Northern guys who fish rivers

[Fishinthefish]

I'm going to spend all day tomorrow fishing for small mouth, roughly 8 hours over a few locations along the fox river. We've had three days of 60 degree weather, the ice has been thawed for four weeks and tomorrows the fourth day in the sixties so I'm hoping we have had enough of a warm up to make the fish start moving, specifically the small mouth. I'll most likely be faced with a mild river current, stained water, with three feet of visibility. My question is what would you guys spend your time throwing in these conditions? And how would you fish what you throw?

[Turkey sandwich]

Well, I'd probably look for fish beginning their pre-spawn early since its been such a funny year weather-wise.  Fishing jerkbaits and (if the water is up into the high 40s) crayfish immitations along any changes in structure moving shallow from wintering holes would be my first choice to find early pre-spawn fish.  If the water is still cold and the crayfish haven't ventured back out yet, I'd probably start working deeper on those transition areas and wouldn't rule out dead sticking weighted Senkos or flukes on draggin heads.  Hopefully the water is warmer and you aren't stuck dead sticking on the bottom.  I hate it, but when the water is cold or fish react to fronts, it works.  

[OddChase]

Heard reports of fellas catching smallies in central Indiana. Not sure what they were using but they are active! 

[Spankey]

If possible let us know what the water temp is. I would not hesitate throwing a rattle trap/rattlin rap. Good luck, good fishing.

[mrmacwvu1]

jerkbaits and inline spinners

slower slack water senkos and jigs in craw colors

[Crestliner2008]

Jerkbaits cast to eddys definitely. Might try a Silver Buddy in the deeper pools. If all else fails, you can always count on a wacky rigged Senko!

[Munkin]

Depends on the water temp and whether it has been warming or not? For river fishing it is all about wintering holes and their transition from them. Try to find the wintering holes then concentrate on the areas the fish could move to without expending much energy. An example would be a bass is not going to swim from a 15' hole a 1/4 mile up a flat but will rise into the shallow water of the bank beside its hole.

And as for lures 33-39 degree water I would use hair jigs and 2.5" tubes in natural colors. For 39-45 degree water I have had luck with; finesse jigs, shad raps, slow rolled spinnerbaits, suspending crankbaits, and subtle creature baits. Once the water hits 45 degrees I have caught them on everything including topwaters so have at it.

Another thing I have noticed is a shorter bulkier bait works better earlier in the year than a longer skinnier one which is the exact opposite of the summer.

 

Allen

[Scott F]

Guys have been doing very well with big smallies on the Fox. Swim jigs, and jerkbaits have both been catching fish, size and numbers. Water temps are near 50 which means go time. Fish near current and near deep water.

[Fishinthefish]

I've been hitting everywhere I can reach from the bank for a couple mile stretch, over the past couple of days. Lost plenty of jerkbaits and haven't gotten a single bite yet. I've started fishing weedless rigged flukes like jerkbaits at this point to stop losing some more.

[smalljaw67]

If you are losing jerkbaits you need to use ones that don't dive so deep. Also, find slack or slow moving water, the fish will not be in areas of current. Since you're fishing from the bank, try to find eddies about 10' to 20' off the bank but you need to be near areas the fish are moving to and from. Munkin gave you great advice but it doesn't help if you don't know what kind of water temp you have, because right now the water temp is going to be really important to where the fish are and what they are doing.

[Fishworktaxes]

This guy is obviously fishing on the Fox River for Smallies. It doesn't look like spring but usually the smallies aren't too far away from where they spend the spring to the summer or fall. After the whole chicken thing he lands a tank smallie. I'd try to figure out his spots.

 

[Nick S]

On 3/24/2016 at 0:33 PM, Fishworktaxes said:

This guy is obviously fishing on the Fox River for Smallies. It doesn't look like spring but usually the smallies aren't too far away from where they spend the spring to the summer or fall. After the whole chicken thing he lands a tank smallie. I'd try to figure out his spots.

 

Try to figure out his spots? How about putting in the effort to find spots for himself, and just because you fish the same spots doesn't mean you will catch fish. 

 

 

On 3/10/2016 at 11:58 PM, Fishinthefish said:

I've been hitting everywhere I can reach from the bank for a couple mile stretch, over the past couple of days. Lost plenty of jerkbaits and haven't gotten a single bite yet. I've started fishing weedless rigged flukes like jerkbaits at this point to stop losing some more.

Put the jerkbaits away for now and get yourself some mister twister weighted keeper hooks in 1/8oz and 3/16oz. Get some erie darters, grubs, creature baits, craws, or whatever your favorite soft plastic is. The weighted keeper hooks are very snag resistant, and are perfect for shallow snaggy rivers like the fox. Cover a lot of water and hit every spot that looks good. Look for current seams and slack water areas. Toss your bait upstream into the current and work it back through the seam into the slack water. Just keep at it and  I guarantee you will start catching some smallies. 

[Catch 22]

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 8:45 PM, Munkin said:

Depends on the water temp and whether it has been warming or not? For river fishing it is all about wintering holes and their transition from them. Try to find the wintering holes then concentrate on the areas the fish could move to without expending much energy. An example would be a bass is not going to swim from a 15' hole a 1/4 mile up a flat but will rise into the shallow water of the bank beside its hole.

And as for lures 33-39 degree water I would use hair jigs and 2.5" tubes in natural colors. For 39-45 degree water I have had luck with; finesse jigs, shad raps, slow rolled spinnerbaits, suspending crankbaits, and subtle creature baits. Once the water hits 45 degrees I have caught them on everything including topwaters so have at it.

Another thing I have noticed is a shorter bulkier bait works better earlier in the year than a longer skinnier one which is the exact opposite of the summer.

Everything he said^^^^^

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 8:45 PM, Munkin said:

 

Allen