From the Columbia in the West to the Potomac in the East, bass rivers abound. Some, of course, are better than others.
But which ones are best?
We asked resource managers, professional anglers, guides, outdoor media members, and industry insiders to tell us their favorite rivers that typically are fishable by bass boat. From those selections, we compiled an unofficial list of the nation’s top five rivers for largemouth bass and top five for smallmouth.
Largemouth rivers are listed below, while the smallmouth streams were revealed in the October issue of Bassmaster.
Potomac
Now a national treasure, one of the nation’s best riverine fisheries was a national disgrace just a few decades ago.
Its polluted water wasn’t safe for contact with human flesh, much less sport fishing.
All that began to change with implementation of the federal Clean Water Act in the early 1970s, and today, the Potomac is arguably the most famous bass-fishing river in the world.
Part of that fame has to do with the visuals. As they cast for bass, anglers can see Washington Monument, the Capitol, the Pentagon and Mount Vernon.
But mostly it has to do with the quality of the fishery.
Stretching from upstream of Washington, D.C., to Chesapeake Bay, the Lower Potomac is filled with fish-holding cover, especially during warm weather, when grass beds of hydrilla and milfoil extend over hundreds of acres.
“The fish can spread out across 60-plus miles,” says guide Steve Chaconas (www.nationalbass.com, 703-360-3472). “And you can fish for them around all kinds of cover, with lots of creeks. You can pitch docks with jigs. You can throw small crankbaits around wood. You can throw plastics around the grass.”
One-day catches of 100 bass are possible, especially when you find fish stacked up in places such as Blue Plains or the Spoils. But you’re more likely to catch 10 to 20, with most weighing between 2 and 4 pounds. Just a couple years ago, the Potomac’s first officially documented 10-pounder was taken in the Spoils area.
“The river provides something for everyone, no matter the skill level or experience,” Chaconas adds.
“For the most part, the river fishes shallow, with the large portion of the fish coming in the shallow main-river cover and creek areas.”
Undercurrents: Separating Virginia and Maryland, this river winds 287 miles in a southeast direction, from its source in the Allegheny Mountains to its mouth in Chesapeake Bay. It is 2 to 7 miles wide for its final 100 miles.
Mississippi
The Upper Mississippi River probably is the best riverine bass fishery that you’ve never heard of.
“People think of the Mississippi River, and they picture a mud hole,” says tournament angler Curt Samo, who fishes the river along Wisconsin’s border with Minnesota and Iowa. “It’s not that way at all.
“I’ve fished everywhere, and I’m telling you, this place is phenomenal. It’s one of the finest fisheries anywhere for sheer numbers of 2- to 4-pounders, with an occasional 5- and 6-pounder thrown in.”
Pool 13, near Savanna, Ill., probably is Samo’s favorite for largemouth bass.
“It has lots of backwater lakes and side channels with a variety of cover, including woods, eel grass, coontail and pads,” he says. “And it’s one of the widest areas on the Mississippi, more than a mile wide at one point. You can get lost in there.”
Its water also is a little more stained from agricultural runoff than are the upper pools.
Despite constant pressure from recreational and tournament anglers, this portion of the Mississippi “continually produces,” he says. “If you don’t get 18 to 20 pounds, you won’t cash a check most of the time.”
Pools 7, 8 and 9 have the same types of cover, but the water is clearer, says the PRADCO pro staff angler.
One of Samo’s favorite ways to catch bass in the Upper Mississippi is to throw shallow running crankbaits, such as the Big O, along wing dams, riprap and jetties.
For more information on the river and the area, contact the LaCrosse Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau at www.explorelacrosse.com or 800-658-9424.
Undercurrents: The longest river in the United States, the Mississippi flows 2,348 miles from its source at Lake Itasca in northwestern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. It has been dammed north of St. Louis, to aid commercial navigation, while levees to the south are designed to help control flooding.
St. Johns
Rivers typically do not produce double-digit bass.
Florida’s St. Johns is a notable exception. From lakes Washington, Winder and Poinsett in the upper portion of the river, to Lake George and the fertile water that flows from it, anglers can test their tackle against some of the Sunshine State’s largest bass.
But from Lake George northward, the potential is best. For example, the average “big bass” for tournaments in the Palatka area weighs better than 7 pounds. That’s why Putnam County can justifiably call itself “Bass Capital of the World.”
