Flint River: My Quest for a Shoal Bass Micropterus cataractae

1981.  What does it mean to me? Well, Its the year I graduated from High School, but when I think of 1981 I think more about how long I have wanted to catch a Shoal Bass ( Micropterus cataractae ). June 1981 to narrow it down as Outdoor Life had an article(which I still Have) tittled  "River Of The Redeyes". The Shoal Bass was not recognized as a Separate species until 2000 so up till then Shoal Bass and redeye bass(coosa bass) were lumped together as 1 species.  Anglers on a few Georgia rivers knew there was a difference as the "redeyes" in one drainage always topped out heavier than the others. These monster "redeyes" were sometimes called "Flint River Smallmouth" and are naturally found in the Flint / Chatahoochee drainage in Georgia and the Apalachicola / Chipola in Florida.  They have since been introduced to the Ocmulgee in Georgia.

1995.  April of 1995,  Southern Living Magazine did an article on the Lilies found in the Cahaba River Titled "Lily of The Stream". I also still have that article.  That is how long I have been wanting to see some Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies .

2005.  That's the year I joined GeorgiaRiverfishing.com.  Since then my eagerness for a Shoalie has increased because members of that forum are always posting pictures of Shoal Bass they have caught.

So, when would I go?...Work and family duties always kept getting in the way but this winter I said to myself this was going to be the year. I have had several offers in the past to go fish for Shoalies but couldn't work it out. Members of  GRF  had a get together planned for  the month of May so I decided this would be a great time for me to go meet up with a bunch of guys I have known for years through the Internet and get the Shoal Bass off my bucket list. Sam (Creekstalker) the Owner of Georgiariverfishing.com showed up which was nice as he has been up to North Carolina twice to fish with me. I have also met Several other members at tournaments in North Carolina but this was going to be a treat to go down there and fish with them.

2012.  May 18th 2012 to be exact. That is the day I caught my first Shoal Bass. Nothing huge but my goal fish wise was to catch just 1. I didn't care how little or big I just wanted 1. Here she is.

Another one- most I caught hit a spinnerbait

I caught a handful that size the evening of the 18th plus a few Redbreast and Bream.

The campsite was awesome and the river was amazing. Thanks to Mike for being a great host.

I went to bed that night very tired after a long hard drive from North Carolina and an evening of paddling and fishing but was a very happy camper as I had caught my Shoalie. The next day I awoke and hit the river this time going downstream and was rewarded with a nice Shoalie, a few small shoalies , a few decent Spotted bass and some more Redbreast and Bream. Here are a few pics of my am float.

 I came back to camp at lunch very hungry but happy I had caught a Shoalie above 2 lbs. I was so happy in fact (and Tired) that I told Phillip that I was going to stay in camp and enjoy the evening. He talked me in to paddling upstream farther than I had been and I am sure glad he did as that evening I ran into these on the river.

The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily

Wow! 

Seeing these Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies was almost better than catching a Shoalie. What an awesome site.

These are found from the Catawba River in South Carolina through Georgia and into Alabama. The North Carolina population's of this Lily are gone now due to the dams on the Catawba and now there are only 50 known colonies known in the 3 states. I had first heard of these from  Southern Living Magazine which did and article on the Spider Lilies found in the Cahaba River in Alabama. This was an unexpected surprise!

Here are a few random pictures of some of the fishermen, the campsite, and the River.

                                                         Trent and "Pamlico"

Phillip "Pip"

The "Boathouse"

Mike and Trent

Pip

Blackwaterbill, Doublehaul, Pip, Pamlico, Me, Shoalieman and ?

Goshawk on the River 

So what was the best part?
1st was seeing and meeting the Brother River fishermen, 2nd, was seeing those Spider Lilies, and 3rd was catching a Shoalie. Hopefully I will make it back next year. Now , I have a big desire to see the Spider Lilies on the Catawba River!  A big Thanks to Mike and everyone else. Mack

#flintriver

#shoalbass

#Micropteruscataractae

Micropterus cataractae