Rip Rap Selection

I have been reading a lot about casting jigs to rip rap, and have tried with limited success. Pool 14 has miles and miles of rip rap. Much does not extend far into the water with the current river level, so I have not fished those areas. Do you look for rip rap with current, deep water near by, bends, points. I guess what I’m asking is how do you eliminate the miles of unproductive rock for those areas which hold fish?
Thanks,
Rooster

Good question Rooster!

This time of year all kinds of rip rap can and will hold fish. If I was going to come down and fish your pool, first thing I would look for is rip rap on the outside bends of the river. With the lower flows we have right now these areas would hold a bit more current giving me more confidence. The outside bends usually have deeper water really close by which is another big plus when the water temps fall in to the 40’s. Once you find an area like this you will find that the area you catch most of your fish will have something a bit different about it. Example would be a small rock slide creating a high spot, or point, giving the fish faster access to deeper water.

With high water, the current dictates the areas I will concentrate on when fishing rip rap but with the low water he have in the river right now the above areas should be prime areas to target.

The more time you spend on rip rap you will find that some shorelines have no rhyme or reason to why the fish hold there. I have rip rap areas on pool 4 that are about 1 mile long, I will get fish along the whole stretch. The key to areas like this is the whole 1 mile has 20’+ depths really close by.

Hope this helps!

Another good place to locate walleyes in Rip Rap is too find what I call a food shelf. Flat rocky area that junts out into the channel but next to deep water. Walleyes will tend to come up on this shelf to locate food and then head back down to deeper water. Make sure you give yourself some time on these shelfs. Walleyes may not be there at that time but maybe there in a 1/2 hour to 45 mintues. Early evening and mornings are a must.

What size jighead do you guys typically use when casting a rip rap shoreline to avoid being snagged in the rocks constantly?

When you’re getting fish right at the water’s edge, 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8. When the fish are out a bit deeper a 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4 will usually suffice.

Excellent responses guys. Deep water and current near by really help me eliminate quite a lot of rock to begin with. The rock slides and the shelves really make sense. Thanks loads . I have some very good ideas of places to hit, with confidence to give them a little more time than I have in the past. Can elimintate some of the areas I have been trying as well. Always great answers here . Thanks again,
Rooster