with Damon Abernethy
Catching spotted bass weighing three or more pounds is a thrill anytime. When they hit in the dark it is even more exciting. Jordan Lake just might be the best lake in Alabama to catch a big spotted bass at night right now and it is accessible to most fishermen in the state. Plan a May trip to Jordan for some fast action.
Jordan is a 6800 acre Alabama Power lake on the Coosa River 25 miles north of Montgomery. It backs up to the Mitchell Lake dam and connects to Lake Bouldin with a short canal. Jordan was built in 1928 and Bouldin added in 1967. Bouldin is a good largemouth lake but the big spots live in Jordan and are the target of most bass fishermen.
Since Jordan is very fertile there are excellent populations of baitfish in the lake. Much of the shoreline of the lower lake is lined with cabins and docks but the river up toward the Mitchell Dam is more natural shoreline. The banks of all the lake are very rocky with steep drops in most areas.
A good bit of natural wood cover from blowdowns and stumps has been increased by numerous brush piles and dock posts. Almost all of the shoreline looks “fishy” and you can catch spots all over the lake, but the bigger spots tend to feed in specific kinds of structure and cover this time of year.
Damon Abernethy loved fishing so much while growing up in northern Alabama he decided to become a fisheries biologists. He went to Auburn and got a Masters in fisheries biology. After a few years working in South Carolina he moved back to Alabama and now works in the Montgomery office of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as the Fisheries Development Coordinator.
One of Damon’s jobs is to compile the Alabama Bass Angler Information Team (BAIT) data so he keeps up with bass fishermen and tournament results on a daily basis. He is in charge of state public boat ramps and the past year has kept him very busy trying to keep them open with the low water levels. Damon also coordinates the reservoir sampling program so he knows about the populations of fish in Alabama lakes.
Damon has fished all his life and bass fishing it his passion. Jordan is close to his house and he really likes it this time of year. Damon helped me set up the lakes for these articles and, when asked which his favorite lake was, did not hesitate in saying Jordan at night in May.
As a member of the Prattville Bass Club Damon fishes many state lakes in their tournaments. He also fishes the central Alabama Fishers of Men tournament trail and enters some of the pot tournaments on Jordan, especially this time of year. On most of his days off he will be on Jordan studying it and looking for new spots to catch spots.
Jordan had produced several spots weighing over five pounds for Damon in the past few years. His best is a 5.5 pounder and his best five-fish limit of spots from Jordan weighed 23 pounds. He has a seven-pound largemouth but does not target them on Jordan. The fishing for big spots is just too good.
“In late April most of the spots have spawned and are moving to deeper water,” Damon said. They follow predictable patterns of movement and feed heavily from late April through May. Although you can catch spots all day this time of year, night fishing is by far the best way to catch the grown ones.
Damon looks for steep banks near spawning areas that drop fast into deeper water. Wood cover helps as do rocks. The bass are holding on these steep banks and feed all night long but Damon usually fishes from about an hour before dark until midnight or 1:00 AM. He says the fish will hit later than that, especially later in the year, but he just gets too sleepy to keep fishing.
You need only two rods rigged and ready to fish at night, according to Damon. One will be rigged with a three-quarters ounce black spinnerbait with a big #6 Colorado blade and a dark colored Zoom Swimmin’ Chunk. The other rod will be rigged with a half-ounce spinnerbait and chunk in the same colors. That is all you need.
Both of Damon’s Calcutta reels will be loaded with 20 pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon line. You can get away with the heavy line at night and need it for the big fish around cover. Damon does not use braid because he says it causes too much trouble at night. If you get a backlash you can not see it to pick it out.
Damon showed me the following ten spots he likes at night. We fished in early April and the night bite had not started. Most of the spots were on the bed. Damon said it was his worst day ever on Jordan but we still had ten keeper spots with two better than three pounds each, even fishing in the daylight.
1. N 32 38.237 – W 86 15.926 – The last big creek on the left heading toward the dam is Sofkahatchee Creek and YMCA Camp Chandler is in it. Damon said most folks call this “Swayback Creek” because of the swayback bridge up the creek a ways.
