Spring Small River Strategies.

[MGF]

I never do well on the river this time of year. Last weekend the water was 50 F and a front was moving in (when isn't it this time of year). For the second weekend in a row I fished my backside off and never got bit by a bass.

 

In the past I sort of thought that I just didn't pick things apart well enough in the early season high fast water. I've been more careful this year. While I've only been out twice I've both covered a bunch of water and anchored on obvious structure picking it apart with numerous baits from different angles. I caught one small pike on a square bill.

 

I don't even know what else to try. If the bass are in this part of the river (I'm starting to think they aren't) then I clearly don't know how. Most years I get skunked once or twice in the early season and then just wait for warmer lower water.

 

Any and a;ll suggestions welcome. LOL

[Finessegenics]

Not sure how big of a river you’re fishing or how strong the current was but for river fishing I find the winter and pre-spawn are quite similar. Similar in the sense that fish won’t be in the current so I’d say they are in the slowest moving part of the river.

 

I’d also look in flooded creeks off the main river (if you can get your boat in there) since all the food is being pushed into them. I know that in muddy water smallmouth seem to use the shore as a point of reference and it’s crazy how shallow they can be caught sometimes.

[FryDog62]

Stay small and subtle... Try slower moving, deeper pools on sunny days.  Sometimes I have better luck on smaller lures like a Beetle Spin or a Chatterbait Micro.  

[MGF]

It's the Tippecanoe river in Pulaski county Indiana. I don't know how to describe the size except to discuss depth.

 

At summer water levels you can walk the whole river and not find anything deeper than 4 or 5 ft. I only know a couple of places that would be over my head.  In the summer it's mostly a one way float because you can't motor up river very far. I keep oars in the boat because there are places where I can't even use the electric motor. When the water is "low" we sometimes have to get out and walk certain areas.

 

This time of year you can add a couple of feet to that and I can motor almost anyplace. Down river about 20 miles (by land) there's a reservoir. I am starting to think that there just isn't enough water up here for the bass to winter when they could cruise down to the lake and find MUCH deeper water. Is that reasonable? I haven't fished down there because there aren't any public launches. If they were open there is a marina where you can purchase access.

 

1 minute ago, FryDog62 said:

Stay small and subtle... Try slower moving, deeper pools on sunny days.  Sometimes I have better luck on smaller lures like a Beetle Spin or a Chatterbait Micro.  

Only been out twice so far but I have ned and neko rigged the daylights out of all the "slack" water I could find.

 

That's not to say that I was there at the right time or the right day but you would think I'd hit on something over the years.

 

In the last two trip, I have focused on slack water and current seams. I've used ned, neko, my normal 1/4 or 3/8 skirted jig, jerk bait, tube and and a square bill. I've also drifted some areas where I catch summer fish even though there isn't any obvious reason they would be there now.

[Captain America]

In rivers I primarily use 4" curly tails on a jig head. Partly because I am cheap, and partly because you can fish it slow, fast or anywhere in between. I would keep looking for current breaks. major ones or more gradual transitions. Fish will relate to those breaks whether they are feeding on the faster side, or the slower side. Bottom contact is important as crayfish are beginning to become active. Rocky bottom helps too. This time of year, I usually toss 45 degrees up stream and let my bait fall on a semi slack line. Once it hits the bottom i hop it back. Let the fish tell you how fast to retrieve. I have been doing well moving slower up here -- bites coming after 10+ second pauses. If they want it fast they will let you know when you by slamming your bait when you were not expecting it.

[Finessegenics]

34 minutes ago, MGF said:

I am starting to think that there just isn't enough water up here for the bass to winter when they could cruise down to the lake and find MUCH deeper water. Is that reasonable?

That sounds like the problem. With the rising water and warming temperatures I do think they should be moving up in no time. Shallow water warms up the quickest so if you have a few consecutive sunny days, the late afternoon might be a good time to go fishing since the water will be at its warmest for that day. 

[Captain America]

1 minute ago, Finessegenics said:

That sounds like the problem. With the rising water and warming temperatures I do think they should be moving up in no time. Shallow water warms up the quickest so if you have a few consecutive sunny days, the late afternoon might be a good time to go fishing since the water will be at its warmest for that day. 

+1 looks like warm weather from here on out. Our region had a big cold front come through, but fish should be moving up and getting real aggressive real soon.

[FryDog62]

1 hour ago, MGF said:

It's the Tippecanoe river in Pulaski county Indiana. I don't know how to describe the size except to discuss depth.

 

At summer water levels you can walk the whole river and not find anything deeper than 4 or 5 ft. I only know a couple of places that would be over my head.  In the summer it's mostly a one way float because you can't motor up river very far. I keep oars in the boat because there are places where I can't even use the electric motor. When the water is "low" we sometimes have to get out and walk certain areas.

 

This time of year you can add a couple of feet to that and I can motor almost anyplace. Down river about 20 miles (by land) there's a reservoir. I am starting to think that there just isn't enough water up here for the bass to winter when they could cruise down to the lake and find MUCH deeper water. Is that reasonable? I haven't fished down there because there aren't any public launches. If they were open there is a marina where you can purchase access.

 

Only been out twice so far but I have ned and neko rigged the daylights out of all the "slack" water I could find.

 

That's not to say that I was there at the right time or the right day but you would think I'd hit on something over the years.

 

In the last two trip, I have focused on slack water and current seams. I've used ned, neko, my normal 1/4 or 3/8 skirted jig, jerk bait, tube and and a square bill. I've also drifted some areas where I catch summer fish even though there isn't any obvious reason they would be there now.

In the early part of the year, I do think targeting the deeper pools with slacker water is key.  Best are the areas where the fish winter, or nearby pools as they start to venture out.  
 

