WHERE TO FIND THE BIG ONES!
Stonewall Jackson Lake easily ranks as the state’s top lake for habitat, and the lake’s cover takes many forms. Some of the best cover types include submerged timber, riprap shorelines, submerged roadbeds and aquatic vegetation.

Without a doubt, standing timber is the thing that distinguishes Stonewall Jackson from other impoundments. Many sections of the lake are covered with the remnants of hardwood forests, fencerows and orchards. And make no mistake: Bass love to hang around timber, especially when deeper water is close by.

Standing timber is a productive cover to fish at any time of the year, but early spring can be a particularly good period to find bass on timber. Big bass love to lurk around wooded areas, especially early in the year. Anglers need to make sure they cast lures right against standing timber because sometimes bass hold extremely tight to structure during the spring’s early transitional periods.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that mature bass seem to hold near larger trees. So, make sure to fish around large timber if you’re looking for one of Stonewall’s giant bass. Don’t overlook isolated trees located farther out in the lake.

Although timber can be found throughout the lake, the most consolidated areas of standing timber on Stonewall Jackson Lake lie in the Jacksonville and Little Skin Creek areas. Both areas are loaded with many corridors of standing timber, and remain encapsulated by no-wake zones. Anglers fishing these areas can be assured of minimal boat traffic disturbance while on the water.

Riprap is another dynamic habitat type where anglers can find bass on Stonewall Jackson. This easy to locate structure experiences plenty of fishing pressure, but there always seems to be bass hanging around it, and sometimes riprap can hold many chunky bass.

Fish gather around these areas as the sun warms the rocks, making rip-rap a great structure to fish early in the year. Even though fish can be caught year ‘round near riprap, the optimal time of year to fish this cover type is probably during the late spring or summer.

Sections of riprapped shorelines can be found all over the lake, but the most concentrated riprapped shorelines are located near Stonewall Jackson State Park and Little Skin Creek. Sections of riprap containing culverts are even better than regular shoreline riprap.

Before Stonewall Jackson Lake was created, numerous roads crossed through the area. These old county roads now lie submerged under the surface of Stonewall Jackson Lake. Roadbeds make excellent fish habitat, as they warm quickly from the sun’s rays and offer natural dropoffs on the downhill side.

Each day, as water temperatures warm, bass will move up to roadbeds and then back into deeper water adjacent to the roadbeds. Bass often come up on the roadbeds to feed early in the morning and late in the evening.

With an entire road system running under Stonewall Jackson Lake, anglers can find these structures in just about any section of the lake. Look for the remains of old roads running along hillsides and into the lake. Some of the old roads appear obvious on fish finders/sonar graphs, while others are more difficult to detect; but all of these areas can be dynamite to fish.