ADVICE NEEDED!!!

[mctyndall]

So im very new to bass fishing in the rivers. I live in NC and I have been going to the Neuse river on Vanceboro. I’ve always been a beat the bank kinda fisherman, but with the heat and the shallow water I’m not having much luck in the creeks. Should I be fishing the main river banks or what? Deep diving cranks? Any advice on bass fishing rivers in the summer is appreciated!

[Walkabout7781]

Not a familiar circumstance to me, but with the warmer water, I'd fish the outside of the bends (deeper) and/or main river (deeper). Seems like it's time for you to do some graphing and looking for deep structure that holds fish. Don't forget to watch for bird activity marking baitfish, as for saltwater fishing. Don't ask me about deep crankbaits, I'd only suggest a Shakyhead with a Zoom lizard, or a C-rig...with a Zoom lizard.

[Skeeterbait]

I fish the Alabama River often, an impounded river that has current which fluctuates with the hydroelectric generation schedule. It has constant current, but significantly more while they are generating electricity. That current is critical to fish feeding activity. The bite can be tough, then they can start their generation and the bite pick up within an hour. The current pulls pray past cover areas where they set up in ambush. So the second thing to consider is cover. Cover that breaks current, or is located in natural eddies that are protected from but near such current. Yes in the heat of summer, most bass will migrate from shallows up in the creeks to the main river channel. This is due to cooler water temp and better oxygen saturation in the current of the main channel. So using this information, I target two areas along a main channel. The first area is the mouth of a feeder creek. On feeder creeks, concentrate on the downstream side of the mouth and 50 to 100 yards of main channel bank downstream from the mouth if there is cover available, tree tops, stumps, logs, boulders, rip rap, anything to duck behind to break current and ambush pray being washed into the river by the feeder creek. The second area is the natural eddy that forms just below a sharp bend in the river on the inside bank of the bend. Again, this is if there is available cover in the area. Such an eddy forms a back swirl of calm water and pray flowing with the current tends to get concentrated in this back swirl.

As for baits, there are lots that will work, I tend to have a crank bait, swim jig, plastic worm, Jig and craw, as well as buzz bait all on the deck and switch back and forth depending on depth and cover and time of day. Critical to river fishing is a strong trolling motor and good batteries. You have to have the power to pull the boat and hold the boat upstream against the current. Make casts to retrieve across and with current. and let it flow past ambush points of cover. Retrieving a bait directly upstream is far less natural.

[mctyndall]

Thank you guys for such great information. I really appreciate it.