Logan Martin Lake

Logan Martin is the Coosa River lake, distinct from Lake Martin on the Tallapoosa. Once you're on the right water, the choice is more enjoyable: a river edge for spotted bass or quieter cover for largemouth.

Keep two bass baits ready

Use a compact swimbait to explore moving water along a depth change. When you turn toward sheltered wood, pick up a rod rigged with a weedless worm. Having both ready makes it easier to fish the water in front of you without rebuilding a rig each time the shoreline changes.

Around a promising piece of cover, make a second cast from a slightly different direction. A lure that slides past a branch may draw a different response from one dropped straight beside it.

A Coosa lake from the 1960s

Logan Martin Dam was completed in 1964. The long reservoir it created still carries the shape and changing flow of the river, so a chart and an awareness of generation are useful companions to the tackle bag.

Use the same point to learn two retrieves

A Logan Martin point lets you compare a swimming bait above the bottom with a worm closer to it. Start with the swimbait, counting it down long enough to reach the slope before beginning a steady retrieve. If the lure keeps arriving well above the water you want to fish, give it more time to sink on the next cast.

Then bring the worm over the same route. Slow down at changes in bottom feel rather than hopping it evenly all the way back. A bite on one bait and not the other can tell you whether fish are willing to move up for a meal or want something closer to the bottom.

Generation can change that comparison. More flow may lift the swimming bait or move the line away from the point. Recheck the lure's depth when the water starts moving differently, even if you haven't touched the rig. The fish aren't the only things changing position; the bait may be, too.

Is a follow worth paying attention to?

Yes. A bass following to the boat tells you it noticed the bait, even if it didn't commit. Try a smaller offering or a pause near the same part of the point before writing off the spot.

If you plan to keep crappie, have the measuring board and cooler ready before you begin. Work through a catch calmly rather than piling fish on a seat while looking for equipment. A little organization matters on a small boat where a second angler may still have a float in the water beside the same brush.

If the bass bite slows, crappie offer another reason to work submerged wood. A small jig held at a steady depth can be easier to judge than a constantly rising and falling bait. Bluegill call for a smaller hook and cricket, especially when you want a simple session from an approved bank.