Shoal Bass
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If all goes well, my boss Richie and I may target shoal bass tomorrow after work.
Right, and these spotted bass I’m fishing over here seem to be limited to the tributaries of the Mississippi in the south east.
Carter,
Are you primarily fishing for these bass in the Arkansas River? I used to catch them back home (in Northwest Arkansas) on some stocked farm ponds. If I am not mistaken, around my area, everyone referred to them as Kentucky bass. It has been quite awhile since the last time I caught one of these fish, but I definately remember them as being very powerful fighters.
Steven
So Zach, how did it go?
I expect it was slow…..I usually don’t target shoalies until the summer months. Despite what wiki says, I’ve been fishing for shoalies since the early 70s….primarily on the Flint River and it’s tribs. They look like smallmouth and fight like them as well……and yes….theytend to be in the faster riffles, hence the name. On the Flint, one of their favorite foods is a black helgramite. As a result, a black wooly booger works really well. I flyfish from my driftboat on certain sections of the Flint.
The guys over at http://www.georgiariverfishing.com target them on the Flint. Their message board is a wealth of info.
Let me know how you do.
Drifter
I have caught some in DH section on the Hooch. Heard rumors that DNR have shocked some nice size ones.
Shoallies are a fantastic fish. I have a buddy who has some property on the upper Chattahoochee (just south of Helen). Most of the year, this section is home to some gigantic trout. But, during the hot summer months, the shoalies and bluegill move upstream and inhabit this stretch. I have found that they like seams and, obviously, shoals, so they do behave a bit like trout.
I will say that I’ve never fished for them with anything but Clousers and popping bugs, so I don’t know how they would respond to patterns that would imitate available aquatic insects present.
From what I hear, Kent Edmunds from Fly Fishing West Georgia and Beyond is one of the foremost experts on Shoallies. His web address is http://www.flyfishga.com/ Kent has reported seeing them up to eight pounds and catching them up to six. I can’t even imagine…. the one- and two-pounders are a handful!
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