smallmouthbeginner Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 I have only fished for most of last year and I am about to stock up for this up coming fishing season. The only problem is, I don't know what baits to get for this river that I fish from the bank. I am stocking up my lures for the spring. There are rock piles close to the bank and a some sort of log under the water. I was wondering, since I basically only fish from this spot on the river, what lures, techniques should I use to fish this river?? Quote
Super User Sam Posted January 28, 2008 Super User Posted January 28, 2008 Welcome aboard. Glad you joined us. Be sure to read the articles on this site. They are excellent. And post your "location" questions within the board where you reside, such as the Southeast, West, etc. The guys will want to have some clarifications before they start offering advice so please add to your post, such as: What part of the country is the river? How deep is the water? Is the water clear, stained or dirty? Is this a tidal river? How fast is the current? Can you wade out or are you secluded to the bank? How high up on the bank will you be? Do both large and smallmouth bass live in the river? What time of day do you fish the most? You can throw jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastic worms rigged Texas style, wacky style or shaky head style for largemouths in addition to creature baits and tubes. You can throw grubs, tubes, hair jigs and Rat-L-Traps for smallmouths. The current will also dictate the weight of your baits. Early in the AM or late in the PM you can throw a buzzbait, trick worm or a topwater to entice a strike. Since you have rocks and wood in the area there should be fish holding within the structure and cover on the down-current side which is the area where the water is not flowing. The fish will be facing into the current, looking for their next snack. You can fish with an ultra light rig (4 pound line and a small grub on a small jig head fished with a spinning reel) for all of the types of fish in the river. The river's current will dictate if this is an acceptable technique to use. Read, read and read some more. And keep those questions coming. Quote
smallmouthbeginner Posted January 28, 2008 Author Posted January 28, 2008 I live in Pennsylvania and that is where the river is located. The water is about 8 feet regular depth but can get to be as deep as 15 feet in the middle of the river. The Schuylkill river water is very murky. The current, there usually is none, is slow at the spot that i fish. But eventually on those rainy days the current is there. I only fish from the bank, I do not have waders and because of the depth of the river, wading is not recommended. ;D The bank has a rocky edge so i will be about two feet high on the one side and about 5 to 7 feet high up on the other side. In the river only smallmouth exist with the very rare largemouth. I fish mostly 7 to 3 during the day in the spring. I hope this helps! Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted January 28, 2008 Super User Posted January 28, 2008 Welcome aboard! Number one, explore some different spots. Trasnsition, current breaks, pools, ridges and ledges are all prime locations. The basic lures I would suggest are single tail grubs, Hula Grubs, 3 1/2" tubes and Fat Ika. Good luck. 8-) Quote
garry77 Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 all of what Roadwarrior said plus maybe a rebel teeny wee crawdad in natural colors.And maybe a couple small spinnerbaits up to 3/8 oz. Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 I know that one member here, johnnydel, mentioned that he was catching smallies in the Schuylkill last summer and fall. You might want to PM him for some advice on what works well in the river. Also, Quote
smallmouthbeginner Posted January 28, 2008 Author Posted January 28, 2008 Thanks everyone for the welcome! And Tokyo_Tony thanks, ill ask him about it. Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 One more thing that wasn't mentioned - jerkbaits. Whether or not you'll be able to fish them effectively depends on how "snaggy" the area is that you'll be fishing, but as long as it's relatively open, I would highly suggest a jerkbait like the Rapala X-Rap or a Lucky Craft Pointer, exept maybe when the water is extremely cold. If the area you fish allows for it, my first choice would be a jerkbait. Quote
Del from philly Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 Tony, thanks for the shout Welcom to the forum smallmouthbeginner! i fish the schuykill every freakin day during the spring-fall I got ya covered man...Where on the schuykill do you fish? I am at the norristown and phoenixville spots all the time... These guys will never steer you wrong. They helped turn me into a pretty descent fisherman in about 6 months... I was getting into trouble and ish like that so i started fishing and never looked back....IT SAVED MY LIFE MAN....trust me, its a beautiful thing when you hook into your first 3 pound schuykill smallie.... anyway, about the schuykill: here is a pic of my best of the year.....from the schuykill, from the shore EMAIL ME- johndelsordo@allstate.com im looking for a some-time fishing companion if your interested Quote
smallieking Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 i lefted a PM yea i rarely fished out east but im sure the tactics are very similar Quote
Patrick5874 Posted January 29, 2008 Posted January 29, 2008 try plastic works around that log ! thier easy to us just wiggle wiggle it over the log , youll stir it up if there is anything there ! Quote
fishnaddiction Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 the best bait for begginer smallie river anglers is dead sticking a 3 or 4 inch senko on the bottom just let it sit and the bass will nail it if u want to actually put action on a lure and still catch fish try using a topwater more specifficly the heddon topwater tiny torpedo use a pumpin action to get the bait to produce bubbles on the surface then let the bait sit intil the water settles down then pump it again make sure that when u pump the bait is actually going under the water and then popping back up to the surface many people do not know how to fish the torpedo but to get bites that is what u have to do Quote
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