Best Fall and Winter Fishing: Bass and Crappie in Alabama
John E. Phillips 11.29.11
Author’s Note: Although water and weather temperatures are cooling down, don’t put away your rod and reel just yet. There are plenty of big bass and fat crappie to be caught in November and December. To find out where to catch the biggest and the most bass and crappie this month, we asked two of the best professional fisherman in the industry – Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, four-time BASS Angler-of-the-Year and two-time Bassmaster Classic winner, and Ronnie Capps of Tiptonville, Tennessee, who, along with his partner, is co-winner of more than $1.4 million earned catching crappie, as well as co-winner of the 2009 Crappie USA South Region Regional Event – to name their favorites. VanDam has proven that he’s one of the best bass fishermen in the nation, and has surpassed tournament winnings of more than $3.5 million.
Ronnie Capps’ Pick:
Neely Henry in north Alabama – Weiss Lake, above Neely Henry, is nationally known for producing a number of crappie, as well as plenty of big crappie. Neely Henry is right below Weiss and often is overlooked by many crappie fishermen. I fish deeper on Neely Henry than I do on Reelfoot or at Grenada, and I’ll use a 1 ounce sinker on my Capps & Coleman minnow rigs. I’ll be fishing the river channel. There’s a lot of structure on the river channel, so you always can catch crappie there.
To catch nice-sized crappie at Neely Henry, fish the steep side of the old river bank where you generally will find the steepest and the cleanest underwater bank. When Neely Henry was flooded, there was a lot of timber on the old river bank and many of the old creek banks, and when the water rose, there were plenty of stumps left on that old river bank. There’s so much structure that you’ll have a constant battle keeping your hooks out of the wood when you’re slow-trolling down that old river channel or on any of the old creek channels.
I’ll be fishing in water 12 to 18 feet deep, using minnows and a 1 ounce weight on my minnow rig. I’ll be using 15 pound test line. I prefer the heavier line on this lake because my hooks will get hung up, and I want that stronger line, so I can straighten the hooks and get them out of the cover without breaking off my minnow rigs. There are some monster crappie on this lake and I’ll be keeping 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 pound crappie. If I had to pick a lake that can produce a new world’s record crappie, Neely Henry will be my choice.
Another of Kevin VanDam’s Selections:
Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama – This is a tremendous bass fishery, not only for numbers of bass, but also for sizes of bass. There are numbers of big largemouths here. You can see a lot of bass in the 4 to 8 pound class here, and you easily can catch a bass over 10 pounds. Fish the outside edges of the grass beds with crankbaits, top-water lures, lipless crankbaits and rubber frogs on top of the grass. I prefer to fish either lipless or diving crankbaits on the outside edges of those grass beds and fish the rubber frog over the top of the grass.
This article is part of a series on fall and winter fishing hotspots. Click here for bass in Texas and California and click here for Florida’s wintertime bass and crappie.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
