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By Ray Scott

Bass Fishing Tactics For River Systems

PINTLALA, AL –– In some ways fishing a river is quite simple.  But at times, the river systems conditions can be quite complex even to a seasoned bass fisherman.  But some things are basic.  To put it in today’s political analogy: “It’s the current, stupid.”

 The river flow…water movement…the current…is the key that unlocks the where-to-fish pattern.  More so than in a reservoir, river bass react to—rather than act upon—baitfish.  The current supplies the daily smorgasbord.  Bass simply mark time in an eddy area—behind a current break—waiting on the dinner bell to ring as a river shiner, shad or baitfish is washed past. 

“When fishing in a river situation,” says Tommy Biffle, a professional angler on the MotorGuide pro staff, “concentrate your flips or casts at spots where the current is changed by an object—a rock, riprap wall, pier, piling, or any break.  All these things provide a bass with a holding spot.  Generally, river bass like to be out of the water flow but next to the current edge.  Look for the ‘eddy pocket’ and present a lure to arrive naturally with the water’s flow.”

 Often, bass in current-related situations are “easy to catch,” offers Biffle, the winner of the 1995 Bassmaster Illinois Top 100 on the Mississippi River pools in the Quad Cities, Illinois-Iowa area.  “When a bait (lure) floats past the structure, a bass’ reaction trigger trips and it takes the bait.  It’s BANG!…and you set the hook.”

 Current along the Mississippi can be caused by various means.  If the river flow is almost nil, be alert to changes.  The opening-closing of an upstream lock will produce current flow.  The passing of a barge line and tow will push water into the backwater canals and create a mini-feeding cycle.

 But rivers are no catch-all, easy trip.  There’s usually plenty of “current” in the spring.  However, swift-moving floodwaters are out of the question to fish with any success.  Muddy, off-color water conditions are the frequent downside to being a river bassin’ man.

 The backwaters, sloughs and pockets are the obvious escape route.  But again, run-off and rising river levels, can dirty most areas.  There’s a simple solution to find “clearer” water condition—with a simple map study.  Check your waterway navigation charts.  Look for inlets of channels to backwaters where the entrance (mouth) is away, in the opposite direction of the river’s flow.

 This heads-up approach is followed by tournament trail pro David Wharton of Sam Rayburn, Texas when fishing a muddy river situation.  “Often, if you’ll check these type places,” says Wharton, “you’ll discover a small pocket or stretch of clearer water trapped behind the mudline.   Generally, the bite will be more dependable.”

 Basically river bassin’ is a shallow-water game and a test of the ability to cast at visible targets.  When the bulls-eye is a single object—stump, laydown log, large rock or piling—pitching or flippin’ a leadhead jig and trailer or a Texas-rigged plastic worm is most user friendly. 

 Along the rock riprap banks or wing dams, throwing a shallow-running crankbait, tandem-bladed spinnerbait or a buzzbait (in spring and fall) can be rewarding with quick limits.

Obviously, the mouth of tributaries that flow into the main river channel will at times hold numbers of fish in the current breaks.  Another spot that may not be so obvious is the outside bends in the river or tributary where debris, logs, brush, etc., have washed into the shoreline.  Often, this cover is below the surface, so read the river “bend” and probe the area with a slip-sinker rig plastic worm or jig and grub.  This can be a deep-water hole for summertime fishing.

 In the spring, backwater bays are key areas.  They are obvious spawning grounds for largemouth bass.  Places with a “hard bottom”, not the generally silty areas, will be nest-building sites.  Areas close by a channel, ditch or deeper water provide access for bass movements.

 “The overall size of the backwaters isn’t as important as a channel of some sort,” believes David Wharton, who worked such a pattern with success in the Illinois Top 100.  “Basically it was a flat but a six-foot deep ditch wound around into the back.  I simply followed the edge and cast a spinnerbait at any stump or stickup along the drop.  I didn’t raise a fish away from the ditch.”

