I Have No Idea...

[Missourifishin]

I have no idea where to start. I have never caught a smallmouth. I have never targeted smallmouth. I rarely fish in waters that have smallmouth. And I rarely fish a river.

But in the near future I may have the opportunity to fish for smallmouth in a river in southern Missouri. Where do I even begin?

[Scott F]

There is a lot you can learn about river fishing but the number one thing to look for in smallmouth streams are current breaks. If you only fished current breaks and nothing else, you'd probably have a good day.  Smallies will sit on the slow side of the breakline with their nose facing the fast water waiting for the current to bring them their meals. Most of the fish you find will not be huge so you won't need heavy tackle. A medium light spinning rod with 6-8 pound line will work with anything you're likely to catch. Senkos, light jigs with tubes, or grubs, in-line spinners and topwaters will work 90% of the time. Crankbaits for me in small rivers aren't a good choice. They don't work coming straight down stream, get easily snagged in the rocks, and often run deeper than the shallow rivers. They aren't needed.

[EvanT123]

I have no idea where to start. I have never caught a smallmouth. I have never targeted smallmouth. I rarely fish in waters that have smallmouth. And I rarely fish a river.

But in the near future I may have the opportunity to fish for smallmouth in a river in southern Missouri. Where do I even begin?

Rarely fish a river? Man you are missing out!! Imagine having to spend your whole life fighting the current. River and for that matter creek fish are some if the hardest freshwater fighters. I rarely fish for largies or lakes any more but to ME river fish seem more willing to bite if a meal presents it's self. I hope you get out there. Scottf's advice was spot on. Not much more I can think to contribute except look through the threads in this section and get out there and give it a go. Good luck!

Oh yea i don't know much about Missouri but if you can find some sort of discharge into a river a pipe or creek fish that. Also rocks; I'm a shore fisherman so I can't use electronics to find structure but I know smallies like rocks. I generally won't waste my time with a soft bottom unless there are rocks near by.

[Big Fish Rice]

Scott is right on the money. For river smallies, current breaks are great targets. The biggest misconception though, is that they only sit in the slow moving water. Smallmouth have no problems with fast current. Those are great starting points though. Senkos, tubes and creature baits/jigs will get the job done. Once the water warms up, smallies love to hit topwater too. If you get an idea of what river you'll be fishing, let us know and we can look at Google maps with you.

[Missourifishin]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Scott is right on the money. For river smallies, current breaks are great targets. The biggest misconception though, is that they only sit in the slow moving water. Smallmouth have no problems with fast current. Those are great starting points though. Senkos, tubes and creature baits/jigs will get the job done. Once the water warms up, smallies love to hit topwater too. If you get an idea of what river you'll be fishing, let us know and we can look at Google maps with you.

 

It's going to be the Gasconade River. Not sure of the exact location yet. But I think it's pretty close to where it flows into the Missouri.

[EvanT123]

A google search makes it sound like a darn nice stretch of water. I'd stick to the basics crayfish and minnow baits.

http://www.gameandfishmag.com/2010/09/30/fishing_bass-fishing_mo_0509_02/

[Missourifishin]

A google search makes it sound like a darn nice stretch of water. I'd stick to the basics crayfish and minnow baits.

http://www.gameandfishmag.com/2010/09/30/fishing_bass-fishing_mo_0509_02/

That's an awesome article! I can't believe I didn't find it myself with all the google searches I've done. Thanks.

[EvanT123]

That's an awesome article! I can't believe I didn't find it myself with all the google searches I've done. Thanks.

No problem man. Let us know how the trip goes!

[NathanW]

Couldnt tell you what to expect of your expereince, but when I transitioned from lakes to rivers I'll tell you how it went.

 

First few times I fished a river I remember how frustrating boat control was. I ended buying a bigger anchor and some drift socks, but now I dont use either. It just takes a lot of getting used to. You cant always point your bow at the target like you get to on lakes and you have to modify the way you fish. I found it was easier to cover water than to spot fish, either slipping downstream or creeping upstreem. I really struggled with the bank bite. I found that the fish relate a lot less to the bank and a lot more to the first edge of the river channel, offshore grass and rock, and as mentioned current breaks. Come post spawn they do get on 45º banks but it seems like the better fish are still found on grass and channel edges. The ladder half of the season they stack on very prominent breaks, but this half the types of breaks they are on can be very subtle, like a rock on the downstream end of a long point and typically they are not stacked... With one exception, fish cannot spawn on every bank so if you are fishing around the spawn you can find them stacked pretty good on or around the choke points or staging areas that lead into backwater sloughs (I think Randy Howell knows a thing or two about this).

 

Also, smallmouth typically prefer a smaller profile lure. Think Roboworm instead Juice Worm. Dry Creek tube instead of Flippin tube. Pointer 78 instead 100. Rattlin spook instead of super spook. 3xd instead of 6xd....You get the point.