Fishing the Tallapoosa River in Alabama with Matt Lewis

[@tennesseecreekangler9660]

Quality content! Love seeing the different species of Black Bass we got in the Southeast. Planning on making a trip to Alabama shortly for a shot at all the different upland species. Keep it coming!

[@ShoalBandit]

Thanks I really appreciate it! That sounds awesome have a fun/safe trip!

[@tennesseecreekangler9660]

@@ShoalBandit Yessir, keep it up. I really think your channel is going to blow up soon.

[@bobgibbs4105]

Another great day on the water!

[@ShoalBandit]

Thanks it really was a great day! Speaking of great days June 11th is 'Free Fishing Day' in Alabama.

[@bobgibbs4105]

@@ShoalBandit Thanks for the tip!

[@bullseyepete8367]

Awesome video. I really like the fish descriptions and where to catch. I'm new ro the area and kayak fishing. Floated the tallapoosa several times. Fished it 3x only caught one bass on an undercut. I have a date float tomorrow and this will give me a better idea of what to look for and not waste unnecessary time. Thanks for posting!!

[@ShoalBandit]

Thanks I'm glad you liked the video!

[@bullseyepete8367]

@@ShoalBandit caught 5 that day. Best day I've had on tallapoosa!

[@ShoalBandit]

That's great congrats!@@bullseyepete8367

[@bullseyepete8367]

@@ShoalBandit I'm a newbie to bass fishing. But I'm figuring it out slowly. Been absolutely ripping lips on the creeks. Just need to figure out the rivers

[@ShoalBandit]

Well you're doing it right learning the creeks first. The same places that hold fish in creeks are also found in rivers...they're just harder to find because there's a lot more water. You can learn a lot about a river by spending time on it when the water is low (like right now).@@bullseyepete8367

[@dysisjoel]

Thanks for the great videos and all the knowledge you're passing along. Tight lines!

[@ShoalBandit]

Thank you that means a lot! It's good to hear people like and appreciate the videos!

[@coreytohme9861]

Great outing with Dr. Redeye. I appreciate your explanation of methods and tactics. Although I have fished that river before, I need all the help I can get coming from a saltwater and muddy creek background.

[@ShoalBandit]

Thank you it's always good to hear anglers find the info useful. It means a lot. Matt's been fishing for them a lot lately!

[@BigMoneyJonah]

Really pretty fish. Great content.

[@ShoalBandit]

Thanks for watching I'm glad you liked it!

[@schylerbrown7364]

Wow this is awesome, I had no clue water this nice existed near Auburn University Great content, cheers

[@ShoalBandit]

Thanks for watching I really appreciate it! The Tallapoosa River is awesome!

[@GeorgiaBassmaster]

Man the river is really wide out there! Nice bass man. Informative as always

[@ShoalBandit]

Thanks Marshall!

[@bcm1892]

Great video. I’ve fished the Ga side of the Tallapoosa this year and was able to get a Tallapoosa bass. Still trying to get my gf her first.

[@ShoalBandit]

Thank you and congrats on the Tallapoosa Bass!

[@timgrubbs5708]

Good morning! What is the best bait for the red eyes?

[@ShoalBandit]

A green pumpkin Texas-rig finesse worm will catch fish year-round. March-April-May it's hard to beat a spinnerbait. I like topwater June-September, but I always have some kind of soft plastic (Texas-rig, shaky head, wacky rig) ready in case I miss a fish and to fish deeper areas.

[@STinGa157]

I know that I’ve mentioned it before, but thanks for describing the lay of the land and the tactics / thought processes that you go through when planning your casts. Do you usually put in and take out at the same location or do you have someone with either a pre trip or post trip ride?

[@ShoalBandit]

I watch a lot of fishing videos and I'm the same way. That's a great question and I should probably do a video on that at some point...but here's the quick answer. In the winter/early spring when the water is cold and the days short, I like to launch/take out at the same location. During the prespawn period I have no problem doing a float but when most fish are spawning I like to launch/take out at the same location...again because I generally have to fish slower. After the spawn as the days get longer and the fish get more active I do more floats. I like to keep river floats under 10 miles and closer to 5 miles whenever possible. I like to keep creek floats under 5 miles and more like 2.5 (or less) if you have to drag sections.

