River Fishing Tips

[aqualkinbush]

So let me give you a little bit of backstory, I live in Clarksville. I'm 10-20 minutes from two rivers, the cumberland and red rivers. I have only fished a river once and that was from a bluff about 20 feet above the river when I was about 10. I do not have a boat nor do I have access to one without renting. In short, I'm shore bound.

 

So with suh proximity to rivers I would naturally like to fish them. They seem to have small mouth, large mouth, stripers, and of course a couple different types of cats. Now the cats I could probably catch, they are a simple fish when you really get down to it. I've never seen a small mouth in person let alone catch one, and I would very much like to do so.

 

Any advice or tips for bank fishing a river for bass?

[TNBassin']

Current breaks and eddys usually hold fish like no other. Man....I miss river fishing.

[aqualkinbush]

So I'm thinking tossing a trigged worm into a current break or maybe even a weightless senko if I can manage to get it right in there could be pretty good. Do you think it would be possible to effectiviley fish in a river weightless? Thinking maybe tossing a swimbait a bit beyond the slower current spot and getting it in there and working it slowly through couild work, but I don't really know. Any more tips anyone could give would be greatly appreciated.

[YakenMax]

Watermelon red flake tube jig

[roadwarrior]

Focus on eddies formed by wingdams or natural points sticking out in the river that divert water.

Look for pools that are usually formed in front and behing shallow portions of the river (ripples).

ALWAYS cast upriver and bring the bait/lure to you with the current.

 

Lures are not nearly as important as location, but these are a few suggestions: Rage Craw, Rage

Rigged; Baby Craw, T-rigged with a light weight, 1/4 oz or less; GYCB Kut Tail on a 3/8 ounce

Shake2 jig head; MegaBug T-rigged; Rage Tail Single Tail Grub on a jig jead and both the Senko

and Fat Ika weightless. You can try topwater Spooks,poppers, a Cavitron buzzbait and StrikeBack

spinnerbait, too. Bandit  200 or 300 are very effective, but you will lose crankbaits fishing from shore.

 

Right now I am having good luck with a NorthStar Original Swim Jig (bluegill)/ Rage Tail Menace or

Shellcracker trailer. You might want to try the YUM Money Minnow, Shadalicious or Berkley Hollow

Belly naked on a weighted hook.

 

 

 

[PABASS]

I will advise that you downsize, smaller hooks and lures.  If the river is like mine and its rocky prepare to loose lots of lures, buy cheap hooks when used with bottom contact fishing.  I like using spider jigs, tubes, hula grubs, grubs, senkos and d shads.  Depending on the mood of the fish you can drift the bait or make ground contact, which you can still drift depending on the water flow.  Fish will typically face the current or it will be to there side, they are sitting in ambush areas so break the river down that way.  You don't always need to cast up into current especially if you find a deep hole, since the fish might be positioned as such not facing into current and you might not be able to get any better of an angle.  In my area that I fish it has a few holes and I can wade in most of them but I am very tall some of these holes are 5ft-6ft deep, try to find holes like this, try to break down the river and find slow moving current, but smallies can be in the fast water as well.  I will never forget an encounter with a huge smallmouth, to my right was the smallie in slack water, to my left and the smallies left was fast current he was sitting in this spot ready to ambush, I tossed my spider jig way up and simply let it drift to him and he missed it(how in the world he missed it I will never know), he came down further to me and I could almost touch him when he spooked from seeing me, that smallie would have went 5#s easy and those are not a typical target fish in my little area.  I just got into river fishing few years ago and learned allot from trout fisherman so watch videos on both and it will help.

[joetomlee]

Great advice above. If the river system is moving quickly, I usually cast around 10 o' clock position and let it drift to 2 o' clock. Don't just cast aimlessly but rather find these markings that others have already suggested such as swirling eddies and even current breaks. Smallies can even be caught throughout the same types of structure that LMB relate to, such as low lying or submerged timber. Anything unusual, bass tend to relate to. Rivers tend to have (in my experience) rocky bottoms, and so be careful what you are casting as someone else mentioned already. for SMB I have been having good luck with green pumpkin tubes, weight depending on current.

