Help: What to try?

I echo, Bob La Londe's advice. When it comes to fishing river current, he is
in his element.

From your post, it seems that you caught the largemouth right out in the
current. If so, it probably chased a meal out of its ambush point in an eddy
or behind a boulder or log. Largemouth typically will be found in rivers
where they can suspend without expending much energy and they let food come
to them. When they see an approaching meal (from upstream), they leave their
shelter to attack it. Probably, your lure passed close by such a point where
one bass had taken its station, and after you caught it, there were no more
around. Or, the largemouth may have chased something else out into the
current and your lure just happened to intercept it.

I've used in-line spinners in such situations, and Bob Rickard designed his
spinnerbait specifically for fishing the clear rivers of Missouri. Use the
smaller sizes -- 3/16-ounce is best. Adjust blade size and number to get the
amount of lift you desire, and select gold or nickel depending on the color
of the water and the amount of ambient light.

Small crankbaits that burrow down to the bottom and bottom-bouncing tube
jigs resemble crawfish. keep in mind where they're likely to be found on
river bottoms, too, and try to present your lure there.

Joe
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"Michael" wrote...
snip

My question: What else should I try? Thanks.

Mike

"Joe Haubenreich" wrote in
message news
I echo, Bob La Londe's advice. When it comes to fishing river current, he
is
in his element.


Thanks Joe, I appreciate that. I was trying to figure out if a spinner bait
would be a good bait for that application as Charles indicated and from my
experience I just couldn't manage it.

HOWEVER, upon reflection there is one way that I do use a spinner bait in
heavy current. Perhaps not the best application, but one that has worked
for me with inlines, and should work with safety pins as well.

I learned it bank fishing canal bridges. I would back wind the spinner bait
with the current from upstream of my target letting the bait drift back with
the current, but holding it back just enough to keep the blades spinning.
This works were you can get a straight shot, but it also works when you have
to make long casts to get out and across to hit your target areas. Simply
cast out upstream and past your target allowing the current to sweep over or
past your target area and spin the blades for you. You can bump a spinner
bait with blades flailing against a bridge column , and then let it drift
back into the dark shadows under the bridge quite handily with a little
practice.

That goes all the way back to the first bass I ever caught a little over 30
years ago when I was ten years old. We caught a bunch of them that day, and
I think I amazed my dad because I told him how to do it before I ever tried
it.


--
Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com