Here at point A we have a typical riffle in a stream. Right in the riffle, the water is too fast for bass to stay in for extended periods of time unless there is something to break the current. Instead bass will move in and out of the riffle feeding on the large amount of food there. Think of the riffle as the main dining area in a river. Just upstream of the riffle we have the tail of the pool immediately upstream.
As the river shallows and the water quickens to go over the riffle the force of the water keeps any silt from settling on the bottom. And the two things smallmouth like best are a bit of current and a hard bottom. If this tail is a smooth glide into the riffle as many are it's a great place to throw a topwater. Spinners and crankbaits also are effective here. I sometimes think that tails of pools are what roostertails were designed for. C and D are side eddies where water swirls back and travels upstream losing much of it's force. While these can contain feeding fish at times the seam where the eddy and the fast water coming downstream is the money spot. If as in F this seam extends downstream for quite a ways and there is a distinct line between the fast and slow water you can expect this to be a spot a better fish might feed at. Spot E is a fish staging behind a rock on the bottom of the run between the riffle and the pool. Most of the time these underwater rocks will betray their presence by a boil or slick on the surface, A sudden dip or depression in the bottom will also cause a slick on the surface and just like the rock create a spot for a fish to lay out of the current and ambush prey. Spots F and E scream grub or swimbait to me. One thing to remember about rocks is that smallmouth will sometimes have a tendency to hold extremely tight to them. Try bouncing a crankbait or a jig right off the rock on the retrieve, this can sometimes trigger a strike.