Run in past the marked shoals and two small islands to the first small creek to your left. The upstream point of this creek runs way out across the mouth of the smaller creek. The point has a metal seawall or bulkheads around it and there is an open metal roof dock on the inside of this point. A concrete walkway goes up the hill from the point.
The main creek channel runs in on the outside of this point and hits it well up from the point. The point runs out between the big creek and the smaller one and drops off good on both sides. There are rocks on the point and along the bank upstream of the point itself. The smaller creek is a good spawning areas.
This is an excellent example of the type place Damon likes to fish at night. He will keep his boat in about 18 feet of water and throw up onto the top of the underwater point, slow rolling his spinnerbait back to the boat. Work out 100 to 150 feet until the point ends. Then fish on up the bank where it drops off, too, fishing it the same way.
Damon says to hit places like this several times each night. You may fish it at dark and not get bit then come back two hours later and catch a 20 pound limit. Spots move up onto the points to feed and a school will feed together, with a lot of fish active at the same time. Don’t give up on a place after a few casts.
2. N 32 37.405 – W 86 16.521 – Run across the lake to the cove just upstream of the canal. As you go in you will see a lone tree growing on an underwater hump out from an island just off the bank. The island has a big tree and a smaller tree on it and there is a walkway going to it from the shore. The island has a metal seawall around it and the point just inside the cove past it has concrete poured around it, with some areas broken up into slabs.
Start on the point of the island and work around it then into the cove. Fish the next main point with the concrete around it. Stay out deep and fish your spinnerbait right on the bottom all the way back to the boat. Damon says cast to the bank since the spots will often be very shallow at night but keep your bait in contact with the bottom out to about 15 feet deep.
Damon got a nice 2 pound spot here on a Fish Stalker jig head with a centipede worm on it here when we fished. That is one of his favorite baits when fishing during daylight but he would not be using it at night. If fishing during the day you can catch spots on most of these holes but they tend to be smaller and you need to use jig head worms and other baits.
3. N 32 38.479 – W 86 17.552 – Back across the lake and upstream you will see a cream colored house with a bright red roof on your right going upstream. The point upstream of it has a green house on it and it is the downstream point of a big cove. This is another place the big spots stack up as they move out of the cove after spawning.
Start where the rock riprap on the point starts and work around the point and into the cove. There is a big flat on the inside of the cove out from an island that sits just off the bank. Damon will fish the outside of the main point all the way to the outside of the island at night, keeping his boat in deep water and casting up toward the shallows, but he says the outside of the main lake point is the best area.
4. N 32 39.763 – W 86 18.697 – Run upstream to the second point on the right past the mouth of Weoka Creek. There is a rock and wood house on this flat point and it has a streetlight, bench and two deer on it. The point goes way out and Damon says this is an excellent example of a main lake point where the bass hold after spawning.
Stay way out until you learn how the point drops off and cast your spinnerbait up onto the point, working it back to deeper water. Damon says he likes to tick the bottom fairly often to know he is right on the bottom when slow rolling his bait back. He wants to feel the thump of the big blade as it turns and the bump of the bottom to know where his bait is.
Depending on how fast the bottom drops, Damon will go with either the three-quarter ounce or half-ounce bait. The bigger bait keeps in contact with a fast dropping bottom better but will get hung more. If the bottom has a flatter slope or lots of wood cover the lighter bait will not get hung up as much. You can fish the heavier bait a little faster.
5. N 32 39.915 – W 86 19.649 – Across and up the lake a little is a cove with the remains of an old marina and restaurant in it. The point is flat where it has been graded off and is covered with brush. It has a steel sea wall around it and there was a chair sitting on it when we fished. Near the chair is a monument sign that is made for reading while standing in front of it and another sign you can read from the water saying “Hungry Horace Restaurant” nearby.
Start on the outside of the point keeping your boat in about 18 feet of water and slow roll your spinnerbait from the bulkhead out to deep water. Work into the cove on the back side of the point. Damon says this is a good night time spot but he has not caught many fish here during the day.
