Lures For Strong Current

[clayton86]

What lures are good in strong current situations. I found a few local spots with a lot of strong current I been throwwing a 1/2oz football jig nailing smallies but what are some other options the jig still gets swept away fast really fast. I tried a 9/16oz spinner single willow but it just went sidways on the surface.

[SirSnookalot]

i fish an area with some very heavy current, not a waters level but from a sea wall 4-5' high. When the current isn't too bad most any hard jerkbait works fine but when the current is raging that's when I use 1/2 oz bucktails or a jerk shad on a 1/4 oz jig head. Fish always come right to the top if they want it, when the current is strong a lure bounces too much. I fish this spot nearly every morning, this is my #1 most product area.

[jack1]

Lipless crankbait

[clayton86]

Lipless might work if it was deeper but some spots I know of are deep but where iv been hitting is 2ft

[midnighthrasher]

T-Rig with a heavy weight or carolina rig

[Matt B]

T-Rig with a heavy weight or carolina rig

How does a carolina rig work in current? Does the bait just flutter downstream from the weight? I assume the presentation would have to be downstream or across, right?

[Jigfishn10]

I actually like tossing a lighter jig in current and let the current drift the jig in a "bassy" spot. I used this technique in the early spring on my local lake with great results.

[clayton86]

I actually like tossing a lighter jig in current and let the current drift the jig in a "bassy" spot. I used this technique in the early spring on my local lake with great results.

The current is strong enough to do this with the half ounce football I'm out right now and I'm killing the smallies I went 8 for 10 casts no big ones like last night all in the 16 and 17in range

[SirSnookalot]

Floating a bucktail in current is like working a fly......

[Bluebasser86]

I've done really well in heavy current with swimbaits, mainly the cheaper ones by Storm and Berkley with the weight molded inside. They aren't as realistic as others but they fish don't get a good look at them anyways so it doesn't seem to matter. I've had my best luck with the 4" models of both brands. A plain grub on a jighead has done well along with a buzzbait or zara spook walked fast. The hits I get with the spook in fast water are so violent, it's awesome!

[clayton86]

Idk how topwater would fare in some these spots it looks like something off a white water rafting show but its loaded with smallies almost every cast produced last night throwing a black and blue half oz football head with paca craw trailer. I couldent even keep track of how many I caught it was a blast especially when they try to fight cuz the current was so strong it felt like I had a 30lb king salmon on. Only down side was I was reting A LOT them rocks are killer on the line.

[webertime]

Are you able to change your angle of attack? What I mean is are you stuck having to stand in basically one spot and work the bait back in one direction or can you repostion (work up/down/across the current?). I would always try to work across or up (retrieving with) the current, it allows you to get deeper and is more natural as not many little things (Bass food) in a river work against a strong current...

Try T-rigged plastics with nail weights also added to the body behind the hool. This should keep the plastic from just flapping around once it gets to the bottom.

Try a Football head with a soft swimbait on the bottom so it looks like a chub or sculpin (think of them as river Gobies).

[J Francho]

Honestly, if the current is that bad, I don't think the smallies will be there. Look for eddies, and breaks in the current, like inside bends for fish holding.

[clayton86]

The spot that produces the best are a series of 6 big rocks maybe 2 or 3ft in diameter that are in the shape of an L I cast ontop of them and let the jig drift down and bam fish on. Then there's a big tree I cast behind and nail em I probably pulled 20fish outa both spots one right after another. Then that L formation dried up and I threw it under a tree thinking might get hit but didn't but when I started to reel it into the middle where the water was the roughest bam 3lber. Cast again drag it into the rough water feel tick tick tick bouncing off the rocks getting swept down that tick tick turned into thump thump fish on I landed another 7 and lost 2.

As far as re postion no not really the L spot is a little deer trail to the water I stand on a giant boulder and can cast from my 11 to my 3 with the current coming from my left the rock formation is about the 1 postion. The tree is well I'm standing on a bridge 15ft over the river looking down so I can cast down stream or up there's trees on both sides the one up stream I only catch big rockies outa the one down holds the smallies.

The other bridge has a nice rounded bank on the one side loaded with cinder blocks and old chunks of road if I cast up stream and bring down straight they ignore it if I cast up and bring it up the hill like a J because of the current I get nailed bouncing over the cinder blocks.

