Destinations: 5 River Hotspots for Smallies in Mountain State

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MONONGAHELA RIVER

A river long past its period of dreadful pollution, the Mon River has played host to a productive bass fishery for at least two decades. While largemouths and spotted bass are also present, smallies are the most abundant black bass in this river.

Like the Ohio, the Mon is an impounded, industrial river. Much of the best fishing action takes place in the areas downriver of the locks and dams, and near the mouths of tributaries. This is particularly true during the springtime, as some of the best spawning habitat is found within these vicinities; smallies will begin moving into them soon after the water begins to warm; the big, pre-spawn smallies are often the first to show up.

There are three lock and dam facilities on West Virginia’s portion of the Mon. They are the Opekiska, Hildebrand, and Morgantown. The shoreline section from the Morgantown lock and dam down to the mouth of Decker’s Run is a good spot to check out.

In Marion County, public access sites are found at Fairmont and Prickett’s Fort. Launches in Monongalia County include Morgantown, Star City and Uffington.

SHENANDOAH RIVER

Comparatively speaking, West Virginia has a small portion of this storied river. But not all of the Shenandoah’s smallmouth bass fishing is found in neighboring Virginia. The portion that flows through the Mountain State also provides sport worth pursuing.

Much of the attention on the Shenandoah during the early part of the decade was in regard to fish kills affecting several species, smallmouth bass included. Recent years have witnessed a remarkable comeback by the smallmouth bass population, with several strong year classes present.

West Virginia public access areas to the Shenandoah, in Jefferson County, include Bloomery Bridge, Harper’s Ferry, Millville, Potomac Edison (both above and below the dam), and Shannondale Springs.

EARLY SPRING RIVER SMALLMOUTH TACTICS

Not surprisingly, in water temperatures barely on the plus side of 40, one of the keys is slow bait movement. Whether you are fishing a bait that drags along the bottom or one that rides higher in the water column, it’s important to barely crawl it.

Bread-n-butter bottom baits include tubes, bucktail jigs and twister tail jigs. Though tubes are often fished via an insert-style jighead, another good option is to Texas rig them using a wide gap hook and a bullet-shaped slip sinker. A 2/0 or 3/0 hook couples well with a 3-inch tube. When a rocky bottom is eating jigs, the T-rigged tube is often the answer.

Bass tend to move to the edges of a hole when they are feeding, which can be up against the bank, or on shallow flats either above or below a deep hole. Suspending hard-bodied jerkbaits are another option, especially when the water is clear. Work the bait in a twitch-pause manner, allow it to suspend for several sections of the pause, which is when most bites happen this time of year.

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