Things I've learned this fall. Novice

[jitterbug127]

I have been fishing the river this fall for the first time in a long time, and I'm surprised by how many things I have leaned to far. Most of this will be obvious to the seasoned Fisherman, but experimentation and paying attention to what works has helped. 

 

The ned rig just catches fish. It gets caught up more on everything that i'd ever have expected, but it is a great lure to catch multispecies of fish. 

Smallies love tubes. I hadn't used tubes much before this fall, but I've had some nice bites with tubes. I really enjoy fishing them. 

I like really fast action rods. I have several spinning rods, and the one i like the most has the fastest tip. I am looking at a medium light/extra fast tipped rod today. 

I haven't found a use for moderate action spinning rods yet. If im cranking im using my BC. They are also difficult to cast because they have so much bend that I feel like i have to chuck a 1/16 oz lure a mile. 

Fish are in current. I pretty much have been spot fishing and just going for the moving water. The fish seem to be there. 

[Spankey]

Tubes, grubs……that’s smallmouth fishing. If you do any light t-rigging of curly tail or straight tail worms, keep some of the ones that get damaged aside. Cut off the damaged bit of head section and jig head rig the midsection and tail and fish that. This has been going on long before the term NED rig ever came about. 
 

I’m a crank-a-holic on the river. Over the years I’ve found some nice moderate action rods in casting and spinning rods that make crankbait fishing a treat. I fish 3/16 - 1/2 oz. baits with 3/8 probably the most common. You have to have a bit slower action for castability and shock absorption. You know even the smaller smallies hit hard and fight hard until you have him lipped. 
 

River fishing for Smallies can be done pretty consistently with a basic selection of lures. I know I’ve made it more difficult for myself at times by getting hung up trying some of the newer latest and greatest. But much of the time I’m gonna fish time proven and old school baits for them. 
 

Glad to see another river rat on here. 

[jitterbug127]

4 minutes ago, Spankey said:

Tubes, grubs……that’s smallmouth fishing. If you do any light t-rigging of curly tail or straight tail worms, keep some of the ones that get damaged aside. Cut off the damaged bit of head section and jig head rig the midsection and tail and fish that. This has been going on long before the term NED rig ever came about. 
 

I’m a crank-a-holic on the river. Over the years I’ve found some nice moderate action rods in casting and spinning rods that make crankbait fishing a treat. I fish 3/16 - 1/2 oz. baits with 3/8 probably the most common. You have to have a bit slower action for castability and shock absorption. You know even the smaller smallies hit hard and fight hard until you have him lipped. 
 

River fishing for Smallies can be done pretty consistently with a basic selection of lures. I know I’ve made it more difficult for myself at times by getting hung up trying some of the newer latest and greatest. But much of the time I’m gonna fish time proven and old school baits for them. 
 

Glad to see another river rat on here. 

 

I went though my tackle box, and made a little box for the river. I think I could pretty much fish it all the time and rarely need anything else. 

 

Senkos, Tubes, Grubs, neds

Inline spinners, white spinnerbait, 

square bills, spook, whopper plopper, jerkbaits

 

This is what I put in there off the top of my head. I'm sure there is a few more things, but that's pretty much it. This will grow overtime, but reading these threads this is where I started. 

[Spankey]

I’m willing to bet I could go to the river for smallies, fish for 4 hours and bring a zip lock bag with stuff and have more than enough to fish with. 
 

I like to try different color patterns. I have my favorites and have manufacturers that I like fishing with. I’m not gonna say smallies will hit anything but I’ve bought some color patterns over the years that are pretty strange compared to a natural pattern. Caught smallies with them. 
 

I say have fun with it. Fish what you have and new things you try, fish hard. 

[JWall14]

4 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

I have been fishing the river this fall for the first time in a long time, and I'm surprised by how many things I have leaned to far. Most of this will be obvious to the seasoned Fisherman, but experimentation and paying attention to what works has helped. 

 

The ned rig just catches fish. It gets caught up more on everything that i'd ever have expected, but it is a great lure to catch multispecies of fish. 

Smallies love tubes. I hadn't used tubes much before this fall, but I've had some nice bites with tubes. I really enjoy fishing them. 

I like really fast action rods. I have several spinning rods, and the one i like the most has the fastest tip. I am looking at a medium light/extra fast tipped rod today. 

I haven't found a use for moderate action spinning rods yet. If im cranking im using my BC. They are also difficult to cast because they have so much bend that I feel like i have to chuck a 1/16 oz lure a mile. 

Fish are in current. I pretty much have been spot fishing and just going for the moving water. The fish seem to be there. 

