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Posts: 163
| When fishing a small river is there a preferred direction of pulling baits in relation to the direction of water flow? New to musky fishing on river so just wondering if you get more hits fishing one direction or the other. Another question would be which side of structure (upstream of cover or downstream) produces fish more often? Thanks! |
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Posts: 1828
| Between my few river-fishing friends and I, we've caught them while casting all directions. I'd say we mostly cast toward the bank (or other flow obstruction) in the downstream direction, just because the boat hasn't "disrupted" that water yet. The rivers we fish are pretty small, 60 to 120 ft across. But still, I can think of a few caught on upstream casts. Cross-stream sticks out for having the most follows/hits/catches.
All the fish in my memory that were related to cover were located downstream of the flow obstruction. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | I do much better casting upstream when it's possible.
Fish tend to hang downstream of structure except in low water/flow and high temps (65+) |
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Posts: 1828
| Flambeauski - 10/22/2014 3:02 PM
I do much better casting upstream when it's possible.
Fish tend to hang downstream of structure except in low water/flow and high temps (65+)
How do you get your lure to have decent action when pulling it in the flow direction? In my experience, the bait has to move pretty fast to get the normal action when I'm pulling it downstream. Water flow is probably 0.5 to 3 ft/sec on the rivers where I fish. And a lot of sinking baits really suck when coming downstream. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | Agreed, which is why I choose baits that are neutrally buoyant and don't take a lot of speed to work them. Flies are really ideal, as they have a large profile, very slow sink rate and don't take much to get them to "swim". Most takes are on the pause as they drift past the current breaks.
Cranes and tubes and Sluggo type baits work really well too.
Edited by Flambeauski 10/22/2014 4:12 PM
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Location: SE Wisconsin | Always cast across or upstream. My preferred angle would be at 10 or 2, looking at it like a clock, with 12 being directly upstream. It's much easier to do in a boat than from shore because the boat is moving downstream too. Think of how the fish is positioned. It's going to be facing upstream waiting for an easy meal to drift by. It's the first thing I tell people when when they first go down the river with me. It takes a little patience to wait to get to the spot and make a cast at the right angle. I tell them don't worry we will get there. I think you can blow a spot by casting to soon throwing downstream. It made me think of the episode of Keyes Outdoors from last year when they went down the Wisconsin River in canoes. Every cast they showed was thrown downstream and I think they caught 1 fish in the 3 days. It was frustrating to watch. I usually see must action on the downstream side of the cover. Probably because that's where the slack water is. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Agree with Flambeau and Rotag. I wouldn't cast downstream.
If you have decent current try a topraider and let the current work your bait, just pick up the slack.
Glide baits also work well in current, at least for me. Again, let the current do the work. Don't speed up your retrieve just to make your bait look like what you think it should look like.
I always liked the strongest current I could find. Fish sitting in that were there for one reason, to eat. |
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Posts: 1828
| Pointerpride102 - 10/22/2014 6:01 PM
Agree with Flambeau and Rotag. I wouldn't cast downstream.
If you have decent current try a topraider and let the current work your bait, just pick up the slack.
Glide baits also work well in current, at least for me. Again, let the current do the work. Don't speed up your retrieve just to make your bait look like what you think it should look like.
I always liked the strongest current I could find. Fish sitting in that were there for one reason, to eat.
So, you cast upstream in the fastest current you can find... and don't speed up your retrieve to compensate for lack of speed relative to water. Just let your bucktail sink to the bottom; topwater float along; crank bait get carried down with no wobble?
Maybe I'm totally missing a bunch of fish by focusing on the slack areas instead of the raging rapids. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Fishing rivers nearly exclusively for much of the season, my Muskies(of all sizes), come casting in all directions, with upstream and downstream directional casts, largely equal in success ratio. To qualify this, one needs to take into account exactly where they are fishing, the types of lures presented, and the attitude of the fish. When standing in a pair of hip boots casting an extremely shallow rapids/riffle, my casts will be different than when I'm anchored/slow drifting out in the middle of a run, narrow thalloweg, or tail-out. As mentioned above, when fish are hot or in the areas mentioned, bombing a tailbait, quick hop glider, and bucktail bringing the lure down and across is a great option. One can either shorefish an area like that excluesivley or fish a spot that way when drifting. However, once that spot or pattern is exhausted, it is time to work through the progression and resume your drift. Because a topwater or a glider worked 2' under the surface is not the top fish catching choice in many situations the river presents, one needs to make choices based on depth/speed and realize how the current can act as your friend during the retrieve. Because the current is much slower down near the bottom of the river or even stagnant upstream from an obstruction where it is anything but stagnant, above, to present a lure at the proper speed or to even get it there, it is often imperative to cast it in a quartering or sometimes even straightline downstream manner.
Like any lake, There are times that fish prefer a slowly presented crank, or rubber pull bait/jig. Not unlike when walleye fishing, it is just easier to present some of these lures and remain snag free(especially rubber and jigs) when using the current as your aid with the lure presented from downstream. Again, while there is no wrong answer, you just need to visualize where the fish might be, and how to best present to them with the river circumstances provided. Good luck!
Edited by Reef Hawg 10/23/2014 10:38 AM
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Posts: 4266
| Read the water and cast upstream or at a quarter angle upstream. Fish tend to face up current when they feed and let dinner come to them. I did lots of fly fishing in my youth and it made me a better river fisherman all around.Walleyes, muskies and bass,they all seem to feed alike, and you will learn to recognize fish holding and feeding areas. All part of being that muti-species angler. You can never learn too much. |
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Posts: 1220
| Everybody knows predators like to set themselves up behind some sort of a current break where they can maintain ambush points with the least energy expelled and watch what's being washed past them in the current. Lazy and opportunistic is the rule. So, yea bring your bait with the current to the extent you can make that work. Of course, it's harder to make the bait work that way, which makes fishing with a "tack" the way a sailboat gets around the likely choice. I'm a river-rat too, however, and think all these rules are often better left to the rule-book. I cast the way I think I should....then try all the other directions too, making what gets fish into the new "rule," at least for a day at a time! |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | jaultman - 10/23/2014 7:24 AM
Pointerpride102 - 10/22/2014 6:01 PM
Agree with Flambeau and Rotag. I wouldn't cast downstream.
If you have decent current try a topraider and let the current work your bait, just pick up the slack.
Glide baits also work well in current, at least for me. Again, let the current do the work. Don't speed up your retrieve just to make your bait look like what you think it should look like.
I always liked the strongest current I could find. Fish sitting in that were there for one reason, to eat.
So, you cast upstream in the fastest current you can find... and don't speed up your retrieve to compensate for lack of speed relative to water. Just let your bucktail sink to the bottom; topwater float along; crank bait get carried down with no wobble?
Maybe I'm totally missing a bunch of fish by focusing on the slack areas instead of the raging rapids.
Yes, but Reef goes on to explain in much greater detail (he's an excellent river guy). His comment on where a person is fishing is really the key factor on what you should be trying. |
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