THE CUMBERLAND RIVER
Donnie Felton (615/417-0245) likes the stretch of water on the Cumberland River between Old Hickory and Cordell Hull lakes, northeast of Nashville, for his July largemouth fishing.

“I start at the Highway 231 bridge above Old Hickory and fish one spot upstream and one downstream. That’s all I need,” he said.

Just as soon as you launch your boat -- there’s a good ramp right under the bridge on the Lebanon (south) side of the river -- turn right and motor upstream to the first creek on your right. That’s Little Cedar Creek.

Felton starts fishing Little Cedar at the mouth and fishes both sides, up and down, as far as the water will let him. “There’s no one place that’s better than another. They’ll all hold fish on any given day. The area is full of weeds, stumps and laydowns; each one’s (laydown, stump) as likely as the next to hold a good one.”

Felton’s favorite and most productive lure for July largemouths in the Cumberland River is an old-fashioned black/blue jig with a matching plastic chunk. Something fairly heavy, around 3/4 ounce, that’ll get down through the weeds and into the wood, is required. This is heavy cover.

He flips or pitches to nearly every visible piece of wood. “If I’m catching fish, even if they’re small, I’ll slow down and fish every little bit. If the bite is slow, I usually just hit the best-looking spots and try to keep moving until I find fish. If they’re there, they’ll bite quickly enough. There’s no need to waste a lot of time,” he said.

Felton’s other spot is a short ways downstream from the bridge and ramp. It’s called Second Creek and is the first big creek on your right as you face downstream. It’s littered with heavy debris, including drift and laydowns, most of which can be found in a tangled mess of grass and weeds. If it looks impenetrable, you’re in the right spot.

This creek is for heavy tackle only. Largemouths that survive in this tangled mess in a river system are tough; milksop types are nowhere to be found. Casting rods with heavy-duty reels spooled with 15- to 20-pound-test abrasion-resistant line is the norm.

With unusual candor, Felton describes fishing Second Creek this way, “Tell ‘em the right-hand side is best here (Second Creek). There’s more fish-holding stuff around and the largemouths are bigger. Some of them break 5 pounds and you’re always subject to catch a good one.”

Once again, his favorite Second Creek lure is a black/blue jig with a matching trailer. He does say, however, that upon occasion, a Texas-rigged plastic worm will get you just as many bites. Black, deep purple or anything dark seems to catch the biggest fish.