what technique for river fishing ???

[john]

looking for some help on river fishing for sauger/walleyes,just starting to fish rivers i live in il. and fish the miss.and il.rivers but i seem to be a little lost.my question? is there one technique that i should use for fish that are caught at a certain depth in a river.i vertical while slipping and pull 3wayrigs upriver is there a rule of thumb or guidline to start from any info can only HELP thanx.

[stevefellegy]

Hey John,

Rivers drive me crazy since things change from hour to hour and especially day to day. BUT...I am never afraid to use a spinner/crawler, spinner/minnow rig in rivers. It's rare that this system doesn't catch river fish. The key to river fish is find'em. Most techniques, fished correctly, catch river fish. Now, quit trolling those three-way rigs "up stream". Always work WITH the current.
AND, if the fish are extremely shallow or tight to the bank, vertical jig, using slip-bobbers, sliding or drifting them through the fish. They will sink as much if not more than if you were pitching jigs to the same fish. Have fun!

[TBO/MN]

I agree with Steve for the most part, but.......Steve says stop trolling 3 ways up-stream...I have to respectfully disagree. I fish the Mississippi "alot" and have taken some the the biggest walleyes by trolling 3 ways and crankbaits up-stream. Crankbaits in the spring and fall trolled up-stream can be, and are one of the most effective methods for taking walleye and sauger.

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[stevefellegy]

Geez, that was easy....sucked that right out of ya! I'll remember that. lol Tough to teach old dogs new tricks though.

[TBO/MN]

Steve, you are a tricky old dog........;)

Come fish with me, and I'll show ya.

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[Tom]

none of you guys mentioned trolling cranks in the dead of winter, i mean 34 degree water temp i,ll say this here in the pittsburgh area on the allegheny river trolling cranks in cold water gets some pretty nice fish.just slow it down a little.




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[punch1]

I have down better trolling up stream. Not sure why. Maybe my speed presentation is "just right" when making the upsteam pass. Maybe it's because walleyes are generally facing up stream and they strike out of instinct rather than having a chance to see it coming there way? Who knows?

[River_eye]

I fish a river almost exclusively. Main producers are jigs tied straight to your line, with a minnow (frozen/salted where I'm at). Get it on the bottom in the right spot and you'll catch fish, I do a lot of drifting with the current to keep vertical. Cranks are also very nice, troll upstream or down, both will catch fish, but I prefer up, it gives you more time to concentrate on specific structure.

Wing dams and submerged structure, visibly holding up water are important come mid-late summer. Look for the slack water areas, some maybe chilling out there, and some may be right in the fast current. Spring time, don't be afraid to get really shallow, only 1-2 ft somtimes.

[CF]

Tom, what type of river is the Allegheny, are you pulling cranks in fast current with big 3 way bell sinkers or longlining in shallower slower water. what type of cranks and how deep usually? Will you "spill" for me? We fish the Missouri river in South Dakota in the winter but usually pitch jigs and drift, or drag, (I know, sf will give me Heck) live bait rigs. (lindy's). We've always talked about trying cranks but have never done it. THANKS FOR THE HELP IN ADVANCE!!

[llg]

What do you do in fast current, below open dams, or falls? How do I limit my snags, with rocky bottoms added to the same conditions.

[Tom]

CF
the allegheny is a medium sized river with lock and dams thurout its lenth with some islands here and there average dept not counting the main channel is about 13 ft, if the rivers high and fast i,ll go to the deeper holes or downside of wingdams anywhere where thers a current break and work jigs if the rivers normal and the bite is slow i break out the cranks, depending on dept, if your shallow say under 15 ft i like the bigger shad raps on longline i let the fish determine color, anything deeper i,ll put a stickbait on a 3 way and same thing with color and experiment with leader lenth and how far from bottom, the walleye divers also produce fish in the 15 to 20 ft dept, in the dead of winter i like dragging tham across the the river below the dams on the shallow sides of the washout holes, i do a lot of jig fishing to and thats the #1 choice for most people but when the jig bites stops don,t be afraid to move elsewhere and try cranks, if the river is at normal winter pool find the main channel or any good size flats i find the steeper the drop off of a flat the more fish, also the outside edge of islands if there are any, i could go on and on, someone wanted to know how to limit snags while jigging the river best answer i can think of is its the price you pay if the eyes are snug to bottom and thats where they are %99 of the time you need to put the jig in their face and you will lose jigs and sometimes lots of them but if thats what it takes so be it, another thing i don,t see a people doing on the river in the winter on open water is fishing blades man they are deadly, i get some of my nicest eyes with blades in the dead of winter but you need to work em slow the slower the better, hope some of this helps




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[DaveB]

I am not sure what kind of river you are fishing-but in MN, here is an easy way to start catching walleyes. W/ water temp 40-45 degrees+ troll #7 diving shad raps in 6-8' of water-always bouncing hard off the bottom. In the summer-look for fast water, especially if it is near deep holes. But the faster the better if the water is warm, and troll fast- 4 to 6 mph.
Spring and fall, slow down and look for slower water.

Trolling SRs allows you to cover a TON of ground and really learn an area. Remember the places that hold fish and concentrate on other areas.

Winter-deeper holes w/ jigs and minnows is hard to beat.

The main thing that people fail to do on the river up hear is fish shallow. Start very shallow and only move deeper if nothing produces.

[tbomn]

Be careful Dave, don't give away all the secrets.......;)

There may be someone listening........

[CF]

Tom, Thanks for the info. I just started using blades last winter/spring in deep water, 30-40', and fishing vertical of course. man, did they smack it, also snap jigged sassy shad type power bait bodies and did well. How do you, or do you even fish blades in less than 15'? ever tried casting them and slowly pumping them back? I hope to be at the river in 2 weeks and am looking forward to experimenting a little. THANKS

[PJM]

john


If you live in Minnesota near the Minneapolis or St. Paul hire the "Griz" a fishing guide for a day on the river it's worth it. River_eye who is also a guide will tell you that fishing a river is different then lakes and with the current in the water, boat control is very important.

[River_eye]

As far as keeping your snags to a minimum, try a couple things:

When vertical jigging, make sure if your line isn't straight up and down, it's slightly downriver. Your jigs will fall into holes and cracks from the direction that your coming, upriver, so if you are slightly upriver from your jig when you get a snag, you have a better chance of getting it free. You also have to be able to detect a snag with very short notice. The more you fish, the better you'll get.

Also, never let your jig drag, the more it's on the bottom, the more likely a snag. Anytime I hit the bottom, I immediatly pullup 6". My contact with the bottom is usually once every 1-2 seconds, but for only a milisecond at a time. The more time your line is slack, the more chance of a snag.

You are going to lose jigs no matter what, some will lose more than others. It's a good thing that they are so cheap, although I shudder at the thought of how much lead is at the bottom of some of those spots.

Below a dam. Slack water areas are key, especially the spots where the water travels upriver. Try to work your way from slack water to the edge of the fast current and even a bit into the fast current.

Good luck

[PJM]

River_eye


Nice post and very well written.................

[john mannerino]

River eye is right the more you drag a jig ,the more practice you get tieing knots.John