River Bass

[zip pow]

I'm not a very good river bass fisher I've tried fishing them like I do some bigger lakes but no luck I'd like to be a better river fisher I've read articles. On this site and others but I'd like some real detailed instructions .thanks in advance

[msolorio]

i grew up fishing rivers, i was never able to get out to the lakes until a few years back when i started fishing tournaments so maybe i can help, what exactly are you wantin to know?

[roadwarrior]

If you have a boat that is "river ready" I could meet you below Wilson Dam

or Pickwick Dam sometime.

[zip pow]

If you have a boat that is "river ready" I could meet you below Wilson Dam

or Pickwick Dam sometime.

I'd like that haven't got my new boat yet still fishing out of a glass fisher 17'6" with 55a lb thrust trolling motor and humminbird graphs if that'll work in those waters. We'll try to get together in the next few weeks

[zip pow]

i grew up fishing rivers, i was never able to get out to the lakes until a few years back when i started fishing tournaments so maybe i can help, what exactly are you wantin to know?

everything I've got current driven lakes figured out but narrow rivers and there lack of points has me struggling to locate fish consistently the rivers Ive fished are narrow and the water goes from 20 to 2 foot in every feeder creek so it takes my ability to use my graph away. You just about have to fish channel banks with cover but there's 60 mile of that to fish so I have a hard time building a pattern. Anything you'd be willing to share I'd listen

[River Rat316]

Natural river fish are not usually a tough nut to crack, unlike lake fish they are almost always eating, they have to in order to deal with the current in natural rivers. If it is a just a single channel river start looking for current breaks, either man made or natural, current breaks can either be visible like a shoreline eddy, wing dam or other man made structure that restrict current flow. Or not visible, like an underwater drop off, at the front of the drop off there is a spot where fish can sit and get out of the current, it depends on the size of the structure as to how big this spot is, it may be big enough for only one fish, or it maybe big enough for a whole school, underwater boulder fields will also hold fish and are not visible depending on how deep they are. usually when you locate a current break the most active fish will be at the front of the break taking advantage of the conveyor belt that is bringing them food, but this is not a steadfast rule, if the water is rising fish tend to stick closer to structure, if the river is near flood stage fish tend to be on the slack water side of flooded structure, falling water is probably the toughest imho, fish tend to scatter more.

There is also alot to learn about current in a natural river, more or less your pattern in a given day is how are fish relating to the current, the majority of the time they are going to be in or directly adjacent to the already mentioned breaks, but sometimes they will appear to be right out in the current feeding. If you look at one common peice of current structure like a river bend the fastest water usually is towards the outside of the bend, there is usually stuff to break up current on the outside next to shore, like limbs or whole trees that have gotten pushed into the area, or dugout banks from the fast current cutting into them, often times fish will use these peices of cover as ambush points. What often gets overlooked on a structure like a river bend is the inside of the bend, that to is a current break as the water ius forced towards the outside of the bend there is a pocket created on the inside turn that is usually relatively void of any current, this might be a rather large break and under the right conditions can hold more fish than the ambush points directly across the river from it, the fish tend to be more nuetral on the inside turns but they are river fish, so you can usually entice them to bite.

So after that long rambling post which you may or may not have gotten info from, if you are trying to pattern river fish on a single channel river fish all sorts of different current breaks, figure out what type of current break the fish are holding on for that given day and look for similar types of current breaks and fish the heck out of em!

[Nitrofreak]

Very nice post !!!!!

[zip pow]

Thank you

[msolorio]

when i fish the rivers around here im looking for cover first. it can be a twig sticking up out of the water because who knows what else lies underneath. like stated above, cover creates a current brake where fish can basically just chill and wait for somethin to pass by. find rip rap and flip the hell outta it, throw a square bill, spinnerbait, anything of that nature because river fish are always eating and usually will annihalate those baits. the rivers i fish are similar to yours, water drops somewhat deep then gets super shallow, tons of cover, and the current is usually pretty slack in most parts. once again target current breaks because they will be some of the most productive areas. that long wall you were talkin about, hit it hard because i guarantee you theres a few monsters in there and that whole edge is probably slack water just outside the current where theyre sittin and waitin. that would be the first place i fished. my partner and i just fished the river close to home, the deepest water we found was 7 ft, all of our fish came in 1-3' of water, the biggest bein a 6.5 pounder i caught by pitchin a rip rap wall. all the other fish came by square bill or spinnerbait right as it passed the cover(current break). river bass are pretty easy to pattern and find, if it looks good, chances are theres fish and some good ones at that. ive hardly ever caught river bass in open water, so not to sound like a broken record but fish cover, current breaks, ect and you should get on some nice ones. im much better at explaining things face to face or over the phone but i hope this helps.

[RLinc07]

I've caught some of my biggest largemouths in rivers. Try to use anything that is native to that river and will resemble what they normally eat, such as craws, creatures, baitfish, etc. If fishing for smallmouth, cast behind a rock in the current where they would be hanging out in a pool. If fishing for largemouth, always try and find structure. Side streams and flowing water from other sources usually provide big fish as well. Casting into the side stream and having it float down into the main river almost always yields strikes for me. Experiment - see what works best for you and what you like best. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to PM me!