[Crestliner2008]

As has been said, fish eddys, points, wing dams or bridge pilings. Anything that interrupts current flow is paramount. Get yourself a few dozen 1/8 oz. plain ball head jigs and a variety of 3" curly tailed grubs in your choice of colors. Always cast upstream, bringing your lure down current as much as possible. You'll get bit.

[aqualkinbush]

Thanks for the advice guys. I greatly appreciate it and feel like I now have a good starting point to work from.

[roadwarrior]

The smallmouth in my avatar were caught on the Tennessee River. I don't like to downsize my presentation

and I would NEVER fish with cheap hooks...NEVER. The two most important components of every fishing rig

is line and hooks. Skimp on something else if you need to, but not on either of these.  Your "Fish Of A Lifetime"

only comes around once; when opportunity knocks, you need to be prepared to answer the door.

 

 

 

 

[aqualkinbush]

Yea I'm not big on skimping when it comes to tackle I go into every trip with the mindse that I will probably lose something and that it's all part of fishing. The fiancee isn't quite on the same wave length yet, she hates it when I come home and she sees an empty spot in my box that once held a nice lure. We did however come to a fairly ok agreement recently on fishing expenses. I'm allowed 20 bucks from every pay check to spend on fishing tackle however I see fit no questions asked. Doesn't seem like a lot but its a good fit for our budget right now and I'm more than happy with it.

[Gavin]

Since your boatless, I'd look for smaller streams where you can gain access and cover some rivers miles on foot. Summer is a great time to wet wade...and big fish can be found in small creeks. Most river access points usually get hammered by the 5 gallon bucket brigade but I'm sure that you will find some honey holes if your willing to hike. Smallmouth relate to current and structure...Largemouth dont like current, but they relate to structure. Take a couple topwater lures, some mid water lures, and some stuff to dredge bottom. Good luck.

[John 33]

there is good fishing all along the Red river and where the Cumberland. The Red can be fished beyond the Brake shop and they usually will let you park in their parking lot. just let them know you are going fishing in the Red and you can fish all the way back to the old Marina. there is a path that leads back into an opening of the Old Marina and you can fish the mouth of it for Bass. Or you can go back to where the mouth of the Red and the Cumberland meets and work your way through the park down to the walking bridge that crosses over the street. But there is good fishing  on both sides and there is also access to the Red from the other side down from the Museam at the end of the street. 

 

[PABASS]

People cheap hooks do not mean less effective, o boy..   I buy cheap hooks from a local tackle shop that I would put against any, they are razor sharp, point is you don't need expensive hooks especially when you are learning, but do what you want I have never NEVER lost a fish with my "cheaper" hooks.  They are hand made by a local person no brand name but every bit as sharp as your expensive brands, this is what I was eluding to but I failed to realize not everyone has a local tackle shop.  Also he doesn't have a boat, I doubt you be able to target the same fish that RW does simply because of being land locked.  Again this is my little area but the susky is known for big smallmouth but you need to get to them and wading has its limitations.

[Jay Ell Gee]

My local streams and rivers around here are full of spotted bass and are super aggressive.

A lot of them don't see lures as often as lake fish so they attack them with reckless abandon.

T-Rigged trick worms, UV speed craws (jika, rage, or t rigged, preferably jika), small spinnerbaits (3/16 oz or less), squarebills, Zara puppy spooks, buzzbaits, flukes and especially tube grubs are all personal favorites. I also like tossing finesse jigs when I can. My buddies use rapala floating minnows and do well also.

I could do an entire river float trip with a 360 box and a few packs of plastics. Fish in small creeks and rivers rely on their reflexes to catch bait as it washes down stream. If you put it in front of them, they will eat it.

My rivers around here are full of lay downs. I throw a lot of squarebills and spinnerbaits to the slack water behind them. Holes produce well also. Don't disregard current seams, as they are a huge producer in any water.

Good luck and be safe while wading. It is advisable to bring a friend until you know the river. A few guys around here lost their lives when they walked into a section of river that was stripped of its gravel and sediment by machinery. No fish is worth dying over.

Take pics!

