River Fishing Tips? 2025
Catch and Grease reply :
I've fished rivers but maybe once or twice a year and I'm not very good at it. Can anyone give me some pointers because I'm going camping by the Suwannee river for a weekend and I was gonna fish quite a bit from the bank.
KYBassin' reply :
Like lakes, not all rivers are created equal. Generally I look for structure (obviously) and areas where slow water is near fast water. I fished the Wisconsin River a lot during college, had success running crankbaits and working jigs from fast water into slow water.
Catch and Grease reply :
Do bass like fast water or slow water or both? Like if there is a really swift current will bass try to hold close to the bank and structure to get out of the current?
Edit: sorry typed this before seeing your post KY
KYBassin' reply :
From my experience, smallmouth are more likely to be in fast water. But both species will sit in slow water just off fast water to ambush prey. Backsides of rocks in current will hold fish for this reason.
Catch and Grease reply :
That's intresting, I wonder why smallmouth would like fast water more than largemouth.
KYBassin' reply :
That's just my experience. But I caught a lot more SM than LM in current.
BigKev77 reply :
Tight to cover, shallow usually, Look for seams that separate fast water from slow or slack water.
Imagine you are standing in the wind blowing down a city street. You can barley stand it but the wind is blowing $100 bills so you position yourself where the wind is broken by an object so you can grab the money as it comes by. That is how bass feed in rivers.
mod479 reply :
On 5/21/2014 at 9:22 PM, Catch and Grease said:That's intresting, I wonder why smallmouth would like fast water more than largemouth.
Different species, smallmouth prefer cooler more oxygenated water when they can find it. That doesnt mean you wont find them cruising pools below rapids in the low light hours. Big Kev hit the other reason on the head! They let the current do the work while lying in wait, similar to trout.
jhoffman reply :
Fish the break lines where fast water enters slow water. Those break lines fish use to their advantage to funnel food to them, its called a feeding lie. Break lines can be in fast water too, think of where a rock comes above the water and you can see the eddy behind the rock. The fast water, running beside that eddy is the break line.
ColdSVT reply :
I like to look for eddys, off shore structure and current breaks
I also like ti bring my baits through the fasterwater and into the slower water...or parallel to the fast water
Catch and Grease reply :
Thanks for all the tips! After this weekend I'll let y'all know how I do, Anybody bass fish on the suwannee ? I've catfished on it but never targeted bass there.
Glenn reply :
Always throw upstream. It's a natural presentation, plus fish position themselves looking upstream.
everythingthatswims reply :
Smallies definitely prefer more current than largemouth. In the rivers I fish, the smallmouth will hold in eddies/seams right next to the fast water while the largemouth will be up in/under a tree in the slowest moving water you can find. I rarely catch largemouth in fast current.
Catch and Grease reply :
What color spinnerbaits would y'all throw in rivers that are muddy and very low visibility, maybe a white or chartreuse one? And what trailer do you guys like? Can I use a tube or a swim bait as a trailer
Catch and Grease reply :
What color spinnerbaits would y'all throw in rivers that are muddy and very low visibility, maybe a white or chartreuse one? And what trailer do you guys like? Can I use a tube or a swim bait as a trailer, and for rivers do you guys prefer a 3/8 or 1/2 ounce or does it depend on the current? Sorry that's a lot of questions
Paul Roberts reply :
Past juvenile stage, mature bass in rivers do not “drift feed” like insect eating trout do. River bass do use current to their advantage though, just like they do in reservoirs pulling water, and wind swept lakes and ponds. Current constrains fish movement in a relative way, offering opportunities for predators. Bass are bigger than their prey and press that advantage wherever they can.
IME, river bass tend to be less affected by bright conditions, although they may appreciate shade -more so in slower water, less so in stronger current. In rivers, water levels (current speed) and water clarity are the biggest factors.
Smallmouth “like” current better bc they evolved as a river fish (as did spotted bass). A better way to say it would be that SM are more efficient than LM (which evolved in more stationary waters) in current. SM are built better for current in terms of body form and energetics.
You may be finding some Suwannee bass there, Micropterus notius, a different (and also riverine) species altogether, which you’ll want to read a bit about. Google ‘Suwannee river bass’ and you’ll get lots on your own water. There are articles, discussions, and the Georgia DNR is a great source.
River tackle and lures depend on habitat:
Is the water big and slow? Is there vegetation? Wood? Rock? Is the water “riffle and pool” type water? Are the pools smallish? Or large and more pond-like?
Are these LMs in slow water? Are they SM near current? Are they Suwannee bass –a SM like, current loving, crayfish munching, and not terribly large, critter?
Basic river lures depend on the answers to the habitat questions above, which will then determine the rods you should pack. Will you need a MH spinning or casting rig? A M spinning rig? A L or UL spinning rig? I’d probably bring all three.
