Small-River August Smallmouth

Small rivers kick out big fish, and big numbers of fish. It’s a fact that many of us acknowledge, yet few of us seem to take advantage of. Be it that we like to fish from the comfort of bigger craft, prefer easier accesses, or just seem to become creatures of habit, the reasons don’t always seem to justify the results. That’s especially true come August in the upper Midwest. Most of our typical freshwater gamefish bites get difficult. There’s an abundance of food in most systems this time of year, and fish are fat and happy. With the exception of big-lake trolling, now is the time of year that I head to these small rivers, and will continue to do so until water temps start sliding and the fall-bites start to come alive. During this time of year, flow-rates drop and water is usually at its lowest point of the year. While that makes navigation difficult, it tends to stack in fish on oh-so-predictable locations directly related to current breaks and/or simply the deepest water in the system. Pressure on these fish seems almost non-existent, and if you can plan your days to avoid pleasure canoe and tuber traffic, you’ll likely never encounter another competitor, sans the occasional turtle or water-bird.

Small-river walleyes can be a bit harder to come by, but smallmouth are uber-plentiful in many rivers throughout the Midwest. Never one to be bashful, a river smallie seems a bit more willing than his lake brethren to race away from cover and smash a bait. Even if it’s not the exact color or lure that’s preferred, these fish offer some leeway in terms of casting skill, presentation, and general fishing prowess. Which make them the perfect lazy-day fun-fish to go after with some friends. This game isn’t about razor-sharp concentration and long-hours without a bite, only to come down to a pressure-filled few seconds where it happens for the day….or it doesn’t. August small-river bronzebacks are about multiple opportunities, sometimes on the same cast, and lots of positive re-inforcement to remind you why you like fishing in the first place. Add some current, and broad fish that like to use it like a sail; you’ve got some serious fun not far from wherever you live.

For this bite, a good friend Chuck Nordahl and I fished a small river that had some seriously low stretches of water. What I’ve learned about fishing with accomplished fishermen, is that you’d better pay attention not just to the direct fishing aspects of the bite they detail, but all of the characteristics that go into it. Navigation, location, gear, rigging, etc., are all important parts of the puzzle. It helps that Chuck is MacGyver-like in his fishing equipment in-general. He’s always fine-tuning and performing on-the-water adjustments to his gear that best suits the day at hand. In cases like this, he also comes prepared. To fish with a motor of any size in the river we fished, a skeg-guard is mandatory equipment, and I know I’ll be getting one soon to go on a small 12 foot john-boat we have at home also. Not to mention, Chuck has been fishing in these shallow fish-wary waters for some time, learning that for both waterfowl-hunting and fishing, a custom neoprene floor mat keeps things quiet for the fish, and warm for the duck-dog.

Even in smallmouth-nirvana, there always tends to be a few approaches that work better than others. Various lures were tried, but we did best on a handful of baits in specific areas. Most notably were Terminator finesse-jigs with Trigger-X Flappin’ Bug trailers. I’m not a fan of big-jigs for smallies, and this combination provided just the right bulk to keep smaller fish away, while not being too large to keep away target-fish from our presentation. Not to mention, the wire-guard on the jig kept us from hanging up in a variety of weed and cover-filled situations. The key with this presentation was that even if you spooked fish under the boat, you could cast to them as soon as they took residence upon the shoreline cover, and they would eat. This is surprising given my experience with lake smallies. Typically, once they see you, you’ll have a difficult time getting them to bite. With the jig and trailer combination we had going, we could actually trigger fish into biting even after they spooked. That’s when you know your bait is right down the middle. I also tried some Shad Raps, and coming off of some recent small-river walleye successes, I tied on a few #4’s in various colors that also took smallmouth. Most of these fish came from current areas, casting downstream and bringing back, and they didn’t take our largest fish of the day. That said, they were able to be worked in some areas that jigs weren’t, namely rubble locations that current would lodge a jig deep into, but a crank would just bounce off. Our best color, probably unsurprisingly, was Red Craw. I also want to mention that both historically, and this day, getting out of the boat and casting pays dividends. Moving water can make for tricky navigation, and fish-rich areas demand more attention than you can often give them from the boat alone. Make sure to wear some old tennis shoes, drop out of the boat and get some casts in from various angles while wade-fishing.
So there you have it. The fish are out there and willing.

You just need to grab a smaller craft, abandon the bites of June/July, and fish these bites while fish are stacked and sassy!

Joel