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Largemouth bass spawned in swift
rivers become notorious killers
rivers become notorious killers
Mark Menendez, a professional bass angler from Paducah, Ky., lips a
bass he caught on a jerkbait. Bass spawned in rivers with swift
current become aggressive killers.
bass he caught on a jerkbait. Bass spawned in rivers with swift
current become aggressive killers.
Sure, anglers use the same boats, rods and lures, but catching
largemouth bass on rivers differs greatly from chasing reservoir fish.
For one thing, rivers constantly tear down and rebuild structure. They
change course, isolating oxbows or slashing new swaths through previously
dry ground. Meanwhile, a good thunderstorm upstream can transform a
lazily stream into a raging muddy torrent with little warning.
Forced to deal with constantly changing conditions, rivers spawn killers
that must act aggressively to survive in such a capricious environment.
While they generally don’t reach the great girths of their pot-bellied lake
brethren, wily river bass strike fast and fight furiously. They grow strong
constantly battling currents.
“River bass are mean,” said Mark Rose, a professional bass angler
from Marion, Ark., who often fishes the White River. “They’ll eat anything.”
On a flowing river, current dictates everything. Many people avoid
current, but bass spawned in swift rivers know nothing else. Like trout,
largemouths typically hide behind anything that breaks current to conserve
energy. They face upstream, watching for prey to flow toward them. If they
spot something they like, they dash out, gulp it and drop back into their
protected pockets.
“The most important thing about rivers is knowing how to fish in a
current,” said George Cochran, a two-time Bassmaster Classic champion
from Hot Springs. “The biggest mistake anybody makes when fishing rivers
is not presenting the lure in the right fashion. Most people float
downstream and bring their baits upstream. When they do, their lure is in
position to catch fish only about one foot of every cast. Push the boat
against the current and bring baits parallel to the current or with the
current.”
Obstructions break currents and may form tiny pockets of slack water
on both sides of available structure. When current strikes an obstruction,
water collides with the object and momentarily “bounces” back upstream. It
then washes around the obstruction. A third tiny pocket forms at the end of
the structure where water washes around the object,
Sometimes, anglers can see where current creates slack spots.
Sometimes, pockets form beneath structure. Good river anglers probe all
around a snag. Vertically jig Texas-rigged worms or heavy jigs around
cover. Use just enough weight to hit bottom and bounce baits off logs and
branches on the way down, keeping tight to cover.
Anglers not wanting to directly tangle with swift currents might cast near
the backside of sandbars. On inside bends, sandbars slope more slowly
and break up current. In these areas, anglers can throw topwaters in early
morning or late afternoon. Try Carolina-rigged plastics in holes behind
sandbars, especially where an eddy creates conditions for a weed bed to
take root.
Most anglers prefer to fish rivers during low or falling conditions. High
water scatters fish into more available habitat, but floods can also open up
places that receive little pressure. Often, anglers can’t enter isolated
oxbows except during high water, so fish thrive in these secret honey holes
and see very few lures.
“In high water, we can get into some places we usually can’t go to find
untapped water,” Rose said. “Many oxbows receive very little fishing
pressure. Much of the land around them is private, but if people can get in
by boat without touching land, they can fish. Frequently, an oxbow is only
fishable for a short period of time. Also, when the river rises, it refloods the
oxbows and rejuvenates them. Floods resupply the oxygen and bait,
restock fish and refresh the oxbows. That makes fishing better.”
When water levels fall, people often shift back to the main channels.
They fish the mouths of oxbows or tiny ditches that drain flooded areas or
isolated lakes. Bass often congregate at the mouths of such drains to wait
for falling water to dislodge prey from cover and dump them into main
channels.
Throw spinnerbaits as far up these drains as possible and bounce
them slowly along the bottom with the current. When it hits a hole or drop-
off, let the bait helicopter to the bottom and then slow-roll it out. It that
doesn’t work, fling crawfish-colored shallow-diving crankbaits or Rat-L-
Traps into the current and fish with the flow. Bounce black or red shad
worms around the drop-offs where tributaries hit the main channels.
