While Redeye Bass are good fighters, these little guys are not going to snap your line or tear the rod out of your hands so don’t bother going with anything other than an six- or eight-pound test

The Redeye prefers rocky runs and pools of creeks and small to medium rivers where temperatures are in the mid 60°Fs/approximately 27°C. Redeye Bass prefer cold headwaters of small streams and are not naturally found in lakes, ponds or reservoirs. The Coosa River for most of its distance has a rocky bottom with shale and granite making up most of the composition.

Hydroelectric Dams

One of the major river systems for the Redeye Bass is the Coosa River, which has seven dams between the Georgia Border and the coast. These dams both offer advantages and disadvantages. The amount of boat traffic is a disruption of the Redeye Bass. However, the lakes that are created offer the Redeye Bass deep water that provides them relief in the high heat of the summer months.

Major River Systems

The Redeye Bass can be found in four major river systems, preferring the upper portions of the rivers in moderate moving water with rocky bottoms. Many of these river systems have lakes or reservoirs, but they are not common in these habitats.

The Coosa river is 267 miles long and drops 420 feet from its starting point. It offers both river and lake habitats with both rocky and soil bottoms with sandy areas.

The Alabama River is 312 miles long and also has a combination of bottoms from rocky, soiled and sandy. There are three Dams located along its length: the Claiborne Lock and Dam; the Robert F. Henry Lock and Dam and the Millers Ferry Lock and Dam.

The Savannah River is 350 miles/560 km long and has two major cities along its shoreline. The river starts off about 650 feet above sea level and empties into the ocean. Like the other rivers, it offers variable depth, but for most of its upper portions, the bottom is rocky with sand and the lower portion is filled with silt.

Lastly, the Chattahoochee River starts off in Chattachoochee Spring in the mountains of Georgia and crosses through Atlanta before heading to the ocean. The upper water are rocky and offer moderate to fast moving water, which becomes slower and deeper at the lower end of the river.

Preferred Habitat

The Redeye Bass prefer rivers and streams, with a steep grade of around thirty to forty feet drop per mile, with many riffles and pools that they use to lay and wait for prey or catch their breath. They also prefer clear rivers and streams that are relatively free from turbidity and they can withstand moderate levels of turbidity. As much as they enjoy riffles and pools, they can also be found by downed trees, brush piles and rocky areas and other structures.

The Redeye Bass is consider very similar to the brook trout only that it prefers warmer water, though, it does inhabits similar type mountainous streams which are too warm for trout, but too cool for many other warm water species. And this is where the redeye bass finds its niche and is able to compete where other fish cannot.