6. N 32 40.277 – W 86 19.854 – Just upstream on the left you will see a rock and wood house with a pretty green yard around it. Damon says this homeowner keeps his yard in pretty shape all year long. There is a wood seawall with a walkway built on it going around the point. Just upstream of the seawall the bank is very deep and drops fast. A lot of brush has been cut on the bank and fallen into the water, giving a lot of cover here.
Damon will stay about 25 feet off the bank and the water will be 20 feet deep. He makes short casts to the shallows and works his bait back. He usually wants his bait to hit within a foot or so of the bank. When fishing close to the shore where there is a lot of wood he will sometimes turn on a light to help make casts that don’t get hung up. He uses the black light type fluorescent light but only when he needs to see where to cast. Normally he likes to let his eyes adjust to the dark and he can see well enough without any kind of light.
Fish up this steep bank to the next pocket and work the docks and brush in the pocket, too. It is a small cove with several docks in it and another secondary point that is worth a few casts before leaving.
7. N 32 41.222 – W 86 20.156 – Upstream on the right you will see a green roofed dock on a steep bank at the mouth of a small creek. There is a small wooden dock with white caps on the posts and a block seawall here. Big rocks are on the bank here, too.
Start fishing in front of the first dock and work around the point, slow rolling your spinnerbait down the bottom. The bank and bottom is very steep between the docks and this is a good spot to find bass holding. Work the point carefully before leaving.
Current helps here and on all other spots on the lower lake. You are more likely to find current here since the lake has narrowed down a lot. Current can come from the generation of power at the Jordan dam or from upstream from the release of water at the Mitchell dam. There should always be a little current since there is always one generator on-line at the Jordan dam, according to Damon. Stronger current will make the bass bite better.
8. N 32 45.389 – W 86 22.764 – The last three holes are really river holes and bass are hard to catch unless there is a good current. These spots do offer good places to try later in the month. Damon says river bass stay shallower later since the water is cooler and current makes them move up and feed.
Run upstream until you see an airplane on a dock on your right. You will run a long way and not see any docks or houses then this one will be on your right. It is on the upstream side of the mouth of Pinchoule Creek. Damon says he has never seen the airplane move but if it is gone the heavy dock with wooden ramp is plainly made for an airplane. Also, on the point there is a wide concrete ramp with a divider in the middle, probably for the plane, and a smaller boat ramp.
Start just upstream of the airplane and dock and work up. This bank is rocky and drops fairly fast but you will be sitting in about 14 feet of water 30 feet off the bank. Fish upstream to the next point, a long way upstream. Cast close to the bank and work your bait out some but Damon says most bites will come near the bank here so be ready for a hit as soon as your bait lands in the water.
9. N 32 47.520 – W 86 25.645 – Head upstream past the underwater pipeline crossing and the river makes a sharp bend to the right. When you come to this bend you can see the Mitchell dam, the bridge and the above water pipeline crossing. There are some docks on the right and the current makes an eddy here since it is the inside of the bend.
Bass hold in the brush and rocky bottom off the first two docks. Start out about even with the first dock with a mercury vapor light on it near the gravel on the bank and fish upstream to the next dock with a mercury vapor light. The water will not be real deep here but it is deep enough to hold good fish feeding in the current.
10. N 32 48.177 – W 86 26.389 – On the right side of the dam facing it you will see two signs. There are some big rock walls here running down into the water. Start fishing just downstream of the second sign and fish down to the rock point outcropping. There is a rock shelf that runs out under the water here and bass often hold on the drop and move onto the shelf to feed.
Damon says there is usually not much current here at night but the bass still feed well in this area. If there is some current it might be better to start on the downstream end of the bank and work upstream. Make fairly long casts and work your spinnerbait across the rock shelf and over the drop.
Rig up a couple of rods and head to Jordan at night for some fantastic fishing. Fish Damon’s spots then find similar places all your own. You don’t have to do much experimenting with baits this time of year, just fish your spinnerbait on the right places to catch some of Jordan’s magnum spots.