 In the spring, current can be important to fishing a backwater area.  It may be the flow of water coming in from an over-flow pipe or run-off from a levee, lake or backwater pond.  Such was the setup that Triton Boats pro staffer Dalton Bobo discovered in winning the Wrangler/B.A.S.S. National Championship on the Red River, near Shreveport, Louisiana.  

 The Alabama Federation angler found a “sweet spot,” the honey hole of his dreams.   He practically won the tournament tied up to one tree for three days of fishing.  Cast after cast, he scored repeated strikes on a spinnerbait dropped in front of a culvert (pipe) running out of a backwater lake.  The spot was alive with baitfish and loaded with largemouth bass.

 Interestingly, two years later the “Bobo Hole” was stone-cold dead during the return of the Wrangler/B.A.S.S. National tournament championship.  And you can bet a number of contestants tried the spot.  Timing is everything in bass fishing.  A lower river level, less water in the backwaters and “zero” runoff from the drainpipe can change everything.  No current.  No baitfish.   No bites.

 Sometimes for river bassin’, an angler is better off in an aluminum johnboat with a small-horse outboard than a fully-rigged, modern bass fishing machine.  A lightweight 14-foot metal boat is easier to drag over an embankment or levee to reach a backwater pond or push-pole over a silt-laden entrance.  

 But along the length of any river system, there are many opportunities to fish oxbow lakes—the cut-offs where the river changed its mind and course.  Any road map will ID these fish-hook shaped places along the river channel.  In some cases, you’ll be limited to private lands and access.

 However, with spring floods and rising water, the river spills out-of-banks and opens the access gates.  But rising water over a vast area is another problem for the river basser trying to pin down where-to-fish.

 “Look for an edge, a stopping place or higher bank,” says MotorGuide pro team member Jay Yelas.  “Like in a lake with rising water, bass will move into the newly flooded grass.  But they will scatter out in the shallow water and sometimes you can’t get a boat in there.  A high bank will create an edge—a shoreline—and a perfect place to slow-roll a spinnerbait.”

 Finding bass in the grass along a flooded field “edge,” proved the winning pattern for Jay Yelas in the 1995 Bassmaster SuperStars tournament on the flooded Illinois River.

 Scouting an area from the air may not be in a weekend angler’s budget, but it’s an option used by the fishing professional on the cast-for-cash circuits.  The pay-off can be locating the “clear-water pockets,” a secret route to a backwater slough, or the real bassin’ bonanza—a hidden lake surrounded by rising floodwaters.

 Generally, an established lake will hold resident bass and not be a case of scrambling to find the strays.  Such a backwater lake proved the key for Federation angler John Parks in winning the national Wrangler/B.A.S.S. championship fished out of Quincy, Illinois. 

The “Big Muddy” was in true form and way out of banks, but Parks made it work to his advantage.  He scouted out a backwater lake surrounded by floodwaters, and discovered a small opening over the levee bank.  He had the area solo.  For two days fishing, it was money in the bank.  But in the final round of fishing, the river started to fall and John Parks had some nervous moments trying to blast out over the dike and make the weigh-in on time.

 But such is life for a river bassin’ man.  Livin’ on the edge comes natural.

 To paraphrase Mark Twain a bit: “The Mississippi is well worth learning (reading) about.  It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable.”  (From Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain).

Basic Bassin’ Rule For Stream Fishing

When floating a river or wading a stream, where do successful anglers cast or drift their lures?  The basic bassin’ rule:  Crowd the cover.   Bass like to be near something.

 Typical targets in a stream or river, depending on the nature of the shoreline or river bank (see sketch):  (1) a rock pile,  (2) an eddy or pool, (3 ) overhanging brush or limbs, (4) the main pool, (5) undercut bank. 

 Such examples by no means exhausts the fish-holding potential of a river or stream.  Fallen trees, blowdowns, weed beds, brush piles – anything and everything that offer a chance for concealment – should be fished up tight.  Remember the rule:  bass like to be near something.