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Posts: 43
Location: Shawano, WI | I believe i saw something a while ago about this. I plan on fishing a smaller river alot this summer I just purchased a 14 footer for small rivers specifically. Do you guys think its more effective to fish casting across the river? of putting the in the middle of the river? and baits? Ive seemed to have more luck with smaller jerkbaits, twitchin cranks, and bucktails like mepps and buchers... just kinda wanna see what everyone else does strategy wise.... thanks!! |
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Posts: 613
Location: big cove tannery pa | I float the potomac river. Your best bet is to position yourself downstream and throw upstream. Catch alot more fish that way. 6-8" jerks that match the forage will do the trick. As for bucktails a couple of my personal fav's is the mepps and Bluefox bucktails. Smaller cranks like rapalas are a good choice, just rip them like you do a bulldawg. |
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Posts: 496
| I fish small rivers 90 % of the time ..... I have had luck on everything from Hell Hounds to Grim Reaper Spinner baits to Bull Dogs. As for casting I go directly at shore ....... If there is structure in the middle of the river you will find fish there too . |
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Posts: 688
Location: Northern IL |
Big or small it makes no difference.
1st of all you don't ever want to depend on being "lucky". So the idea that a certain bait will catch "a" fish for you needs to be thought of differently.
The fishermen catches the fish by placing a lure or bait at the right depth, moving it at the "right" speed and doing so at the right time, (when the fish are in an active state). Fish on an average fishing day get active once or "maybe" even twice in a 24hr period. The rest of the time they are in a dormant state and almost impossible to locate or catch.
When selecting a lure, any lure or live bait, think of it as a tool to do a job, checking a specific depth and speed.
When the fish become active and your paths cross he will strike your lure or "tool" 100% of the time!
If you are so close you can see the fish, chances are they know something is not right.
Put a little 5-15hp (tiller) on that 14'er and learn how to troll "correctly" and you'll be in business! |
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Posts: 531
| Ok i fish small moving water alot. From my years of doing it i find that fishing it like you would a lake work best for myself. Cover as much water as you can, cast upstream, down stream, across, shallow, deep... I have caught fish that i casted to several time and all it took was for me to change retrieve angle (example would be casting down stream to structer, then drift closer and casting cross current).
What i like best about smaller rivers is you are forced to fish what you got in front of you, it isnt like you look up and see 1000 acres of water, fish each structer like it has a fish on it. Because if it doesnt today does not mean it wont tomorrow.
Edited by anzomcik 5/4/2011 6:52 PM
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Posts: 43
Location: Shawano, WI | very helpful thanks guys!!! |
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Posts: 157
Location: Wausau/Phillips WI | The best advice I got from a very successful Wis. River veteran was to do what he called "saturation casting". I was always floating downstream and would maybe get a cast or two at each spot as I floated by. But now I use my trolling motor or even anchor to hold on a spot and then separate each cast by only about two feet to really saturate the spot. Success went way up. Jet unit and powerful trolling motor really help. |
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Posts: 156
| buddysolberg - 5/5/2011 11:28 AM
The best advice I got from a very successful Wis. River veteran was to do what he called "saturation casting". I was always floating downstream and would maybe get a cast or two at each spot as I floated by. But now I use my trolling motor or even anchor to hold on a spot and then separate each cast by only about two feet to really saturate the spot. Success went way up. Jet unit and powerful trolling motor really help.
I've often wondered about whether I would be better off trying this everywhere. It's pretty easy to move past a piece of structure and give it a few casts and move on to the next. It takes a lot to buckle yourself down mentally to really pick apart what you are fishing - especially when the wind is blowing and boat control gets to be a chore. |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | buddysolberg - 5/5/2011 11:28 AM
The best advice I got from a very successful Wis. River veteran was to do what he called "saturation casting". I was always floating downstream and would maybe get a cast or two at each spot as I floated by. But now I use my trolling motor or even anchor to hold on a spot and then separate each cast by only about two feet to really saturate the spot. Success went way up. Jet unit and powerful trolling motor really help.