Then the last spot is the outlet and the very top of the river I throw into the space between the 3 pipes where its calm its a 1ft spot to hit but its good for a few fish plus I can see them swiming in the pipe where its the strongest I would think.

Iv always ignored these spots for the last 20 years iv lived and fished here till Monday and I said why not give it a shot its like struck gold had a new son and found some nice new spots from the bank all in 1 day

[Catt]

I fish Toro Creek below the Toledo Bend levee; I use a Texas rig with a 3/16 oz weight & just hop it occasionally letting the current move it along. I don’t know how strong your current is or even how strong Toro is but if you’ll notice the picture it’s pretty swift.

It’s killer for Kentucky bass

[Punkinseedfyretailz]

lipless cranks and inline spinners are nice for rougher conditions

[grimlin]

The current is strong enough to do this with the half ounce football I'm out right now and I'm killing the smallies I went 8 for 10 casts no big ones like last night all in the 16 and 17in range

Sounds like you already got something that works well for you. 16 and 17" smallmouths are nothing to look down on.I'll take those size all day every day.

I recently discovered a 3/8 florida rig weight on a T-rigged plastic works well.I've been doing pretty well with the Rage tail space monkey. This rig doesn't get hung up in the rocks as bad compared to one where the bullet weight slides.

[clayton86]

The current is really strong by the L formation but the whole river isn't bad its a very popular spot for people to canoe and raft down its Oak Orchard river the "middle"section I call it because its the part that's between the two lakes in my county the river runs threw both lakes this section is the part between lake alice and glennwood. Glennwood being up stream above the outlet I was talking about.

[webertime]

Congrats on the new little buddy!

The spot that produces the best are a series of 6 big rocks maybe 2 or 3ft in diameter that are in the shape of an L I cast ontop of them and let the jig drift down and bam fish on. Then there's a big tree I cast behind and nail em I probably pulled 20fish outa both spots one right after another. Then that L formation dried up and I threw it under a tree thinking might get hit but didn't but when I started to reel it into the middle where the water was the roughest bam 3lber. Cast again drag it into the rough water feel tick tick tick bouncing off the rocks getting swept down that tick tick turned into thump thump fish on I landed another 7 and lost 2.

As far as re postion no not really the L spot is a little deer trail to the water I stand on a giant boulder and can cast from my 11 to my 3 with the current coming from my left the rock formation is about the 1 postion. The tree is well I'm standing on a bridge 15ft over the river looking down so I can cast down stream or up there's trees on both sides the one up stream I only catch big rockies outa the one down holds the smallies.

The other bridge has a nice rounded bank on the one side loaded with cinder blocks and old chunks of road if I cast up stream and bring down straight they ignore it if I cast up and bring it up the hill like a J because of the current I get nailed bouncing over the cinder blocks.

Then the last spot is the outlet and the very top of the river I throw into the space between the 3 pipes where its calm its a 1ft spot to hit but its good for a few fish plus I can see them swiming in the pipe where its the strongest I would think.

Iv always ignored these spots for the last 20 years iv lived and fished here till Monday and I said why not give it a shot its like struck gold had a new son and found some nice new spots from the bank all in 1 day

[J Francho]

Yep, congrats Clayton! Bye bye sleep!

[clayton86]

Yep, congrats Clayton! Bye bye sleep!

That's why when I leave the hospital I go fishing till 9 then pass out so I can get some sleep befor her the baby and the 2 yearold come back

[J Francho]

LOL....

Keep a dink, so you can get a shot like this:

[clayton86]

Haha that's awsome is that in the hospital or at home my wife would kill me hell she would kill me if she knew I was going fishing when I left but she can't be that clueless to think iv been cleaning everynight that I leave at 630 I haven't even started to clean the place for when they come home tomorrow.....maybe even tonight if his jaundice levels go down

[J Francho]

Nah, my living room, the afternoon after we came home. Clark was a C-section, so she couldn't catch me on the way out the door to wet a line, LOL.

[clayton86]

Went back to my spots again last night and lost my favorite jig I'm so depressed it was the last one I had iv lost to many this year. But the spot was dry no fish I tried wading and I seen thousands of shinners or alewives which ever they were so I tried a devil spear sidways like a swim bait with no luck. Threw a lipless got 1 hit but missed it I ended the day with 2 a rockbass and a smallie.