If you’re anything like me, there are few things better than pulling on your waders for a fishing trip on a small river or stream. The sound of the water, the smell of the air, just being in the presence of Nature, I’m not sure what draws me to small river and stream fishing, but the point is I love it. In this article I’m going to outline some tips and techniques that will help you become much more successful when fishing in small rivers and streams.
The first thing to discuss is the clothing you wear. When fishing in and around small river and streams it’s very important not to “stand out”. The fish in these types of waterways are very cognizant of their surroundings and if they notice you, they are much less apt to bite. In fact, you can easily “spook” an entire area fairly easily which means that nothing will bite. For this reason, you want to make sure that you wear drab clothing that doesn’t make you stick out like a sore thumb. When fishing in small river and/or streams, don’t wear “loud” clothing.
The next thing to consider is you hands; yes I said your hands. Fish that swim in these types of waterways a also very aware of anything unnatural, which includes scents. If you have any unnatural scents on your hands, this will transfer to your bait/lure and fish such as trout will detect these scents and tend not to bite. This is why you should always make sure that your hands are free of any unnatural odors. This can be accomplished by grabbing a handful of grass or dirt and rubbing it into your hands every hour or so.
The next consideration is when you’re fishing. There are times of the day, week, and month that are better than others for fishing. Making sure that you’re on the water when the fish are the most active will make a big difference in your catch rates. To make sure that your fishing when the fish are the most active all that you have to do is pay attention to the weather and moon. The weather and moon hold the key to being on the water when the fish are the most active, there’s no doubt about that.
A great technique when fishing in small rivers and streams is to allow a live worm to flow naturally with the current, bouncing along the bottom as it travels. If your worm is rigged on a set of gang hooks the results can be incredible. Gang hooks are the most natural way to present a live worm while fishing. When you start using gang hooks to present live worms, you will never again use a single hook. It just won’t make sense any longer.
Begin employing one or all of these tips sooner, rather than later and you will start catching more fish. How am I so sure of this? Because I’ve personally been using every one of these tips with a great degree of success for more than 20 years, and I know how valuable they are.
By: Trevor Kugler
Posts Tagged ‘Waterways’
Small River And Stream Fishing Tips
April 25th, 2010Best Bass Fishing Secrets
December 7th, 2009
Many say that a bass fisherman is only as good as his Bass Fishing lures. Well, this is really only fifty per cent true, the other fifty percent is in knowing and understanding bass habitat. Combine these 2 elements together and you have the best bass fishing secrets. Learning how to catch more bass isn’t really a secret but rather a solid understanding of these principles and how they apply to any given body of water. By understanding what lures apply to what situations and knowing and understanding bass habitat like the back of your hand will go along way to keeping your live well full while the other guy struggles to stay in the bass tournament.
The best way to take a look at how these 2 principles combine is to look at some scenarios we often face as bass fisherman. For example;
Suburban Bassing: This is what I call it when waterways are surrounded by residential development, manicured lawns and corporate build up. You know what I mean bass fishing in the city. Many of the best basswaters in the country are not those large reservoirs that get most of the bass fishing attention. But rather the small, suburban waters like golf courses, country clubs, housing developments creeks and channels in our cities. While many of these small waterways will be off-limits to the general public, you can often get permission to fish in some of these areas just simply by asking.
The benefit is less fishing pressure and you may find that some of your sweetest bass fishing holes may be found right under that culvert behind factory X. Of course learning and practicing what techniques work here will require experimentation but don’t be afraid to test it out. Often these suburban waters will be snag fests, so I usually like to tie on a plastic worm to find that 10 lb bass lurking below.
Fishing from the back of the boat. Ok you finally got a break into a bass fishing tourney by being invited by your friend only to discover you’ve been relegated to fishing from the back of the boat. Oh the humanity. Yes we all love fishing from the front of the boat, but what happens when we are relegated to this lowly spot. No problems just adjust your tactics a bit. Try to set up a system where the guy in the front doesn’t hog all the first casting opportunities, try and set it up so the guy in the front casts to every other good spot, leaving you the poor guy in the back some good opportunities as well. The result you’ll actually be able to cover water faster finding those sweet spots a lot faster.
But what if your not getting those kind of opportunities, and you feel like your getting the short end of the rod so to speak. I’ve been in this situation many times, and sometimes it’s not a bad idea to give the guy in the front a subtle message by casting up ahead of him. Nothing says hey gimme a chance then squeezing in a few “hey don’t forget about me casts”. Hopefully, that help break the ice and give you the chance for the “hey were a team, so let’s fish like a team” opportunity. But then again, if not often being the driver and fishing from the back gives you some subtle control, keeping your eye on the fish finder and positioning the boat just so, might give you some opportunities as well.
These are just a couple frequent scenarios that often bass fisherman face, but even when the pressure is on there are lots of subtle best bass fishing secrets to be told. Just like in this article one tip pertained more to a given urban situation and one had more to do with what goes one above the water. Both are important and can spark ideas to find your own bass fishing secrets. Just learn and discover and you never know what you might find.
By: David Pentoch