While most of the small river fishing I have done is wading, I agree with this. Another plus is that often times one spot will hold multiple fish. I found a 50 yard stretch on a small river where I caught 3 muskies in 2 days and moved at least one other fish. Nothing like wading in 6 inches of water and having a 40" muskie follow to your feet and practically beach its self! |
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Posts: 2
| Look for spots the fish can sit in out of the current and watch the groceries go up and down the river. Rocks, trees laying in the water, a small deep hole in an otherwise shallow stretch of river always seem to hold active fish. Think ambush. If you trout fish you have a good sense of what I'm talking about. Look for slack water spots on curves and corners, they will lay in the slack water near a spot that has good current flowing past it. The river I fish is to fast to fish anything but bucktails and clothespin spinners, i pass up to many good spots working anything slowly. But i do use the trolling motor to go back upstream to work over spots that have always held fish in the past or spots that are to big to cover with just a couple of casts. Carpet bomb cast is what i do. Nooks and crannies are golden. |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | esoxkid06 - 5/3/2011 10:58 PM
I believe i saw something a while ago about this. I plan on fishing a smaller river alot this summer I just purchased a 14 footer for small rivers specifically. Do you guys think its more effective to fish casting across the river? of putting the in the middle of the river? and baits? Ive seemed to have more luck with smaller jerkbaits, twitchin cranks, and bucktails like mepps and buchers... just kinda wanna see what everyone else does strategy wise.... thanks!!
i spend a lot of time on the grass river which is a pretty small river.. I always find that fishing across the river is way more productive. Seem to get bit on smaller bucktails, twitching cranks, and topwaters. Fish this smaller river of yours at night with loud propbaits or WTDs |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | Great topic and something I'll be doing in my neck of the woods also this summer...
One thing to remember is fish face into the current, so someone above suggested casting up stream and I agree with it.. It's not too often you see a fish chase a lure that came from behind them and dissapeared out of sight, rather, they face into the current and wait to see what comes down.
Another thing I haven't seen mentioned yet are top waters. Top water rocks on rivers, and smaller rivers are not an exception to this working tactic. Tail baits, like Top Raiders, work exceptionally well. Someone above mentioned bulldawgs and while I agree they work wonders in rivers, when you're fishing something no more than 20 yards wide, consider going with micro dogs or the regulars and I'd suggest using the shallow versions. Lastly, I think a medium sized Killer Eal being twitched down stream would be exactly the title that promotes this lure - KILLER! Think about what river fish eat... Think abot frogs, snakes...
Pay attention to down trees with current rushing past the tip of the fallen timber. Eddies in the current will hold fish! Also, sharp bends in the river usually mean a cutbank with some depth on the outer bank of the turn... There are your holes. River fish are mean, aggressive and scrappers so be prepared for battle! |
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | Another thing I haven't seen mentioned yet are top waters. Top water rocks on rivers, and smaller rivers are not an exception to this working tactic. Tail baits, like Top Raiders, work exceptionally well.
totally agree. my largest musky came on a topraider in a small river in probably 6 or 7 feet of water. |
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| Precision casting. |
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Posts: 9
| Curt Gowdy the hell out of those casts. If you get a bait stuck in a tree and it doesn't ruin your leader..prepare for a heart attack if you get it to come free without screwing up your retrieval. I've seen river muskies hit on BS accidents too...so drink beer but be SAFE. |
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| focus on slower water just off of faster moving water, fish tight to log jams because fish will sit just behind them for current break and ambushing. pay particular attention to logs in the water and where you might contact them during your retrieve to establish a picture of structure. come to grips that you are likely going to donate some lures to snags, or ruin the hole going after your baits. |
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| Use inexpensive lures or purchase used ones (Buy/Sell/Trade section). It's no fun losing expensive and/or new lures. |
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Posts: 43
Location: Shawano, WI | thanks guys... Ive caught a few out of this particular river just kinda wanna see how everyone else approached it... now I have a good Idea on how to go about it instead of just float and cast |
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| Love this topic. I've been venturing into small rivers recently to avoid the masses, and it definitely has paid off.
I agree that you need to cast upstream or across stream. I usually use my minnkota at a pretty slow pace and throw at a 45 degree angle from one shallow side of the river, and bring the bait across the deeper part of the river that relates to structure. My experience has been that the musky relate much more to stumps and rocks in the river compared to weeds, I think because the stumps and rocks break up current more. I use mostly bucktails, anything from cowgirls to #5 musky killers. I also throw a top raider style bait. I fish the Wolf River near Fremont, which pretty stained, so I throw Chartreuse and florescent lures almost exclusively. I use a 7.5 foot extra heavy rod in small rivers to really keep my casts accurate. |
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Posts: 358
| When I fish a small river I will position tight to shore near good structure and throw a J-13 Rapala ( Perch color works the best for me ) I throw out and retrieve in, this with the jointed lure and retrieving into shore mimics wounded bait fish. If I throw upstreanm the current tends to get me hung up more often. The J-13 floats thus easier to control and get free when slightly snagged. Good Luck !  |
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | Any break or change in the current direction or flow should be treated as structure.
Weed edges, timber, rocks, edges of eddies, or dead spots behind structure, current or flows of creeks or storm water into the water that you are fishing. In the summer when your water temps are high, the incoming current from a tributary stream could create a temperature relief area that also can hold fish. |
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smaller river muskie tactics