Joshua

[aqualkinbush]

there is good fishing all along the Red river and where the Cumberland. The Red can be fished beyond the Brake shop and they usually will let you park in their parking lot. just let them know you are going fishing in the Red and you can fish all the way back to the old Marina. there is a path that leads back into an opening of the Old Marina and you can fish the mouth of it for Bass. Or you can go back to where the mouth of the Red and the Cumberland meets and work your way through the park down to the walking bridge that crosses over the street. But there is good fishing  on both sides and there is also access to the Red from the other side down from the Museam at the end of the street. 

Thanks for the access spots I was gonna ride around this weekend and try to find some good spots to fish from.

[John 33]

Yea I'm not big on skimping when it comes to tackle I go into every trip with the mindse that I will probably lose something and that it's all part of fishing. The fiancee isn't quite on the same wave length yet, she hates it when I come home and she sees an empty spot in my box that once held a nice lure. We did however come to a fairly ok agreement recently on fishing expenses. I'm allowed 20 bucks from every pay check to spend on fishing tackle however I see fit no questions asked. Doesn't seem like a lot but its a good fit for our budget right now and I'm more than happy with it.

I went out today the fish were turning in the Red river but they just weren't biting plus we had to fight with the beaver Lol  and I think they were winning. We may try to hit it in the morning but I think we are going on post. I also fished the Marina and Trice Landing which is located on Oak st. just past the Community Police station on the right going on New Providence there is a shell station on the corner of Oak st..

[aqualkinbush]

I went out today the fish were turning in the Red river but they just weren't biting plus we had to fight with the beaver Lol  and I think they were winning. We may try to hit it in the morning but I think we are going on post. I also fished the Marina and Trice Landing which is located on Oak st. just past the Community Police station on the right going on New Providence there is a shell station on the corner of Oak st..

I caught that nice one in my profile picture out at the marina when it was still flooded on a rapala scatterrap minnow in firetiger. It gulped it and just put ont he breaks. I thought  I was hung up at first. I"ll have to look into that Trice Landing you were talking about. Have you ever fished the pond over by the marina? I pulled  a real nice 5lb LM out of there in mid april before the flooding.

[NEjitterbugger]

If the water is moving and there are smallies throw a broken back Rapala.... You will not be disappointed!

[John 33]

I caught that nice one in my profile picture out at the marina when it was still flooded on a rapala scatterrap minnow in firetiger. It gulped it and just put ont he breaks. I thought  I was hung up at first. I"ll have to look into that Trice Landing you were talking about. Have you ever fished the pond over by the marina? I pulled  a real nice 5lb LM out of there in mid april before the flooding.

What!... you talkin about that Little Pond when you first come into the park!.....dang! I thought they only stocked it with catfish. oh  yeah I'm also on Facebook and I have a little page inside there where a bunch of family and friends post pics of our fish just look for John Kindle if you want to and Ill accept as I'm not on here that much but thanks for telling me that about the Pond.

[aqualkinbush]

What!... you talkin about that Little Pond when you first come into the park!.....dang! I thought they only stocked it with catfish. oh  yeah I'm also on Facebook and I have a little page inside there where a bunch of family and friends post pics of our fish just look for John Kindle if you want to and Ill accept as I'm not on here that much but thanks for telling me that about the Pond.

No problem, it has some really nice crappie in there too. I caught the biggest crappie I've ever seen in that pond on the cast just before I hit that big bass and memorial day weekend the fiance hooked another nice size crappie. I think they stocked it with cats crappie and lmb, also I'm pretty sure fisherman coming off the river sometimes drop there catch in the pond. I'm not sure how good the bass are in there since the flooding, I have only hooked a couple and only one looked to be a good 4lb or so and I didn't land him as I got caught up on some foul line and he shook the hook. I think some of the bigger fish vacated the pond and headed out to the marina when that whole area flooded.

 

I don't really do the facebook thing too much drama.

[Glenn]

A couple of river fishing articles for you!

 

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/river_bass.html

http://www.bassresource.com/hank-parker-fishing/river-bass-fishing.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/river_bass_fishing.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/smallmouth_river_fishing.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/missouri-river-smallmouth.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/river_fishing.html

[38 Super Fan]

When you find the deep bends, be sure to fish the faster water coming into the bend and going out of the bend. I see a lot of people making the mistake of only fishing the slow deep water in the middle of the bend, it can hold fish, but usually you'll find them in the shoals leading into and out of a bend.