Fishing In Moderate Current

[Balshy Fishing]

I fish in the Swatara Creek on occasion in Pennsylvania. The current moves at a moderate pace and the bottom makeup is all rock. I am wondering what will excel in this?

 

I throw senko's often and i'll get bites but I'm trying to figure out what else I can work across the current and try and cause strikes. I have plenty of plastics; I feel like those are the best?

 

Jig's get hung up for me often but I also don't know what GOOD jigs to purchase. i have one of the small KVD Jigs and a pack of the cheap 1/8 BPS jigs that can bend out to avoid getting snagged. Any help would be awesome

[papajoe222]

Do you have much experience with the creek or at least a section of it?  Is a quartering cast your best option in the given current, or have you been using a different approach? Lastly, are you looking to continue with soft plastics, or possibly expanding to also using hard baits? With the rock bottom a crank similar to a Rebel Craw  could be a killer an will avoid many hang ups  when bringing it down current. Another option with a crank is to bring it slowly upstream and let the current drive it down into holding areas.  That presentation can bring about some violent strikes as the lure is approaching the fish from behind and will startle a resting fish.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Hard baits are a good suggestion. The trick on bottom bouncing is finding just the right weight that will drift with the current without hanging up so you really need to experiment. You're going to lose some baits no matter what. If the water's not too deep, look into a slip float  rig like we use steelhead fishing. 

[F14A-B]

^^ That's Exactly Right, in river fishing you are absolutely going to loose baits, plain and simple, cut and dried...

[roadwarrior]

Fishing the Tennessee River is very similar. I have had better luck with lighter jigs,

specifically Siebert outdoors 3/8 oz Big O/ Rage Tail Craw. Another suggestion that 

has been working lately is the 3" BPS (skinny) tube, #71. I rig the tube with an internal

weight, weedless.

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/141661-pickwick-719-720/

[smalljaw67]

I'm from that area and I fish the Susquehanna river a lot, I know where the Swatara creek flows into the Susky at as I fished it a lot. I make my own jigs and I use finesse type jigs when the water is up, the fish go to tha bank at that time and you can fish a jig in an eddy or in slack water pools very effectively.  Try 3" Senkos on a ball head jig, in fact there is a bait specifically for this, it is from River Rock Baits and it is called a PC> Ringer. It is a little more slender than the 3" Senko, just a tad bit but when used on a 1/16oz ball head it is a deadly combination.  The key to fishing the plastic in the current is the right weight as DVT suggested but when I was out last week the 1/16oz with the small stick worm was the ticket for numbers, bigger fish came from a Super Spook Jr. and a buzzbait.

[Balshy Fishing]

I fish the susquehanna often from Southgate up to Bainbridge 

[bigbill]

River and stream bass fishing I use crawfish crankbaits like the smaller rebels. There easy to use and they float.

I also use spin flys like panther Martin's fly,(tail), Joe's fly short striker and the bass in lines. Or mepps #3 Anglia dressed.

Bass in current are always hungry.