What baits to use?

[PennBass]

Took a trip to a nearby river the other day to check it out, and didn't have much luck. I was positioned between two bridges about 40 feet apart.

The bridge further upriver had very loud construction going on, and half the river is blocked by a rock pile that makes a calm spot, and there was a school of small bluegill gathered around an area where a small stream was flowing from the rock pile. The bridge downriver has 3 pylons in slow current with a depth of around 6 feet in the middle. 30 feet downriver from the second bridge there's some weeds that extend to the surface. 

Rocky bottom, visibility isn't all that great. A few feet from the bank, it drops off from 1 feet to around 3 feet. Everywhere around the banks you can see little crayfish ~2 inches long crawling around. 

The only fish I caught was on a gold and black jerkbait fished fast, but a firetiger jerkbait I had tied on was bitten off quite fast, maybe by a musky or something. I tried throwing jigs and wacky worms towards the pylon but didn't even have a bite. 

Any suggestions on how I should approach this area next time?

 

[Scott F]

21 minutes ago, PennBass said:

I tried throwing jigs and wacky worms towards the pylon but didn't even have a bite. 

Any suggestions on how I should approach this area next time.

 

Exactly how close to the pylon is "toward"? Your jig or wacky worm should have been drifted right up against the concrete, as close as you can get it. The area immediately down stream of the pylon where the water swirls forming an eddy is also a prime spot. Where the faster current is moving past the "calm spot" is called a break line and the fish will hang out just on the calm side of the break usually facing upstream. If you are randomly casting the open water, in a river, you won't get a lot of bites. It takes a lot of energy for a bass to hold himself in current so they often sit in the calm area right behind a rock, log or bridge piling. Always look for the calm spot, also known as an eddy, as close to faster moving water as you can find. If deeper water is nearby, that makes the spot that much better.

[PennBass]

23 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Exactly how close to the pylon is "toward"? Your jig or wacky worm should have been drifted right up against the concrete, as close as you can get it. 

I was casting so that my lures were scraping the concrete haha. Thanks for the great advice!

[Choporoz]

27 minutes ago, PennBass said:

I was casting so that my lures were scraping the concrete haha. Thanks for the great advice!

Scraping the concrete with a cast isn't the same thing as putting a lure alongside the concrete at the middle and bottom.  Current, wind blown line, pendulum swing, boat movement....all can negatively affect where your lure ends up.  The advice above from Scott F is solid.  If actually fishing the pylons, I'd first be trying jig, shaky head, ned...something along those lines.

[Mike L]

1 hour ago, Scott F said:

Exactly how close to the pylon is "toward"? Your jig or wacky worm should have been drifted right up against the concrete, as close as you can get it. The area immediately down stream of the pylon where the water swirls forming an eddy is also a prime spot. Where the faster current is moving past the "calm spot" is called a break line and the fish will hang out just on the calm side of the break usually facing upstream. If you are randomly casting the open water, in a river, you won't get a lot of bites. It takes a lot of energy for a bass to hold himself in current so they often sit in the calm area right behind a rock, log or bridge piling. Always look for the calm spot, also known as an eddy, as close to faster moving water as you can find. If deeper water is nearby, that makes the spot that much better.

Ditto

 

 

[thebillsman]

We probably fish some of the same waters. I've had a lot of luck with chartreuse squarebills and bright jerkbaits this year.