[Crestliner2008]

In order to "learn" a river, you have spend a lot of time on it. What's been said here previously is good to get you going. One thing you need to learn is how to "slip" a river, if you want to be good at being a "river rat". This form of boat control keeps your bow upstream with the main engine running. Only you are going ahead just fast enough to literally slip backwards, slowly against the force of the current. The advantage of slipping a river (Google Dan Gapan) is that your jig or lure cast to the edges of eddys will stay in the stike zone longer and you can literally pick apart any structure you find. Trust me, it works.

[basscatcher8]

I fish the Illinois River near Marseilles a lot in the summer time and as said before cover is your best bet. The shores are just littered with wood cover. Some marinas have rip rap at there entrance that they dont mind you fishing. Only time they mind usually is if you go inside the marina. I have caught a ton of fish of the rip rap outside the marinas. Being as its all main river pretty much its a bank beater situation. One thing I have noticed and I could be totally wrong but paying attention to the carp around you helps me out in finding fish. Basically if I see carp around everywhere I move cause I haven't ever found many bass to catch around a group of carp. Again I am sure some folks beg to differ but that is what I found. Another thing I have found that I dont see to much in lakes is in the river here throwing the bait up on shore and dragging it back into the water gets bit a lot too. The fish will stick their noses it seems right up against the bank in some dirty water conditions and that is the only way sometimes I can get a bite.

[zip pow]

In order to "learn" a river, you have spend a lot of time on it. What's been said here previously is good to get you going. One thing you need to learn is how to "slip" a river, if you want to be good at being a "river rat". This form of boat control keeps your bow upstream with the main engine running. Only you are going ahead just fast enough to literally slip backwards, slowly against the force of the current. The advantage of slipping a river (Google Dan Gapan) is that your jig or lure cast to the edges of eddys will stay in the stike zone longer and you can literally pick apart any structure you find. Trust me, it works.

tried a search for him couldn't find him can you get me a link

[Nick]

First, Zip, you look a little young to be handling a boat by yourself. 2nd, I wouldn't worry about Gapen. He grew up on one of the more fertile smallie rivers anywhere, the Upper Mississippi, and he used a little bitty 6 hp most of the time to keep his aluminum boat positioned. With today's electrics, that tactic is not called for.

First thing about your river: is it a good fishing river? Ask around and find out. If it is, try to read up on seasonal patterns. In the south right now I'd try to cover the most water I could with a shad or crawdad crankbait running 2-8 feet deep along any irregular rock banks looking for current seams that slow down the pace of it. Fish from upteam to down as this is a more natural presentation to the bass.

Also, I'd use another search lure like a spinnerbait, 3/8 oz, white/chartreuse with a gold/silver wilow blade combo if the water is over 50 (which it should be).Reel that baby in from a foot near shore down to slow rolled to about 6 feet. Get it right next to shore esp. if that river has colored water as is usually the case this time of year.

Keep a log of water temps, depth, color, and your fishing choices and results to build up a file of info. You'll be amazed how that will pay off 5 years from now. (By then you may be old enough to get around by yourself.)

I'd try to cover at least 10 miles of river on a hard day, and if you can fish at all, you should run into some bass some place. Build on a pattern as river fish really do pattern easily. Heck, they can't drop into 50 feet way off shore like lake fish, so they are easier to find and catch....if they live in that river to begin with.

[zip pow]

The pic is of my son ha ha I look like a forty year old at 28 plenty of experience handling a boat about 1700 days in the last ten years the key to that is I fished Tennessee. River lakes that whole time. Not probly ten days on a true river

[Crestliner2008]

Nick - I hate to break it to you, but it matters not where you fish a good presentation; a good presentation is just that. I've slipped a big river for about 40 years now and it works very efficiently and effectively. And I've done it with an electric motor, several 10 hp's and 2 over 50 hp engines. Maybe you should try it?

Zip Pow - Here's a link to Gapen and the book I'm referring to, with regards to slipping:

http://www.gapen.com/Big_River_Fishing_Dan_Gapen_Sr_p/20111.htm

[roadwarrior]

"Slipping" is a great technique! On a big river with stong current, boat control is everything.

My fishing on both the Tennessee and White River in Arkansas involves a "controlled drift".

Ideally, the boat moves with the bait or lure. This in effect allows me to fish "flat water". We

point the boat upriver, maintaining position with the trolling motor.

[zip pow]

Nick - I hate to break it to you, but it matters not where you fish a good presentation; a good presentation is just that. I've slipped a big river for about 40 years now and it works very efficiently and effectively. And I've done it with an electric motor, several 10 hp's and 2 over 50 hp engines. Maybe you should try it?

Zip Pow - Here's a link to Gapen and the book I'm referring to, with regards to slipping:

http://www.gapen.com/Big_River_Fishing_Dan_Gapen_Sr_p/20111.htm

Thank you

[Nick]

Every good river rat uses his motor pointed upstream. No big deal. Been doing it probably as long as you have. I just think that Gapen is way overrated.