The Alabama River's fertile water flowing through Claiborne's riverine habitat supports high numbers of spotted bass, with some reaching 5 pounds. Shehan said on a good day, anglers might catch 20 to 30 fish weighing 1 to 2 1/2 pounds from one ledge. His biggest fish so far weighed 5 pounds.

In May, Shehan begins each day by fishing creek mouths, which he considers community holes. Nearly everyone fishes this classic structure on Claiborne, but maybe not as thoroughly as Shehan. First, he targets aggressive fish, and then he searches the top and bottom of the water column.

"Ease up the creek mouth," Shehan instructed, "and determine current flow. If they are pulling water, keep the boat in deep water and cast onto the flat of the creek mouth. Most success comes from throwing shallow and retrieving into deep water. It's the same path taken by baitfish.

"If the water is rising and flowing into the creek, move into the creek mouth and cast into deep water. Retrieve the lure over the ledge and onto the flat."

Shehan's first cast is with a Series 300 Bandit crankbait. It's also his go-to bait if nothing else is working for him.

"Throw the crankbait to draw a reaction strike," Shehan continued. "I may cast to one spot for 15 minutes, and I cast into cover that most anglers would not fish with a crankbait. You want the bait hitting trees, rocks and digging into the bottom. I do lose a lot of lures."

If the crankbait does not produce a fish, Shehan switches to a spinnerbait. He said the lure is especially effective if shad are flipping on the surface. Then, depending on the current, he completes his search of the water column by fishing the bottom with either a Carolina-rigged Paca Craw by NetBait or a 1/4-ounce CHAMP football jig inserted into a Zoom 5-inch worm.

When Shehan has eliminated creek mouths as a pattern, he moves to ledges. These ledges are the original shoreline of the river. As the lake fills, these flats become inundated. In May, Shehan fishes ledges 12 to 15 feet deep. The underwater shelf may extend out from the visible shore 15 to 20 yards before dropping into the river channel.

This river expert said the best fishing occurs when current, cover and shad are present on the ledge. He remarked that productive ledges are not limited to the outside bends of the river, but can happen anywhere you find these conditions.

"If the water is not moving and the bait is not there," Shehan explained, "spots drift off into deep water and suspend. This makes spotted bass difficult to catch. However, the opposite is true when the water is moving and baitfish are on the ledge. In this situation, the current positions the fish in the current break created by the cover."

As with creek mouths, Shehan's first lure is a crankbait. If the ledge is too deep for the Bandit, he uses a Norman DD-22. Chartreuse is his favorite color for these lures, which are fished on 15-pound-test Big Game Trilene. If necessary, he switches to Carolina- or Texas-rigged soft plastics for a slower presentation.