People have always asked me how I know if a river is fishable – which basically means that it is clear and low enough to reasonably expect to catch fish, and is safe enough for watercraft navigation. All of this can generally be determined by the river gauges even if you have never been to or seen the river! All you have to do is simply learn how to read the gauge and understand a little bit about what lakes and dams are built for and have to do with the water that comes in from upstream. If there is no dam, it is even easier to read the gauge and figure out what is going to happen from a rain event.
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About: Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is the most common and versatile black bass there is.  There are two recognized subspecies, the northern largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and the Florida largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides floridanus).  The Florida version is known to reach bigger lengths and weights.  The largemouth bass is considered the most versatile because Read the full story

As you already know, redeyes can sometimes be difficult to identify. In fact, redeyes are probably one of the most difficult black bass species to identify. Why are they so difficult to identify? The main reason is that redeyes are sometimes mistaken for other black bass such as spotted, smallmouth, largemouth and shoal, depending on the river. So how can redeyes be mistaken for so many different black bass species, each with distinct differences? There is an easy answer to this question, redeyes are unique and its markings can vary greatly. Read the full story

Shoal: Shallow rocky areas with small or large rapids flowing through them.  Shoals usually widen a river out, which is why they are typically shallower because the same amount of water now has to cover more area.  It is this widening, combined with the rocks, that provides the river with double, triple and even quadruple the surface area.  Increasing the surface area provides more places for aquatic plant life to grow.  Likewise, the shallower water promotes photosynthesis, since the sun can penetrate through the shallower water down to the river bottom.  Therefore aquatic plants are much more likely to occur in the shoals.  Once the plant life is there, the other creatures are sure to follow since simple plants and algea are the basis for life.  Shoals will hold more life in a river than any other area.  You’ll see more fish species here, as well as birds, crawfish, hellgramites, water insects, otters, muskrats etc…oh, and river bassers! Read the full story

About: Smallmouth bass (micropterus dolomieu) are known as the pound for pound strongest fighters in the black bass genus (micropterus), of the sunfish family.  They are aggressive in nature and, once hooked, their aerial displays rival Shamu the killer whale.  These fish do have smaller mouths and look quite a bit different than a largemouth bass.  They actually resemble the shoal bass the most because both fish demonstrate brown vertical bars on the side of their bodies.  However, the smallmouth and shoal bass are Read the full story

The first thing many of you are asking yourself right now is, what is a shoal bass? Well, unless you are from the state of Georgia there is a good chance you do not know what they are, because they basically only live in Georgia.

About: A shoal bass (micropterus cataractae) is a distinct and separate species of black bass than a largemouth bass – which is the most common of the black bass family. They have existed for hundreds of years but just recently in 1997 were recognized as an official separate black bass species. Unlike largemouth and other black bass, shoal bass only thrive in rivers. Read the full story

From: DrewGregory.com

Now this fish has more split personalities than any other fish I know, because it can look completely different depending on which river drainage you catch it out of. It is similar to Suwannee and Shoal Bass in that it only lives in rivers (with the exception of the Savannah drainage lakes) but yet are far more widespread than those two. This is where the problem actually begins… Read the full story

From: DrewGregory.com

About:

Suwannee bass (micropterus notius) are another very rare black bass that is only native to a relatively small area of the world. Similar to shoal bass and redeye bass they are strictly a river fish. They don’t get very big and anything over 2lbs is considered a very nice sized Suwannee.

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By:  Lance Coley (RedHeron)

If you’re a fisherman from the Southeast, especially Alabama and Georgia, then you’ve probably heard of or even caught spotted bass…whether you knew it or not.  Spotted bass are a spunky, generally aggressive, and generally numerous fish that can give a river fisherman a run for his money…especially on light tackle.  Pound-for-pound they will put the meanest and strongest of largemouth to shame. Read the full story

When you can actually get on flowing sections of this river, that are true river and not lake, they can be pretty productive. The problem is the river system creates so many lakes that it has more lake shoreline than river on its way to the ocean. If man had not disturbed much of the true river by creating lakes, this may have been one of the most scenic rivers in the country coming out of the mountains and into the piedmont. Even though it is a big river, it is one of the most used water systems in the country and therefore runs lower than ever these days. You may find yourself scraping the bottom in many shoal areas, especially during the summer. However, the good news is that there are still bass living in the river! Read the full story