The presence of wood, be it laydowns, flooded timber, brushpiles or stumps, will add to the likelihood an area will hold bass, largemouth and spotted bass, in particular. Though smallies are attracted to wood, rocky shorelines will also hold brown bass, especially areas that receive a good deal of sunlight.

For bass holding tight to woody cover, you'll want to include a flipping stick to flip or pitch jigs into these snag-infested areas. Jigs tipped with either a pork chunk or plastic dressing will be readily accepted by bass holding in thick wood cover.

Another good option at this time, for largemouths in particular, is a sinking worm, such as a Senko rigged wacky style, which is with a worm hooked about midpoint rather than in the traditional location. Senkos can be fished with either casting tackle or medium to heavy spinning gear.

Smallmouth bass in lakes often require a somewhat different approach. For pre-spawn smallies in Summersville and Tygart lakes, you'll want to carry presentations that cover the water column.

For fishing on the bottom, few lures dupe smallies like a 3- to 4-inch tube jig rigged on an insert leadhead jig. Tubes come in a multitude of colors. Have some subtle patterns like smoke and root beer, along with some hotter colors that include shades of chartreuse. No smallmouth kit would be complete without a few leadhead jigs and grub bodies in the same basic colors as the tubes. Light to medium spinning tackle does the best job of presenting tube jigs and leadhead/grub combos.

Though they've fallen out of favor somewhat, thanks to the productivity of soft-plastic dressings, hair jigs fashioned from bucktail are still highly effective smallmouth bass jigs. Carry a few in white and natural bucktail. Fishing bucktail jigs means snapping them, so your rod must have some backbone.

Smallmouth bass will often be pulled up and out of woody snags at this time of year, particularly if the water is clear. A soft-plastic stick bait like a Sluggo or Fluke is tops for this kind of work. Fish these lures with little or no weight. A medium-action casting or spinning rod-and-reel loaded with a no-stretch super braid makes a great combination for fishing soft-plastic stick baits.

In deep, clear reservoirs, like those found in West Virginia, it's not unusual for smallmouth bass to suspend off points located at the mouths of coves or bays. The same can hold true along rocky ledges. To trigger these fish, carry along an assortment of suspending stick baits of the Husky Jerk style. Fish these baits both perpendicular to the structure and parallel to it. The same outfit used to fish the soft-plastic stick bait will work fine for a Husky Jerk.

The assortment of lures mentioned for lake smallmouths will also serve you well for river smallmouth bass. You may also want to take along an assortment of small crankbaits of the Fat Rap style as well as a few Rapala floating minnows. These lures will cover a variety of water depths and conditions.

Some anglers, particularly ones floating the New River, may opt to fly-fish for the smallmouth bass found there. Eight or 9X fly rods function best in this particular situation. Favorite patterns include the Woolly Buggers in both weighted and non-weighted versions. Since most of these trips call for the services of an outfitter, go with his recommendations for more specific tackle requirements.

As wild and wonderful as it may be, West Virginia has outstanding bass fishing located not far from the pavement. Great bass fishing can be found close to major highways and byways. You ought to check it out for yourself this season.