River fishing is a growing section of the bass fishing world, yet not much has been written about targeting largemouth bass in rivers. Traditionally, largemouth bass were seen as fish that you catch in reservoirs and lakes, but rivers can be some of the most productive waters around (if you can find the bass.) So how do you target largemouth bass in a river? Here is a detailed breakdown for catching largemouth bass in the river.
Fall can be a difficult time for anglers pursuing River Largemouth Bass. Before determining what presentations to use, finding the fish should be your first goal. Once you have found the bass, you need to know what presentations and lures to fish. In this article, we will break it down further and discuss what presentations, lures, etc. Knowing what the bass are keying on, and how they are hunting this time of year, is the key to hooking a river largemouth once you have found it.
Fall
Presentation
Your presentation in the fall should focus mainly on the food sources that the bass in the river system you are fishing key on this time of year. In most rivers, fall bass are chasing baitfish, either minnows or shad. Some bass are still attacking sunfish and six month old baby bass, but the main food source tends to be baitfish. Fall largemouths are typically pretty active, and knowing this, you should start by fishing "active" baits that mimic baitfish. But...sometimes the fall does require you to slow down a little. Once you locate the fish, you need to figure out how to get them "in the boat." This is a good starting point that should catch you a few fish.
Shallow Crankbaits
Crankbaits are a great starting point for chasing active river largemouth bass in the fall. Especially if the weather is stable, and the fish are hunting. Throw them in areas where you know the baitfish are hunting. Chose a color pattern, that best mimics the baitfish you are trying to imitate. I typically choose color patterns that are based around white or silver, imitating shad and minnows, in the fall. I will go with darker colors on overcast days, and lighter colors when the sun is at full strength. Find a crankbait that is as close to the length of the baitfish you are mimicking as possible.
Shallow water cranking, can be very productive in the fall. Your crankbait should run just deep enough to bump the bottom of the river, or to nick the top of the grass you are fishing. I try to imitate a feeding baitfish with my retrieve. Drag the crankbait along the bottom, kicking up some sand or gravel, with several quick short twitches, followed by a long pause and allowing the lure to float up a little. A floating crankbait works best for this presentation. If you are fishing water that is a little more open (especially later in the fall), switch to a suspending crankbait. For more details on shallow water crankbait techniques, go here: http://www.fishtattoo.net/2012/06/shallow-water-crankbait-fishing.html
Spinnerbaits can produce great in the fall. Choose a color that mimics a baitfish, usually a white or silver color produces well in the fall. I prefer to fish a double willow leaf spinnerbait that produces more flash than thump in the fall, especially if the water is clear. Fish them in shallow areas where baitfish are schooling or feeding with an erratic retrieve and multiple direction changes. Think about how a school of baitfish moves in the water--copy this movement with your spinnerbait in the fall.
Shallow water cranking, can be very productive in the fall. Your crankbait should run just deep enough to bump the bottom of the river, or to nick the top of the grass you are fishing. I try to imitate a feeding baitfish with my retrieve. Drag the crankbait along the bottom, kicking up some sand or gravel, with several quick short twitches, followed by a long pause and allowing the lure to float up a little. A floating crankbait works best for this presentation. If you are fishing water that is a little more open (especially later in the fall), switch to a suspending crankbait. For more details on shallow water crankbait techniques, go here: http://www.fishtattoo.net/2012/06/shallow-water-crankbait-fishing.html
Spinnerbaits
Spinnerbaits can produce great in the fall. Choose a color that mimics a baitfish, usually a white or silver color produces well in the fall. I prefer to fish a double willow leaf spinnerbait that produces more flash than thump in the fall, especially if the water is clear. Fish them in shallow areas where baitfish are schooling or feeding with an erratic retrieve and multiple direction changes. Think about how a school of baitfish moves in the water--copy this movement with your spinnerbait in the fall.
Topwater
Topwater lures and presentations can produce well on a river during the fall. Everything from a buzzbait to a popper can catch bass. I like shad colors in the fall, and typically fish them to imitate a minnow scurrying across the top. For this reason, I will consider a weightless soft plastic fluke fished quickly across the top as a topwater technique also.
Walking-the-dog can be one of the, if not the, best top water presentation during the fall. Lures that are easy to walk the dog with, such as spooks and torpedoes, are usually my go to baits for topwater fall largemouth bass fishing. Topwater presentations for river bass fishing are best fished over shallow gravel and sand bars and grassbeds. Walk the dog over newly flooded stretches in the backs of creeks as well. Cloudy, overcast, and drizzly days, are prime-time for fall river topwater action. This can produce some enormous bass.
Swimbaits
Hard and soft bodied swimbaits are not usually my first go to technique in the fall, but they can produce well on river in the fall. I will fish them after a cold front comes through, or when bass just aren't hitting faster moving baits. They are particularly effective on tight lipped fall river bass when fished in a shad pattern over and through remaining grass beds and newly flooded areas.
Jigs
Although, bass during the fall are often feeding and chasing baitfish, there are time that they are tight lipped, lethargic, and just won't bite. This pattern can become especially evident after a fall cold-front. During these times, you will want to slow down and fish. These are times when I will tie on a jig. I will usually use a white or shad colored jig, but depending on the river system and the bass, I will sometimes switch to a crawfish or sunfish pattern as well.Fish the jig in the same areas that you would anything else. Just slow your presentation down some. I prefer swimming jigs or flipping jigs that I can slowly swim through the grass or drag along the bottom. With my jig, I am trying to imitate a dying baitfish, a feeding sunfish, or crawfish. All things that are moving slowly along the bottom with few small, quick, fluttering movements. When nothing else is catching bass, this technique can dominate.
Alabama Rig
Yes, I said it...The Alabama Rig. It can produce good stringers of bass in the river in the fall. Anything that imitates a school of baitfish can catch bass in the fall. Fish the Alabama Rig in the backs of creeks and coves that have plenty of water, or in the main river in areas where baitfish are schooling. Fish them with a constant retrieve speed, but several direction changes.Use these lures and presentations in the correct sections of water, and you will catch bass in the fall. People often get distracted in the fall, by hunting or other outdoor activities, that they forget about how great the bass fishing opportunities can be. This means less anglers on the water, less pressure on the fish, and more catching for you!
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