Anglers have always been drawn to the Augusta shoals, where American Indians first fished more than 5,000 years ago.

Here in modern times, I'm usually drawn there on muggy afternoons during the hottest part of the summer.

Why? It's the coldest wading water you'll find anywhere near Augusta. It is public and free. It's also the prettiest whitewater scenery this side of the Appalachians.

It's like a poor man's Alaska, but without the bears.

There is something about wading the shoals that sets this special area apart from farm ponds -- or Thurmond Lake.

Even the fish are different.

The cold water owes its chill to Thurmond Dam several miles upstream. The dam's penstocks -- or intakes -- are 60 feet below the lake's surface, where the water remains cold year round. Once discharged below the dam, it begins a short journey to the shoals, where it becomes super-oxygenated as it riffles among the boulders and rocky outcrops.

The fish found there are as unique as the terrain: we usually catch odd-looking bass that could be redeye, largemouth or the recently discovered smallmouth -- or various hybridized crosses. It's not unsual to catch bass with features of all three species, making them difficult to identify but fascinating to examine.

Ed Bettross, a Georgia fisheries biologist who has studied the shoals extensively, noted numerous other species that can be found there: longnose gar, American shad, yellow perch, redbreasts and even an occasional carp or sucker.

"The shoals are also a place eels attracted to," he said. "It's part of their life cycle -- they spend some of their time in the ocean and some in fresh water. Like a lot of other fish, they utilize the shoal habitat when they do come to fresh water."

My personal favorite is the irridescent green sunfish that can be found hovering in the shady water along rocky ledges and overhangs. What it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in beauty.

If you're only after dinner, the shoals may not be a place where you will load a 40-quart cooler with limits of shellcracker.

Rather, it's a place to seek refuge from hot weather and wander flowing pools -- and test your skill against wary river fish.

If you want to give it a try on foot, park at the Augusta Utilities Department pumping station at the dead-end of Goodrich Street. It's about a half-mile walk up the towpath to the grassy meadow by the river, from which you can wade -- literally -- across to the South Carolina side when the water is low.

You will need felt-soled wading shoes, sunscreen, a flyrod or ultralight spinning tackle and strong knees. Watch for snakes along the weedy Georgia shoreline and spray yourself from the waist down with insect repellent, as chiggers like the wet, weedy edges as much as the fish do.

If you're not a fan of wading, you can launch a canoe below Columbia County's Savannah Rapids Pavilion and fish down to Interstate 20 and beyond; or launch at the North Augusta boat ramp in Riverview Park and paddle upstream to the shoals' lower end.