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Low Water River Smallies
by Mark Ripp
To the beginning river fisherman low water can be feast or
famine. Of course it doesn't have to be that way. With the proper
knowledge and information your next low water experience can
be a great one.
Shallow water bass can be extremely easy to locate. Smallmouth
bass will sometimes move to the deepest holes possible when the
water drops. Depending on the size and type of the river there
will be many spots offering sanctuary to bass.
· Below Dams
· Behind Islands
· Below Log jams
· Slack Water Areas
· Below Wing dams
All of these spots can hold fish and some times large quantities
of them. I was
fishing a mid-sized river this summer in northern Wisconsin and
experianced such a case. The average depth of this particular
river is about 4-5 foot. With very little rain the water dropped
to about a foot and a half. After fishing half the day in my
normal areas that were almost dry I decided to go up river to
a where an island caused a deeper hole.
On my first cast with a Eiland lures E-craw I nailed a 3 pounder.
Over the next 4 hours my partner and I caught and released 56
smallmouths. Two of those were over 21 inches.
While not every spot will hold this number of fish most will
hold some. I have also found that some spots hold smallmouths
better than others. Warm, slack water areas with vegetation are
more likely to hold largemouths while areas with gravel and a
little current can be a magnet for bronzebacks. When the smallmouths
are active they will position themselves at the head of the pool
or current break and wait for any forage that is washed downstream.
A wide variety of lures work great for these situations. My personal
favorite is a small bomber crank bait in a crawfish pattern.
Slowly bump the bait along the bottom while letting it drift
with the current. Smallmouths will hit it at any time. Another
great bait is a 1/8 ounce Strikeking Bitsy Bug with a small pork
chunk hopped along in the same fashion.
When bass are less active they will hang back in a slack area
and hug the bottom. Most times they will not chase a bait very
far. A slow moving jig or minnow imitator is great but another
choice is a small tube or a 4 ½ lizard. If you rig this
mojo style it can entice even the pickiest bass. For those of
you who are not familiar with a mojo rig, it is a cylindrical
weight that is pegged to the line above the hook. It is much
like a split-shot but it does not snag on the bottom like a split-shot
does. In most cases the biggest fish will almost always be found
in deeper water than the smaller fish.
Occasionally, in the morning and at low light periods the bass
will move to shallow flats surrounding the deeper drops. Look
for flats with vegetation and/or wood cover. Poppers, spooks,
and fluke style baits will work for this. Speaking of shallow
water, not all bass will be in deeper areas. Some will be cruising
flats and sitting in shoreline cover. The same lures mentioned
above will work for these fish too. Remember, when picking lures
try to match the size of the bait to the size fish your fishing
for. Also, when choosing crank baits pick the bait that will
run the right depth. Sometimes, however, a bait with a bigger
bill is better. You can run it slower and still touch bottom.
It will also deflect off any cover on the bottom.
Fishing skills are not the only thing that are important when
fishing in and around shallow water. Boating skills play a big
part of it also. For people that fish small, shallow rivers that
only require a jon boat or wading gear this doesn't really apply
to you. Some still like to use there bass boats though. When
running across shallow water it is important to know the draft
of your boat. My Ranger R61 draws about 11 inches at rest with
the motor trimmed up. If you are running and you find yourself
over extremely shallow water there are some things you can do.
If you have enough room and you are sure you'll reach deeper
water it is best to gun it. If you slow down the transom will
drop and the lower unit will hit bottom. If you do decide to
slow down try to find a slightly deeper spot to set down. Always
be care and wear a PFD and you kill switch lanyard.
Once you get to your spot you will need to maneuver the boat.
In shallow water with thick weeds a trolling motor can get bogged
down. I like to borrow something saltwater flats anglers do,
use a push pole. You can buy high quality graphite poles or make
your own. A 10 foot section of 1 inch diameter dowel rod works
well. Just screw a 6 inch section of the dowel to one end to
form a T. Then the tip will not sink into the sand, clay or gravel
bottom. You then can move quietly threw the shallow water and
not spook the fish.
Low water bassin can be very productive and fun. I hope that
these tips help catch more fish and that you learned something
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