I also think early in the year its best to throw more horizontal moving lures (Beetle Spins, curly tail grubs, etc) because the baitfish are starting to venture out and are moving too.  
 

Later on in late spring and into summer when bait becomes more target specific around cover, rocks, laydowns, current seams, then switch to more vertical/target-oriented presentations like a Wacky, Ned, Neko.  

[MGF]

Interesting point about the horizontal baits. I did use some but it wasn't my main focus.

 

It probably won't happen this year but next year I want to try down river where it's bigger in the early season. I've read that smallmouth are very "migratory" but I haven't really tried to track them.

[FryDog62]

25 minutes ago, MGF said:

Interesting point about the horizontal baits. I did use some but it wasn't my main focus.

 

It probably won't happen this year but next year I want to try down river where it's bigger in the early season. I've read that smallmouth are very "migratory" but I haven't really tried to track them.

They will migrate quite a bit throughout the year but very gradually until the water really warms.  I think your instincts are right and they are most likely in the wider, deeper stretches of the river right now... 

[gim]

Never had good luck in rivers for brownies in the spring myself either.  Generally, I don't even try because the water is still way too high/murky.  The couple of times I did do it I looked for the warmest slack water I could find and ran into a few there using a slow presentation.

 

The river I almost exclusively fish peaks with action in July and August, usually when the lakes become tougher.  They are aggressive and hungry in the river.  I try to use mostly topwaters but a shallow crank/wakebait works good too.  And rarely do I run into anyone else fishing.  By Labor Day the bite starts to fade again but the lake action picks up so I move back to the lakes.

[MGF]

That sounds like my experience but I sure would like to figure it out.

[Ogandrews]

I have had some great success early in the season. The river I fish the most is a shallow fast river that is too shallow for anything but kayaks and canoes. Right around when the fishing season opens up I will usually get into a pretty good bite right below riffles and feeder creeks. It’s not usually as good as when the water warms up, but I can usually get into them pretty consistently. Mostly they are in slower deeper water that has current near by this time of year, but not in their true wintering holes anymore. My number one bait this time of year would be a small keitech on a 1/8-1/4 oz jig head depending on the depth and current. Another bonus is these spots usually have some really aggressive post spawn walleyes, although they are at their skinniest of the year they are aggressive and usually get some of the biggest fish of the year by length this way.

[NYWayfarer]

I fish for perch, Fallfish and chubs early spring. If I get none of these species then I know there are no Smallmouth around. 
 

If those species are around I fish a Rebel Hellgrammite lure or a Nikko Hellgrammite on a Z-man Shroomz jighead. 

[soflabasser]

Try fishing with a paddle tail swimbait near the bottom and around structure.

[kayaking_kev]

This is a puzzle I have been trying to solve also. My rivers are even shallower that only kayaks and canoe can navigate and this time of year with all the rain, the flow makes it hard to fish. I always catch something, but sometimes it's just a rock bass this time of year and nothing like it is when it warms up a little. I mostly fish a section that is between two dams that are about 20 miles apart and although there might be a few deeper holes, it's pretty shallow for the most part. I haven't actually fished the whole 20 mile stretch between the two dams, but it just seems like the smallies aren't there. If they are they aren't biting or they must really be on top of each other in what deeper holes there are.

 

I don't want to hijack the thread, but do you think bass are able to navigate through these dams at all? They aren't the highest damns, maybe 4 ft at it's highest, but I guess when the water is really high it might be pretty easy for them to navigate.

[Ogandrews]

13 hours ago, kayaking_kev said:

This is a puzzle I have been trying to solve also. My rivers are even shallower that only kayaks and canoe can navigate and this time of year with all the rain, the flow makes it hard to fish. I always catch something, but sometimes it's just a rock bass this time of year and nothing like it is when it warms up a little. I mostly fish a section that is between two dams that are about 20 miles apart and although there might be a few deeper holes, it's pretty shallow for the most part. I haven't actually fished the whole 20 mile stretch between the two dams, but it just seems like the smallies aren't there. If they are they aren't biting or they must really be on top of each other in what deeper holes there are.

 

I don't want to hijack the thread, but do you think bass are able to navigate through these dams at all? They aren't the highest damns, maybe 4 ft at it's highest, but I guess when the water is really high it might be pretty easy for them to navigate.

They would definitely be able to get over a 4ft dam. One thing I wanted to add to this thread was that I have found there is a different correlation between water temp and current. The warmer the water gets, the faster of current the smallmouth like to be around. With the water temps this time of year still bring somewhat cold but warming up, the fish will be starting to move closer to the edges of holes and bases of riffles.

[MGF]

I never really thought of fishing for chubs. Obviously I can sometimes see other minnows or even shad but I don't recall seeing those larger chubs except when bass spit them out in the boat.

 

On my river there's a reservoir 20 miles or so down so these fish can travel a long way and get to some very different environments. The difficult part is river access down there...nothing public and I haven't looked into buying access from one of the marina's on the lake. 

 

Going out today. Things have been warming up a little so we'll see.

[MGF]

We made it out today. The water was 57 F in at the ramp. We fished a part of the river we don't often fish and with the water "up" it's not as easy for me to read the river. Anyway I was at it for probably 5 hours and caught 3 smallmouth. None of them were anything to write home about but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. LOL

 

One was caught on a swim jig on the bottom is a hole that was actually pretty impressive for this river and next to a sand bar...all below a little island.

 

The other two were both on a tr tube and at the mouth of creeks (two different creeks. Both creeks had a little bit of flow into the river. The creeks were kind of muddy. We had some rain a couple of days ago.

 

All these fish were hugging the bottom and biting more like a crappie. You know, you're dragging the bottom and it just gets heavier and maybe eventually makes a movement that lets you know it's a fish.  

 

It seems to me like these fish are wanting warming weather just like I am. LOL