What seems like a lifetime of fishing trips ago, a friend took me to his favorite hole for catching winter river smallmouth. The air was moist and cold in a way that no amount of layering would prevent you from getting miserably cold. We paddled our kayaks down to a big foam swirled eddy below a riffle. The bank was steep mud, and my buddy pointed to a cluster of rocks on the shore and said, "Put your tube right there and don't move it until I tell you." Then he paddled downstream out of sight. He wasn't out of earshot though. Ten full minutes had passed when I finally felt the crisp thump of a 19 inch Shenandoah River smallmouth inhaling the tube. I let out a yell that echoed off the steep valley walls.
Since then, I've caught countless winter river smallmouth and paid the favor forward to many anglers. What seems like an improbable task of catching a bass from water that's almost frozen can become attainable with the right knowledge of location, presentation and persistence. My friend gave me all three elements that day: location (right there), presentation (don't move it until I say), and persistence.
I'd like to pay the favor forward to you. While I can't take all of the blog readers to my favorite winter spot, I can provide you a preview of the DVD I recently produced. The how-to video details presentation specifics on baits like paddle tail grubs, hair jigs, suspending jerkbaits, downsized tubes, slow rolled spinnerbaits and finesse jigs. It also provides a step by step method to find the best winter habitat on your local flow. Ten people who enter the sweepstakes on NAHC's Facebook page will win a copy of my "River Smallmouth Winter Patterns DVD"
For a preview of the DVD watch the video below and follow this link to enter: http://on.fb.me/QVLuad