Jigs (grub, twister tail), in-line spinners, small topwaters are standard river lures for M to UL spinning gear.
Catch and Grease reply :
I mainly wanna focus on catching largemouth but if I get some small mouth that will be a bonus haha! I do wanna catch at least one swannee bass because I have heard of them before but never caught one.
ColdSVT reply :
I have always liked black spinner baits in rivers...black with a single colorado
Paul Roberts reply :
On 5/22/2014 at 10:26 AM, Catch and Grease said:I mainly wanna focus on catching largemouth but if I get some small mouth that will be a bonus haha! I do wanna catch at least one swannee bass because I have heard of them before but never caught one.
Well, all three species are not likely to be all crowded together. Do your research on where you are going before you get there.
midgastumpjumper reply :
basically any water in georgia will have a good population of bass. You should find largemouth's and swannee bass in there. Ive never fished it but from the pictures ive seen it usually runs pretty clear so i would stick with natural colored lures but i wouldnt over think it. a few bags of your favorite plastics, a couple crank baits and your favorite top water lure should work fine.
BuzzbaitBite28 reply :
My father has always taught me to cast on the backside of cover. So for example, if floating down stream, cast on the backside of a log and watch what happens. I've mainly caught white bass on the river and never really caught any eye openers for largemouths on a river, but you can still catch em and have a blast. Creature baits seem to work miracles on many rivers.
Crestliner2008 reply :
I've fished the big Connecticut River here in MA since I was a boy. Spent a lot of time on the river needless to say. However, I never really started to understand what I was experiencing until I read Dan Gapan's book, "Big River Fishing". In this book Dan explains the why and where-for of most species of fish that inhabit these great rivers. Priceless information.
Of paramount shared knowledge in this book, the art of "slipping" a river comes into play big time as a presentation technique. Since bass relate to structural breaks in current to stage themselves, you must present your offering in such a manner as to keep the lure in the strike zone for the longest period of time. Slipping allows you to do this. I would highly recommend you invest in this book and study it in detail. Your life will change for the better, I guarantee it. 
Catch and Grease reply :
I completely forgot to tell y'all how my trip went sorry guys,
The bass fishing was ehhh, out of 2 days of fishing I caught one Suwannee bass, one smallmouth, and three largemouth. Those are my first suwannee and smallmouth bass so that's something! No big bass the smallmouth was just about a pound and a half same with the Suwannee bass and the biggest largemouth was 3lb.
We catfished one day and couldn't stop catching them, we would catch 10 dinks for every big cat but boy was it fun. Couldn't have caught the bass without your tips so thanks again guys!
McAlpine reply :
Small 1/8oz white and chartreuse spinnerbaits are a go to for river bass fishing. Same with smaller 1/8oz black buzz baits. Squarebills are great as well, I prefer something with alot of white.
Another killer bait for river fishing that I have found is a small black neon tube rigged "stupid tube" style. Usually my go to instead of a worm or jig.
the above is assuming off colored water as is common on my river chain.
frantzracing0 reply :
anything that will allow a break in the current can and will hold fish, everything from a rock, bridge pylon, wood (trees, docks, logs) to a simple cut in the river bank
basscatcher8 reply :
One thing that I learned that always suprised me and I didnt believe it till I saw it was that if the conditions get muddy that bass will stick their noses right into the bank. To the point that I had to cast up onto shore and just bring it over the edge into the water real slow and they would hit it. The lower and slower the current gets the more the bass pull back from the banks and hang on objects out towards the middle.
frenchy1757 reply :
On 6/3/2014 at 7:52 PM, Catch and Grease said:I completely forgot to tell y'all how my trip went sorry guys,
The bass fishing was ehhh, out of 2 days of fishing I caught one Suwannee bass, one smallmouth, and three largemouth. Those are my first suwannee and smallmouth bass so that's something! No big bass the smallmouth was just about a pound and a half same with the Suwannee bass and the biggest largemouth was 3lb.
We catfished one day and couldn't stop catching them, we would catch 10 dinks for every big cat but boy was it fun. Couldn't have caught the bass without your tips so thanks again guys!
Next time you go Texas RIg anything watermelon seed red flake, redbug, or if the water is real muddy go with junebug. I prefer zoom trick worms, usually peg a 1/8 oz sinker 6" above the worm. I've been doing the same thing for 13 years still works great for me and people i fish with.
uncustered reply :
A natural texas rigged senko fished weightless, tossed right where the water stands up, let it drift until a hit, or after it stops drifting on the current, do over.....
Catch and Grease reply :
Awhile after I posted this I figured out I didn't catch a smallmouth on that trip, what I thought was a smallie was just another Suwannee bass.
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