[@mde9395]

@ShoalBandit what kind of kayak are you using?

[@ShoalBandit]

It's an Ocean Kayak Caper....I've been using that model since 2007. It's not really made for fishing or even rivers-but it was one of the 1st kayaks to be widely used by anglers fishing creeks and rivers. This was before companies started making 'fishing' kayaks. Not many anglers use them now though. I may be the only one. lol

[@mde9395]

@@ShoalBandit awesome thank you! I like the open layout of yours, very much. About to buy my first so I can start doing floats down the Coosa and Tallapoosa ❤️ thanks for the vids

[@ShoalBandit]

​@@mde9395 That's awesome thanks for watching!

[@notw333]

Are any of these Bass species good eating?

[@ShoalBandit]

You can eat every member of the sunfish family, but the general consensus is that Bluegill, Redear and Crappie taste best. Alabama Bass are good eating and taste better than Largemouth. They're also more common than Tallapoosa Bass and grow much larger, so most people prefer cleaning/eating them.

[@skippindocs5793]

Where did you put in at?

[@ShoalBandit]

Public access point at a bridge...Piedmont region of Alabama (which you probably already knew because of all the rock). I don't want to get more specific than that because it could potentially blow up somebody's favorite spot.

[@skippindocs5793]

What kayak do you use?

[@ShoalBandit]

@@skippindocs5793 It's an Ocean Kayak Caper....I've been using it since 2007. It's not really made for fishing or even rivers-but it was one of the 1st kayaks to be widely used by anglers fishing creeks and rivers. This was before companies started making 'fishing' kayaks. Not many anglers use them now though. I may be the only one. lol

[@allencummings6285]

Doesn't this flow into lake Mitchell??

[@ShoalBandit]

Lake Mitchell is a Coosa River impoundment (between Lay Lake and Jordan Lake). Lake Martin, Lake Wedowee, Yates Lake, and Thurlow Reservoir are all Tallapoosa River impoundments.

[@mackjenkins7721]

Man this was a good video. You caught a lot of Tallapoosa bass man. That was awesome how you had matt to talk about the different type of species of bass and Alabama. I learn something new. Sir I have a quick question? I like your sandals you are wearing. What kind of sandals you are wearing? I have to kayak Barefooted 👣 style because i have big very very extremely wide feet sz15 6E wide with very chubby fat wide toes that are equally straight across making my foot very very wide feet at 6 1/2 inches wide from my big toe to my lil toe & am looking for a pair of sandals to wear while kayaking & walking in the water instead of being barefooted 👣 walking across the rocks. My foot outgrew shoes , socks , & boots when i was young & flip flops is the only footwear that will barely and i mean barely fit my foot because of my toes being wider than the flip flops straps. I like how you have the sandals on and you just walk through the water like it's no problem & getting on and off the kayak with no problem. I really would appreciate the information. Thank you and you have a nice weekend and thank you for sharing this video.

[@ShoalBandit]

Thanks for watching I'm glad you liked it! The sandals are made by Teva and I have the Hurricane XLT2 ($75). Size 14 was the biggest size I saw in the Hurricane XLT2 but you might want to check with them just to make sure or maybe those will fit? Have a great weekend! www.teva.com/sandals/hurricane-xlt2/1019234.html

[@mackjenkins7721]

@@ShoalBandit thank you so much for this information buddy I really do appreciate this. Especially after yesterday I could really use a pair of sandals right now. I had to walk across some River Rocks barefooted 👣 & I tell you it did not feel good for being a chubby fat dude at 300 pounds walking across rocks barefooted 👣. Last year I tried walking in the water with flip-flops on and I end up breaking one of the straps that go in between the toes & on the other one I ended up ripping the strap out the side of the flip flop. It's hard to fines flip flops that is sz15 & wide enough for a extremely wide feet. Thank you so much sir for the information and Happy Father's Day to you.

[@ShoalBandit]

@@mackjenkins7721 Anytime I really hope those work! Thanks and Happy Father's Day to you too!