River Fish-Mainly Smallies

[Buggs247]

We have a river that feeds our lake here at home, I would call it an avg sized river. 70-80 yards wide in most places and averages 6-10 ft in depth until you get farther up river where it starts to turn rocky and impassable. At most any time of the year you can catch nice smallmouth farther up river but for some reason you cant catch them until it gets colder down around the mouth of the lake and they do not venture into the lake except for maybe a handful. Big debate among us that chase them is do they migrate up and down the river, I believe they do but there are many that believe they don't. Do you have smallmouth that you believe to migrate up or down a river system or do you believe they are resident to an area year around??

[mn_bowhunter]

Look at research studies of tagged smallmouth in rivers. Smallmouth will swim many miles up and down a river system.

[basscat tyler]

I've got a small river that feed a little impoundment I fish. It seems like the smallmouth travel up river to where theres more current in the warmer months and then show back up down lake in the cooler periods. Pretty much their wintering areas.

[Jwolff]

On the columbia river they migrate many miles according to the biologist. They have 3 areas they occupy. In my section of the river most winter just outside the mouth of a tributary. When spring rolls around they move up the tributary to spawn. Then for summer they come back out of the tributary and move upriver on the columbia till late fall. Then back to winter hole. This can be over 20 miles of river.

[cressie]

On the columbia river they migrate many miles according to the biologist. They have 3 areas they occupy. In my section of the river most winter just outside the mouth of a tributary. When spring rolls around they move up the tributary to spawn. Then for summer they come back out of the tributary and move upriver on the columbia till late fall. Then back to winter hole. This can be over 20 miles of river.

Yep, my bro caught a smallie that was tagged in Prosser area...My bro caught it off of Clover Island. If I recall correctly, that is about 25 miles of river between tagging and getting caught.

[Jwolff]

Yep, my bro caught a smallie that was tagged in Prosser area...My bro caught it off of Clover Island. If I recall correctly, that is about 25 miles of river between tagging and getting caught.

Prosser to clover island is about a 45 minute drive on the highway. That is more than 25 miles.
Plus there is a little overflow dam along that route. I figured the bass above the dam would be resident year round fish that would stay in the tributary.

[Cfrench085]

Is this lake shallow? What's the predominant baitfish in it? Maybe in the warmer months the cooler river water is better smallmouth habitat as it doesn't stratify, draws the food supply, has more dissolved oxygen.... Have you tried the lake at night?