541-954-9126 harmless711@aol.com

Jim Martin

Guide Service

SMALLMOUTH BASS

There are many rivers in the eastern US that hold good populations of smallmouth bass and especially rivers and streams that run through the Appalachian Mountains. The Upper James River, Maury River and New River in Virginia and the French Broad River in North Carolina are all premier smallmouth bass streams with world class fishing.

What all these rivers have in common is clear, cool water which smallmouth need to thrive in as well as hard rocky bottoms that hold a number of a smallmouths favorite meals. Crawfish, hellgrammites, madtoms and river minnows are very prevalent in these rivers which provide smallmouth bass with the protein they need to grow to trophy sizes and into terrific populations of fish.

Smallmouth bass fishing in streams and rivers is an entirely different ballgame than fishing for them in a lake. There is a designated put in location and take out location that will usually cover a distance of 5-8 river miles. Large whitewater rafts with custom fishing frames are the trick to handle the faster water and be able to get to difficult spots that hold the biggest fish and numbers of fish. These rivers are often difficult to have any boats with motors due to the their rocky and swift nature. In some isolated locations before dams, you might spot a small boat with motor, however these are not ideal locations that will hold smallmouth bass.

Smallmouth bass in rivers and streams are typically very aggressive. Due to a bait moving in current, a smallmouth bass has the mindset that they will only have one shot at that meal or it’s downstream. And whether a fish is a 1lb fish or a 4lb fish, smallmouth bass will always provide a rigorous test to any angler and the fact that they live most of their lives in current make them very strong pound for pound giving them the reputation as the gamest freshwater fish that swims.