Not sure where in the country you are but you will likely find soon that the fish start pulling out of the river. They will pull as far downstream as they can. If you are on with this “fall migration” it can be amazing!

[gim]

2 hours ago, Spankey said:

River fishing for Smallies can be done pretty consistently with a basic selection of lures.

When I fish a small river in midsummer, I bring two setups.  One is a topwater or wake bait on a BC, and the other is either a tube, ned, or wacky on a spinner.  When fish swipe and miss the first one, I cast right back there and often catch that same fish with the plastic presentation.

 

One small tackle box with a few of the components required for these setups.  That's all.

[jitterbug127]

 

47 minutes ago, gimruis said:

When I fish a small river in midsummer, I bring two setups.  One is a topwater or wake bait on a BC, and the other is either a tube, ned, or wacky on a spinner.  When fish swipe and miss the first one, I cast right back there and often catch that same fish with the plastic presentation.

 

One small tackle box with a few of the components required for these setups.  That's all.

I started another thread about this recently. I have been deciding on which/how many set ups to take with me in my small kayak. I have a perception sound 10.5, so I don't have tons of extra room. I am 100% sure i will be taking my m/f spinning rod. I use it for so much stuff its hard to think of not having it. The other 1-2 set ups are still up in the air. Honestly I could just take the spinning rod and be fine. 

[Spankey]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

When I fish a small river in midsummer, I bring two setups.  One is a topwater or wake bait on a BC, and the other is either a tube, ned, or wacky on a spinner.  When fish swipe and miss the first one, I cast right back there and often catch that same fish with the plastic presentation.

 

One small tackle box with a few of the components required for these setups.  That's all.

 

17 minutes ago, jitterbug127 said:

 

I started another thread about this recently. I have been deciding on which/how many set ups to take with me in my small kayak. I have a perception sound 10.5, so I don't have tons of extra room. I am 100% sure i will be taking my m/f spinning rod. I use it for so much stuff its hard to think of not having it. The other 1-2 set ups are still up in the air. Honestly I could just take the spinning rod and be fine. 

I know I could go down to the river with a lot less (rods, tackle) but I’m use to having my rods layed out the way I want them. I like having my rods rigged up a head of time. Maybe not with a piece of plastic on them but for a t-rig, split shot, drop shot etc. I generally will do better with the river smallies if I keep it simple.  As in bait presentation. But admittedly I do get off track throwing newer soft and hard baits where you have to get past the new learning curve on them and fish them to their potential and try to build confidence in them. I don’t mind falling back to my old school baits. I become real narrow minded with my bait selections this time of year. My Bigger fish, PB’s have come this time of year. Not my time to pick up and throw some new pony people are talking about or ranting and raving about. Fall seems like a short window. 

[Blue Raider Bob]

I have caught some lately on a plastic craw, both T-rigged and exposed hook like a Ned. The exposed hook gets hung often but I seem to get bit more, maybe because it's a smaller presentation. I like the Zman Punch craw in 4" on a 1/8 oz Ned head in current. The Spots and Smallies like it too!

[gim]

52 minutes ago, Spankey said:

I generally will do better with the river smallies if I keep it simple.

This is one of the only situations I encounter all season where I am not fishing out of my bass boat.  I float this river in a small aluminum jon boat, just going with the current from point A to point B.  The average depth is anywhere from 3 inches to 3 feet deep, with about 4 deeper holes in the 7 or 8 foot range mixed in.  Quite honestly, I think pretty much any lure would work.  I just have to hit the target.  Its about the size of a dinner plate.

 

I fished it twice this season and we did good on numbers, but poor on quality.  Biggest brownie I caught was 17 inches.  Tons of 12-14 inch fish.  We've had a terrible drought here the past 2 seasons now so I think that has played a role on big fish numbers.

[Spankey]

A lot of good soft craws out there. We all seem to fall for one type or another. That must mean something. 

[Jar11591]

On 10/4/2022 at 3:51 AM, jitterbug127 said:

The ned rig just catches fish. It gets caught up more on everything that i'd ever have expected, but it is a great lure to catch multispecies of fish.

After doing a bunch of river fishing and the river gobbling up all my ned heads, I switch to the Z-Man football Ned heads. Game changer! Started getting snagged way less. I definitely recommend them if you throw ned rigs in a snaggy river. 
 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Finesse_Football_Nedz_Jighead_3pk/descpage-ZMFTN.html

[Blue Raider Bob]

15 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

After doing a bunch of river fishing and the river gobbling up all my ned heads, I switch to the Z-Man football Ned heads. Game changer! Started getting snagged way less. I definitely recommend them if you throw ned rigs in a snaggy river. 
 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Finesse_Football_Nedz_Jighead_3pk/descpage-ZMFTN.html

What weight do you prefer for river fishing/current? also what MPH current? I fish big rivers in .5 MPH to 1.5 MPH. Anything faster than that is uncomfortable for me so I move to slower water.

