crankbait and Carolina rig from all directions.

There are big rocks under the water here and bass will hold on them. Start with your big crankbait since you can fish faster then come back with a Carolina rig. If there is any current or wind blowing across the point, make extra casts that move your bait with the current and wind since bass will relate to the moving water.

2. Straight across the lake you will see a small cove with a point on the upstream side. There are two big dead pines on the point and one leans to the left when you are facing the point. There is a wooden sea wall here with a small gap and beach on the upstream side of the point.

There are some rocks and stumps on this point. You can see some of the rocks up real shallow and more run out from them, as well as another group out from the edge of the beach. Stay out from this point and cast in toward it, fishing a crankbait and Carolina rig all around the rocks and stumps.

Then work up the bank toward the overhanging trees. There are more rocks under the water where the seawall dips in and trees hang over it. Fish them good. We caught our first keeper here and it was a spot. Mike says fish this place several times during the day since bass move in to feed at all times.

3. Head up the river and go into Tillman’s Cove, the creek that enters on the right just before the lake narrows down. The left bank will curve but have no pockets until you get about half way back. There are no houses or docks on it. Stop when you pass the first pocket. There are three points to fish here, the one on the upstream side of the first pocket, the one on the upstream side of the second pocket and the one directly across the creek from them.

Keep your boat out from the bank and cast toward the point. Bass hold in 10 to 12 feet of water on these points, especially early this month. Fish your crankbaits and Carolina rigs from the bank out to that depth, probing for stumps and brush.

4. Run up to where Tussahaw Creek splits off from the river and go the big point between them. On the creek side, look for a brown house with a stone chimney in the middle of the front of it. Out from the dock in front of that house a ridge runs out toward the creek channel. There are old logs and trash that has washed up on it and become waterlogged.

Stay well out from the ridge and cast across if from all directions. Work with the current or wind if there is any. This spot is just upstream of the hump where the old state brush pile is located. You can fish it, too, but don’t get the two confused. The ridge is in closer to the bank and the hump more out toward the middle of the creek on the big flat.

5. Just downstream of the old Kersey’s Marina site the main point between the cove at the marina site and the creek to the left is a round sand point. For years there was a sail boat tied to the dock on this point and it was called “Sailboat Point.” The sailboat is gone now but there is a white boat shed with a red door on the point.

A ridge runs off the point at the boathouse across the creek toward the cabin with the red roof on the other side of Tussahaw Creek. There is some trash on this point right where it drops on the downstream side. Keep your boat out on the downstream side and cast across the drop from deep water to shallow. You will be casting toward the old marina site.

Fish Carolina rigs and crankbaits across the ridge, working them down until you hit the trash. You want your crankbait to just tip the tops of the brush but you can work your Carolina rig through it. The crankbait will catch more active fish but you should follow it up with the slower moving Carolina rig.
6. Above the bridge in Tussahaw Creek, the creek makes a sharp turn to the right and straight ahead a smaller creek enters. As you go into the mouth of this creek a yellow cabin on the left sits on a flat bank on your left. A ridge runs off this bank straight across the cove toward the point between the small creek and the Tussahaw Creek channel. There are two rock piles on this ridge.

Line up the light pole in the yard of the yellow cabin with the right edge of the cabin and go straight out. When you are about even with the middle of the bridge, you are near one of the rock piles. You can idle back and forth across the areas to get a good idea of the way the ridge runs across the cove. It is a good idea to mark it with buoys.
Fish a Carolina rig across this ridge to locate the rock and any brush that has been put out here. Then cast a crankbait to the best areas. Fish with the wind if it is blowing across the ridge, but cover it from both sides if there is no wind.

7. Come out of Tussahaw Creek and head up the Alcovy River. There is a fairly narrow gap as you start up the river then it opens up. On the right bank of the wide area, just upstream of a swimming area and boat ramp for Turtle Cove, there is a small cove.

You will see light gray double dock with a balcony on top on the left side of the small cove. On the right side of this cove is a big three story light brown house with lots of windows and to the right of it is a big brick house. Just to the right of the house behind the gray dock you can just see and old road bed coming down to the point. It runs out across the flat point that the dock sits on.

This big flat point with the road bed is a good spot to fish. There is chunk rock and stumps on it and Mike says it is a good big fish hole. Stay way out from the point and cast up onto it with a crankbait, and then do the same with a Carolina rig. Fish all around this point with both baits.

8. Head into the mouth of the South River and go around the big point/island on the right. There will be a steep rocky bank on your right. Where the big rocks are right on the water, look to your left and start idling toward the two story house with a big deck on top. There is a flag pole in the yard behind the dock and if you line it up with the middle pole of the balcony on the house, and head toward it, you will come up on a flat in the middle of the river.

Keep your boat in 20 to 22 feet of water in the old river channel and cast toward the house. The flat comes up to 7 feet deep on top and drops off fast. Cast a crankbait up onto the flat and fish it back toward deeper water. Work up the drop all along this area then get your boat up on the flat and cast a Carolina rig out from the flat and work it up the drop, from deep to shallow.

9. Go around the bend up the South River and stay to the left, avoiding the big shallow flat out from Walker Harris Marina. When you pass the danger marker closest to the left bank, there will be a point on your left on the downstream side of a big cove. On the point is a dock with a pontoon tied to it and a For Sale sign in the yard.

The river channel swings in by this point and there is a big log jam under the water. Mike keeps his boat about 100 feet off the bank just downstream of the dock and casts upstream parallel to the bank. You can run a crankbait down this edge of the drop and cover it at several different depths, then follow it with a Carolina rig.

We caught 8 or 9 small bass here in May just after lunch. Mike says this is often a good mid-day hole because of all the cover under the water, and bigger fish will be on it by now. I caught three bass on three casts and hung up and broke my Carolina rig. Mike caught 4 while I was re-tying and then caught one or two more. He also hooked the biggest fish of the day here, a 2 pound plus fish that jumped and threw the hook.

10. Head up the Alcovy River and you will see some power lines crossing the river. There is a curving bar that runs out under these power lines fronm the left bank and there is an old state brush pile and some rocks on it.

Sit half way between the second and third balls on the line on the downstream side of the group of lines and cast up onto the point with both Carolina rigs and crankbaits. Mike says he always works this spot from the upstream side, casting up onto the bar and working his baits deeper. If you fish out until your are under the third ball you will be at the state brush pile and Mike says you will stay hung up there. Fish back toward the bank from it and you will catch bass without losing all your tackle.

11. Mike showed me one more spot that is a little hard to find. It is a ridge with a hump on it in the middle of the river above the power lines. If you head up the river you will see a point on the right bank that points upstream. All the way across the river is a light green cabin with a white dock in front of it.

This hump comes up to 12 feet deep in the best spot. If you line up the edge of the dock with the edge of the cabin, you will be in the right area. Sit on top of the hump and cast toward the bridge with your Carolina rig, fishing deep to shallow with it. Fish your crankbait in the opposite direction, working it from the top of the hump back toward deeper water to be more effective with it.

Give these 11 spots a try using Mike’s methods. They work great and you can take the things you learn and find other spots that are just as good. Jackson is a good lake this month if you can fish it for the pleasure boaters. The bass are there waiting on you.