Usually, 90 percent of the fish live in 10 percent of the water. On
rivers, that ratio may drop to two or three percent. Anglers who know which
two percent to fish can often fill their livewells.
largemouth bass on rivers differs greatly from chasing reservoir fish.
For one thing, rivers constantly tear down and rebuild structure. They
change course, isolating oxbows or slashing new swaths through previously
dry ground. Meanwhile, a good thunderstorm upstream can transform a
lazily stream into a raging muddy torrent with little warning.
Forced to deal with constantly changing conditions, rivers spawn killers
that must act aggressively to survive in such a capricious environment.
While they generally don’t reach the great girths of their pot-bellied lake
brethren, wily river bass strike fast and fight furiously. They grow strong
constantly battling currents.
“River bass are mean,” said Mark Rose, a professional bass angler
from Marion, Ark., who often fishes the White River. “They’ll eat anything.”
On a flowing river, current dictates everything. Many people avoid
current, but bass spawned in swift rivers know nothing else. Like trout,
largemouths typically hide behind anything that breaks current to conserve
energy. They face upstream, watching for prey to flow toward them. If they
spot something they like, they dash out, gulp it and drop back into their
protected pockets.
“The most important thing about rivers is knowing how to fish in a
current,” said George Cochran, a two-time Bassmaster Classic champion
from Hot Springs. “The biggest mistake anybody makes when fishing rivers
is not presenting the lure in the right fashion. Most people float
downstream and bring their baits upstream. When they do, their lure is in
position to catch fish only about one foot of every cast. Push the boat
against the current and bring baits parallel to the current or with the
current.”
Obstructions break currents and may form tiny pockets of slack water
on both sides of available structure. When current strikes an obstruction,
water collides with the object and momentarily “bounces” back upstream. It
then washes around the obstruction. A third tiny pocket forms at the end of
the structure where water washes around the object,
Sometimes, anglers can see where current creates slack spots.
Sometimes, pockets form beneath structure. Good river anglers probe all
around a snag. Vertically jig Texas-rigged worms or heavy jigs around
cover. Use just enough weight to hit bottom and bounce baits off logs and
branches on the way down, keeping tight to cover.
Anglers not wanting to directly tangle with swift currents might cast near
the backside of sandbars. On inside bends, sandbars slope more slowly
and break up current. In these areas, anglers can throw topwaters in early
morning or late afternoon. Try Carolina-rigged plastics in holes behind
sandbars, especially where an eddy creates conditions for a weed bed to
take root.
Most anglers prefer to fish rivers during low or falling conditions. High
water scatters fish into more available habitat, but floods can also open up
places that receive little pressure. Often, anglers can’t enter isolated
oxbows except during high water, so fish thrive in these secret honey holes
and see very few lures.
“In high water, we can get into some places we usually can’t go to find
untapped water,” Rose said. “Many oxbows receive very little fishing
pressure. Much of the land around them is private, but if people can get in
by boat without touching land, they can fish. Frequently, an oxbow is only
fishable for a short period of time. Also, when the river rises, it refloods the
oxbows and rejuvenates them. Floods resupply the oxygen and bait,
restock fish and refresh the oxbows. That makes fishing better.”
When water levels fall, people often shift back to the main channels.
They fish the mouths of oxbows or tiny ditches that drain flooded areas or
isolated lakes. Bass often congregate at the mouths of such drains to wait
for falling water to dislodge prey from cover and dump them into main
channels.
Throw spinnerbaits as far up these drains as possible and bounce
them slowly along the bottom with the current. When it hits a hole or drop-
off, let the bait helicopter to the bottom and then slow-roll it out. It that
doesn’t work, fling crawfish-colored shallow-diving crankbaits or Rat-L-
Traps into the current and fish with the flow. Bounce black or red shad
worms around the drop-offs where tributaries hit the main channels.
Usually, 90 percent of the fish live in 10 percent of the water. On
rivers, that ratio may drop to two or three percent. Anglers who know which
two percent to fish can often fill their livewells.
