Fishing A River

[danderson05]

Going to go fishing tomorrow around 8am at this river. I'll be fishing from the shore. What would you throw out and any tips? I went there today for a little and I didn't catch anything. I did get snagged under water 4 times and lost my bait each time. So any tips or suggestions will be appreciated! Thank you!

[CalebWVU]

There will certainly be others here who will chime in with more knowledge than me, but personally I would go with topwater baits to start the morning. Flukes, buzzbaits, poppers, even frogs generally work well in the morning when the bass are still feeding and in the shallows. Try Texas rigging your soft plastics to avoid getting hung up so much.

If the topwater btie isn't any good or dies down, it might be a good idea to switch to something that runs lower in the water column. I'd try to give an example, but the possibilities are almost endless and it really depends on what you have with you. More importantly, try to find some structure like downed timber or a weedline and cast all around that. If where you live has had the same heat wave that I've been dealing with, the bass will be likely holding tight to cover and along points in deeper water.

[flyeaglesfly5186]

Tubes! Lots of tubes! On jig heads. Especially if the water is low and you can see the terrain. Skitter the tubes along cover and over rocks. Use natural colors.

[danderson05]

How big of tubes? I just have these small ones that look like for panfish. Would those work for bass? Probally not though.

[Jay Ell Gee]

I'll be the first to say... If the river is pretty muddy due to runout after heavy storms, you will swear some smaller rivers don't have a darn fish in them. The tube idea is alright as long as you match your hook and tube to allow yourself to Texas rig it. Texas rigged worms and ultravibe speed crass are also sure winners. Toss a smallish weight on and drag them along the bottom. If you feel yourself bump underwater structure, wiggle your lure a bit, retrieve it, and repeat that a few times. Stanley Ribbits, poppers (i like the H20 express from academy) and buzzbaits may produce early on. If you can swing it; you'll probably catch a few more bass right at daylight. A white spinnerbait to cover water is never a bad idea either.

[Sam]

Buckeye, you do not have your location which limits our input. Please consider adding it to your avatar.

Is the river a tidal river? If so, you may want to fish it different than a non-tidal river.

What is posted above is excellent information. For additonal suggestions please consider Woo Daves web site as Woo is a master at river fishing and you will enjoy his articles. In additon, you can email Woo and he will respond, unlike other pros.

http://www.woodaves.com/

As for river biats, may I suggest the following be considered?

Firetiger crankbait

Junebug plastics

Senkos, finesse worms, trick worms rigged Texas and Wacky.

Drop Shot

Shaky Head

Cavitron buzzbaits

Poppers

You may want to scale down on the cankbaits for river fish.

When things get slow, throw a Gulp! and catch some catfish.

Be sure to have your needle nose pliers with you and wear a PFD in case you fall in. No kidding, if you fall into a river you may have a problem.

Have fun and let us know 1) where you live and 2) what you threw and caught.

[Nitrofreak]

  On 7/25/2012 at 2:54 AM, CalebWVU said:

There will certainly be others here who will chime in with more knowledge than me, but personally I would go with topwater baits to start the morning. Flukes, buzzbaits, poppers, even frogs generally work well in the morning when the bass are still feeding and in the shallows. Try Texas rigging your soft plastics to avoid getting hung up so much.

If the topwater btie isn't any good or dies down, it might be a good idea to switch to something that runs lower in the water column. I'd try to give an example, but the possibilities are almost endless and it really depends on what you have with you. More importantly, try to find some structure like downed timber or a weedline and cast all around that. If where you live has had the same heat wave that I've been dealing with, the bass will be likely holding tight to cover and along points in deeper water.

I dunno bout that CalebWVU, thats some pretty good advice you gave there, nice job !!!

Buckeye, you really need to take Sam's advice and let us know where you are located, one could assume by your name you are from Ohio?

I don't have much to add to the posts, there are already a lot of really good ways to fish a river system with the baits already suggested.

The first thing I would tell you is to find a river bend, the sharper the better, if there is none in your area, look for grass lines or something that will give the fish some type of cover, also see if you may have a drop just after a shallow area where the water runs over a bunch of rocks, these areas contain a good amount of o2 and will help keep the fish active, it also gives them a great staging area to snag food as it enters deeper water from the rapids.

I have found that these areas along river systems are usually best, no matter what you do be prepaired for saftey as Sam also stated, river systems will surprise you at a moments notice.

[roadwarrior]

Soft swimbaits: Shadalicious, Hollow Belly and Keitech Swing Impact Fat.

Also, GMAN or NorthStar Swim Jig/ Rage Tail Single Tail Grub.

[Michael DiNardo]

Without knowing anything about the river, more details on the river type would help, you have to fish current breaks. Regardless of the river size, the fish will be located in slack water next to the current. Cast upstream and fish downstream as bait naturally flows in the river. Make you bait look natural.

Mike

[flyeaglesfly5186]

River tubes 3.5 to 4in tubes on 1/8oz-3/16 oz jig heads. The crappie tubes might hit on trout if they're in there.