[TnRiver46]

27 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

What weight do you prefer for river fishing/current? also what MPH current? I fish big rivers in .5 MPH to 1.5 MPH. Anything faster than that is uncomfortable for me so I move to slower water.

I like a big ole Texas rig when it’s flowing fast , you don’t have to force the ned 

[Jar11591]

47 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

What weight do you prefer for river fishing/current? also what MPH current? I fish big rivers in .5 MPH to 1.5 MPH. Anything faster than that is uncomfortable for me so I move to slower water.

I fish 1/8 and 3/16oz in the rivers, but I don’t fish current often. The sections of river I primarily fish are very slow moving. If I do fish current I switch to a heavy Texas rig for bottom contact like @TnRiver46.

[PaulVE64]

On 10/4/2022 at 9:56 AM, Spankey said:

Tubes, grubs……that’s smallmouth fishing. If you do any light t-rigging of curly tail or straight tail worms, keep some of the ones that get damaged aside. Cut off the damaged bit of head section and jig head rig the midsection and tail and fish that. This has been going on long before the term NED rig ever came about. 
 

I’m a crank-a-holic on the river. Over the years I’ve found some nice moderate action rods in casting and spinning rods that make crankbait fishing a treat. I fish 3/16 - 1/2 oz. baits with 3/8 probably the most common. You have to have a bit slower action for castability and shock absorption. You know even the smaller smallies hit hard and fight hard until you have him lipped. 
 

River fishing for Smallies can be done pretty consistently with a basic selection of lures. I know I’ve made it more difficult for myself at times by getting hung up trying some of the newer latest and greatest. But much of the time I’m gonna fish time proven and old school baits for them. 
 

Glad to see another river rat on here. 

I have to ask for a crankbait spinning rod recommendation.

I'm using a 6ft med light moderate ugly stick right now but it's too slow for me. I cant keep smallies pinned on it.

[jitterbug127]

11 minutes ago, PaulVE64 said:

I have to ask for a crankbait spinning rod recommendation.

I'm using a 6ft med light moderate ugly stick right now but it's too slow for me. I cant keep smallies pinned on it.

Personally I’d get a baitcaster for cranking. You can use spinning gear for crankbaits, but I think you’ll find the bc to be superior in almost every way for crankbaits. Longer rod also is super helpful to pin fish and make long casts. More leverage 

[Spankey]

12 hours ago, PaulVE64 said:

I have to ask for a crankbait spinning rod recommendation.

I'm using a 6ft med light moderate ugly stick right now but it's too slow for me. I cant keep smallies pinned on it.

Spinning Rods I can highly suggest the Abu Garcia Veritas “Winch”. 7 foot, medium, moderate action. St Croix Eyecon Series 7 foot, medium, moderate action. Both of these rods are meant for crankbaits. 
 

I’m not suggesting your CB hooks are not sharp but check them. Especially on your more productive baits. 
 

I have to agree with you that Ugly Stiks are soft. Too soft for my likings except for their UL rods to fish for trout. 
 

Both of those rods above are at about $100. Don’t break the bank but I don’t feel comfortable spending your money. 

[Spankey]

Fish loss happens. To you, me and the pros. It happens and it hurts sometimes because you did your job trying to keep pressure, good line, hooks, drag, only to loose a decent fish. There are those time when bass bite real short and get hooked with only a solo hook of multiple trebles on your crankbait.  He gets to jumping and twisting off he comes. 

[hpbcrillo]

On 10/5/2022 at 7:20 AM, Jar11591 said:

After doing a bunch of river fishing and the river gobbling up all my ned heads, I switch to the Z-Man football Ned heads. Game changer! Started getting snagged way less. I definitely recommend them if you throw ned rigs in a snaggy river. 
 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Finesse_Football_Nedz_Jighead_3pk/descpage-ZMFTN.html

What about a football head with a swinging hook?  have you tried those?  Do you think they would be less snaggy than the standard ned head jig?  Thank you!

[Jar11591]

52 minutes ago, hpbcrillo said:

What about a football head with a swinging hook?  have you tried those?  Do you think they would be less snaggy than the standard ned head jig?  Thank you!

Don’t throw swing jig heads often but they should be much less snaggy than a standard ned head. I think anything is less snaggy than a standard ned.