I have had a tough year on the river this year. I didn’t jump on that early full moon for the spawn. and now the water is very high for this time of year. is it me, or is it just tough sledding right now? I am all for pulling up my britches and finding my own fish. I just want to know that , yes its just a tough deal. or am I honestly just fishing poorly.( and to a point yes I am).
We’ve had high water conditions on pools 7, 8 & 9(as well as the other pools) the last 3 years. I’ve come to welcome those conditions and have learned to appreciate them. Do I like it, not especially, but I hiked up my ‘big boy pants’ and learned to deal with it. 
This year hasn’t been much different for me. The Bass, Northern, Panfish & Catfish have been feeding pretty good.
What fish are you chasing?
I am trying to catch bass, either largemouth or smallmouth. I did some rat fishing on the lake yesterday, but the area was limited. I have only spent one day on the main river so far this year. what is frustrating is that I have fished more this year with much more limited success then other years. I am giving great consideration to going back out today. ( sort of like getting back on the horse that threw you.) I have been mentally beating my self up, due to my lack of success. I am not moving well or either adjusting well with the fish. I have some ideas of (in my own mind) of what to do. But applying them on the water is another thing.
I was always told to hike my skirt.
What do big boy pants look like and do you have to have an [censored] to hang them on or do you just shorten your suspenders?
I get up to P7 about a half dozen times a year. Couple for eyes, then summer bass. A a generic rule, I follow the chart of water flow. If the river on the rise I fish tighter to shore. When the gage shows falling, I look to back off to the first drop. Not always the case, but a good starting point.
yes I need to pull up my pink panties and go and get them. some times you just need a kick in the pants.. some days you need a scratch behind the ears.. today I need a little of both, and some fish to committ suicide.
When the water is high I have 2 rods on deck and that is it. One with a white spinnerbait, and one with a green pumpkin beaver. I go down the rip/rap banks with the spinnerbait throwing as close to the bank as possible, parallel cast if you can position the boat right. I grab the beaver whenever I see a log or a sharp current break (boulder under the water) along the rocks.
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When the water is high I have 2 rods on deck and that is it. One with a white spinnerbait, and one with a green pumpkin beaver. I go down the rip/rap banks with the spinnerbait throwing as close to the bank as possible, parallel cast if you can position the boat right. I grab the beaver whenever I see a log or a sharp current break (boulder under the water) along the rocks.
I sure am glad this is a family site or I could grab ahold of this one and run a long way with it. 
Your not alone. 2 weeks ago they were on fire in the prescott area. Now i am struggling. The combination of high water and post spawn patterns are making the bass hard to find. They just arent in their typical haunts. One would think you could go down the rip rap with a beaver or tube and get bit….they’ll come around. 
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When the water is high I have 2 rods on deck and that is it. One with a white spinnerbait, and one with a green pumpkin beaver. I go down the rip/rap banks with the spinnerbait throwing as close to the bank as possible, parallel cast if you can position the boat right. I grab the beaver whenever I see a log or a sharp current break (boulder under the water) along the rocks.
When the fishing is tough, just relax and grab a beaver.
You don’t say which pool you want to fish, but I’ll comment on lower pool 4, say from La Cupolis on down. During high water periods we have had good succees on bass while fishing other fish tight to the rip-rap. We’re generally using smaller plastics than bass type stuff, but the bass don’t seem to pay much attention to the smaller size.
I wish I could be down there today, what with the winds here less than tornadic. I’d be doing a drift along the rocks and doing what B Bk suggests…..relax. In high water that rip-rap pulls a lot of fish in and you’ll seldom be very far from that first break as Randy comments on. I’d just set sail and have a nice afternoon of it.
The Cedar here is really low right now and has been all spring, I don’t think we’ev had a rise in the water over 6″ at any one time. Its really hurting the dittypole fishing because our normal places are almost dry and you can’t get a boat back into them. Instead of quite a few channels we’ve gotten only about 40 with fewer bigger channels. Enough to eat but thats about it, thats ok but not like it normally is. Here in another couple weeks the spawn will be over and they will be back to thier normal patterns of coming in at nightfall and hunting the banks, it will again get better then. Find a couple feet of water or more and fish the banks where theres minimal current, its better flathead fishing at that time anyway.
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