I drove to Rogersville, Al Sunday afternoon and got a room. Met Bass
Elite Trail Pro Jimmy Mason at a ramp on Wilson Lake, just below
Wheeler dam Monday morning. I was fishing with him getting info for a
September Map of the Month article for Alabama Outdoor News. I think
if I was going to move from middle Georgia I would pick north Alabama
- love it up there. Rogersville is 300 miles from my house.

The sun was already up when we started fishing, throwing topwater
baits. I got a short largemouth on a Rico popper the first place we
stopped. That was it for about an hour so we started riding, looking
at spots to put on the map and discussing September fishing. The bass
had not really moved on these spots yet and we hit just a couple to
check.

At about 10:00 we hit a main point back in a big creek a summer hole
Jimmy said. It was a sloping point between the creek and a cove and
had brush on it. I got a 14 inch largemouth on a jig head worm. Then
Jimmy set the hook while throwing a football head jig and pig and his
line broke at the reel.

After re-tying we fished the point some more. Fish kept coming up
schooling and Jimmy caught a short fish or two on a Yum Houdini Shad
soft jerkbait fished near the surface. I could not get them to hit my
popper. While throwing my jig head worm I felt weight and thought I
felt a tug and set the hook. If felt mushy and a little like a fish
but when I got my bait to the boat I had hooked line. Jimmy said it
might be his line and I told him I bet the bass was still on it.

Sure enough when I pulled in the line there was a 12 inch bass still
on his jig. There was about 40 yards of line - it must have frayed
from a loop or something and it broke right at the reel after a long
cast.

We hit several more spots and caught some small bass and hybrids on
top, and Jimmy got a couple of nice keepers on the Houdini Shad, one
about two pounds, our biggest of the day. Bass were schooling on most
main lake points we checked. There was a slight breeze and it helped
to have it blowing across the point.

Just before we quit Jimmy took me to the outflow from the Wheeler dam
and showed me how he fished the current from the generators in
September. The bass have not moved in on that pattern yet but he said
some big largemouth and smallmouth will be there in September on
through the winter.

I hope to get back up there and fish with him this winter. I enjoyed
our day on the water and it was the first time I fished out of a
wrapped boat. He said it was wrapped by a company in Nashville - gotta
call him back and get the name again.

Ronnie

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