The second largest lake in the state at 46,000 acres, George almost always is ranked as one of the best bass fisheries in the state by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Like the river itself, the lake is rich with grassbeds and other types of vegetation. FWC says that Juniper, Salt and Silver Glen “spring runs” on the eastern shore provide some of the best fishing.
North of the George, Dunn’s Creek and the Seven Sisters islands areas are good bets, according to guide Jim Porter.
“Look for fallen trees and grassbeds, particularly on the points in the inside channel bends and in small, connecting run-off basins,” he says.
Porter cautions that anglers in the lower portion of the river should be aware of tidal influences on fish positioning.
“When the water is moving, bass will select positions in eddy water or behind some obstruction that shields them from the flow,” he explains. “They will still feed actively, but do not want to fight the currents.”
For more information, contact the St. Johns River Country Visitors Bureau at www.stjohnsrivercountry.com or 386-775-2006 or 800-749-4350.
Undercurrents: As the largest river in Florida, the St. Johns originates near Melbourne, and then meanders 275 miles northward, almost parallel to the coast, before emptying into the Atlantic beyond Jacksonville. At its mouth, it is much more hospitable to saltwater species than bass.
Red River
Recent events have put the flood-prone Red at the top of many anglers’ lists as one of the nation’s best rivers for largemouth bass.
Completed in the mid-1990s, a series of five locks and dams created fertile oxbows, sloughs and other backwaters from just south of Shreveport to the Old River Lock on the Mississippi River. Then, several years later, Florida-strain largemouth were stocked.
“The Red River has a tremendous bass population that is just exploding,” Louisiana fisheries chief Benne Fontenot said when the stocking began. “We want to put the Florida gene into the system to produce larger bass.”
Double-digit bass haven’t had time to start showing up yet in the Red, but quality fish certainly are there.
That’s one of the main reasons that it’s a favorite among tournament anglers, says Louisiana guide and pro Homer Humphreys, who won the 2002 CITGO Bassmaster Central Open on the Red.
“Another reason is that it will accommodate about any fishing style there is,” he adds. “You can go flipping if you want or crankbaiting, spinnerbaiting, Carolina rigging or worming. You can catch them any way that you want to catch them.”
Humphreys won the BASS event by finessing a Carolina rigged lizard through wood in an oxbow, just two miles from Clark’s Red River Marina (www.clarksredrivermarina.com, 318-747-2002).
“Sunny days, the fish hold in deep cover,” he explains. “Cloudy days scatter the fish all over the place.”
Those cloudy days are most likely to occur during winter and early spring, when upstream rains can flood the main river. Backwaters still should provide good fishing, as they do the rest of the year, but getting to them can be hazardous work.
Undercurrents: So named because of the color of the sediment that it carries, the Red arises in northern Texas. Forming much of the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma, it flows southwest for about 1,300 miles, before joining the Atachafalaya River about 5 miles north of Simmesport, La.
James
The site of three Bassmaster Classics in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the historic James continues to rank as one of the nation’s top riverine fisheries. In recent years, it perhaps has become better known for smallmouth bass in the upper portion, but largemouth from Richmond south still are plentiful and hungry.
Bass especially are hungry on outgoing tides, when they tend to stack up just off ledges at the mouths of main creek channels.
“The bass will just sit there and gorge themselves,” explains James Charlesworth (www.jcprobass.com, 703-338-8077), a guide and tournament angler.
Charlesworth says that an angler can put 30 to 50 bass in the boat when he finds such concentrations, but he’s more likely to catch 10 to 15 a day on the James.
“Small crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, tubes and small worms are probably the most popular baits and win the majority of the tournaments,” says the guide, adding that one of his favorites is the Speed Trap.
While the main river offers plenty of fish-holding cover, such as cypress trees, barges and jetties, tributaries in the lower river, including the Chickahominy and Appomattox, should not be overlooked.
“My favorite place is down toward the Chick,” says Charlesworth. “I can fish cypress trees, or I can go up the Chick and fish lily pads, milfoil and hydrilla.”
Wherever you fish on the James, the guide cautions that you should be aware of the tide stages, not only for fishing but navigation safety.
“Fluctuations are substantially more here than they are on the Potomac,” he says. “There you might get 3 or 4 feet. Here you might get 6.”
Undercurrents: The earliest permanent English settlement in the Americas was in 1607 at Jamestown, along the banks of the James River. The James is the largest waterway lying wholly within Virginia. From its origin in the Allegheny Mountains, it sweeps southeast for about 340 miles, to empty into Chesapeake Bay through Hampton Roads channel. For its final 60 miles or so it is a tidal stream.
