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Tips For Fishing Rivers

So where are the bass, northern, stripers, and walleye in a river? The 80/20 rule applies here once again. 80% percent of the fish are in 20% of river habitat, which is within or very close to current breaks and seams. By using a current break fish can wait in a reduced current flow to ambush prey being carried by the current. Game fish are rarely found in dead water. The exception to this statement would be very cold water; even then a slight current flow is most often preferred.

What And Where Are Current Breaks And Seams?

The surface of a river will tell you about what is underneath it. A current break is any area of the river that changes the flow of the current such as rocks, fallen trees, wing dams, and bridge pilings. The very bottom of a hole or the dropping slope of a hole is also a current break.

These current breaks create seams. A seam is the meeting of water moving in different directions, at different speeds or of different clarity (such as a mud line where a creek flows into the river). Seams are really what you are looking for; most of the fish you catch will be very closely to a seam.

Current breaks and seams are not where you want to anchor your boat. Instead of anchoring behind a rock, anchor to one side or the other of a seam in such a way that you can fish as much of the seam as possible. When fishing a hole anchor above or below the hole, not in it.

Seams and current breaks can be subtle, but no less effective. A seam can be an area where slightly choppy water turns flat. The deeper the water, the further downstream evidence of an obstruction will appear on the surface. When casting to a boil you will need to cast in front of the boil. The deeper the water the further in front of the boil you will need to cast. The distance you cast in front of the boil will allow time for your bait or lure to reach the bottom and be swept with the current past the underwater object.

As the seam is the most effective area, you should be aware of when your lure is near a seam and try to keep your lure on it for as long as possible. There are a variety of techniques that can be used to keep your lure in the strike zone. One is back reeling. Position yourself upstream of the water you want to fish, cast to the head of the seam and reel backwards, maintaining enough pressure on the lure to keep it moving against the current. Your lure will face into the current but gradually wash downstream, giving the impression that it is too weak to fight the current. Once you have let the lure out as far as you intend, simply fish back up the current.

Lifts can also cause a current break that holds fish, especially active fish. When water flows from deep to shallower the lift will create a current break on top of the shallow side. Another example of a lift would be the face of a wing dam on a larger river such as the Mississippi River.

Presentation

When fish are active a moving presentation with the current is generally more successful than a stationary presentation. A moving presentation is also more natural as the fish are used to feeding on food being washed down stream. This means the lightest jig or least amount of weight should be used. When fishing crankbaits troll or retrieve upstream for a more neutral presentation and troll or retrieve down stream for aggressive fish. Retrieving a crankbait diagonally with the current will also slow down a crankbait versus retrieving parallel with the current.

A common complaint of anglers new to river fishing is that they loose a lot of tackle to snags. Frequent snags most often occur when using to heavy of jig or split shot. If using diving crank bait switch to one that doesn't dive as deep. When fishing for catfish pound the bell sinker flat with a hammer so it doesn't roll in the current.