By mid-summer, many large, slow pools in the river have aquatic grassbeds that grow from the streambottom up to the surface of the river. Some of these break the surface of the river and some reach to only a foot below the surface. In my “On The Stream Smallmouth Bass Schools,” I take advantage of these grassbeds in order to help the students catch many bass.
The easiest and most productive tactic to catch these bass is to use floating surface bugs. The two which work best for me are the Shenandoah Blue Popper size 6 and the Shenandoah Chartreuse Chugger size 6. If the water is three to five feet deep, I like to start at the downstream end of the pool and wade upstream through the pool as the depth of the river permits. If much of the grass reaches the surface of the river, I select a route to wade through it which will enable me to fish many of the open pockets within the grassbeds. These clear bays range from three feet in diameter to ten feet in diameter. These bays offer three extremely important features to the bass at this time of year: they can easily find shade by holding below the edge of the grass, the surrounding grass holds a wealth of food, and the density of the grass provides ideal cover.
By casting to each of these bays as you wade upstream, you can catch many large bass. A slow slide-pause-slide action that moves the bug slightly faster than the current will help you catch many large bass. Many of my students catch their largest bass in this way.