Smallie ....RIVER fishing/presentation....confusion and challenge.

[analfisherman]

The challenge:

Fast moving flood waters on a shallow (shore line 3 MAYBE four feet, obviously tappering to ZERO or INCHES the closer to the bank you get)

ROCK FILLED river (Rock River, WISCONSIN....guess it's the same in the Rock River on the IL. side too. 
                         REMEMBER, the shoreline IS covered with Boulders when not FLOODED.....and these are develpoed partially from Natural Rock as well as large chunks of asphalt demolition.....often even Squarebills will even get wedged BETWEEN rock due to non-rounded asphalt chunks.
   
SHOREBUSTING (WHOLE RIVER IS BASICALLY CLOSED OR NO-WAKE ZONE...MOST RAMPS CLOSED)......fish from the bank ALTHOUGH have and will wade.
                           BUT do to the ROCKS/BOULDERS walking the shoreline can be VERY challenging. especially wading CAUSE YOU can not see more than a half foot down....SEE WATER CLARITY.

CURRENT.......definitly moving at a good pace.....BUT not actually 'rapids style' ALTHOUGH can appear to be at places where larger combined rock piles area CAN/DO make smaller slower 'patches' of slower semi-calm 3' by 3' type patches.....BUT also produces stronger current above rocks and after semi-calm patches.

WATER CLARITY........about 8" to a foot.

WATER TEMP.........about 60 degrees.

What I've tried......
                         Squarebills, 3'-4" divers, like 1"-2 1/2" maybe thinner 3" plus but not the 'fatter style squares' (remember Smallies, and they prefer thinner baits BUT fatties can produce, just not as well .......some success, but often still get rock gap snags and current makes them when casted up river (current moving with bait retrieve) you have to reel fast...(when casted at a like 2 o'clock angle up river you will at the end of retrieve be bringing it back at a 7 0r 8 o'clock angle.

                          Caffiene Shads (Flukes)......can and do work......even with tails bit off BUT MUST be fished down river fished back against current and kind of 'jerk bait' style allowing the shad to float back with current on pause...else weightless will ride at surface...belly weighted can and will catch rock gaps resulting in snags.....these 'gaps' are EVERYWHERE.....you will get snaged EVERY retrieve!

                           Jigs......even 3/8ths and 3/4 OZ. will catch current and float  when 'hopped, crawled  (casted UP river OR DOWN river) AND swiming requires faster than desired speeds unless casted down river coming back against current and then the retrieve speed again becomes faster than desired.

                           IN-LINE Spinners...... working OK to good BUT the strikers are coming in at smaller 9-12" (can catch a dozen in 'past rock hump slack areas' but the BIGGIES just seem to either be not interested, not around as much or simply getting 'out fished' for the meal ticket from the smaller fish.
(note.....I've caught maybe 2 over 14" and only ONE 17"ish.

SO PRO-STAFF (members)........what am I MISSING?
                                           WHAT should I be 'throwing'?

I have put in  AT LEAST TWENTY HOURS trying to figure out the 'pattern'.
Have fished over a MILE of shore line IN TWO DIFFERENT AREAS OF RIVER (mile each)....so I'm searching and know where humps and eddies and semi-slack areas are! (know river VERY WELL)

DO NOT BE OFFENDED IF I TELL YOU THAT I'VE TRIED YOUR IDEA/SUGGESTION....BECAUSE I'VE TRIED A LOT MORE THAN I MENTION........being the 'short poster' that I LIKE TO BE ....I haven't mentioned everything.

PLEASE INCLUDE 'prefered presentaions' with your ideas.....YOU ALL KNOW I'M A 'WHY GUY'! 

THANKS PROSTAFF...........I KNOW WE CAN FIGURE THIS OUT....... TOGETHER!

[cport]

The challenge:

Fast moving flood waters on a shallow (shore line 3 MAYBE four feet, obviously tappering to ZERO or INCHES the closer to the bank you get)

ROCK FILLED river (Rock River, WISCONSIN....guess it's the same in the Rock River on the IL. side too. 
                         REMEMBER, the shoreline IS covered with Boulders when not FLOODED.....and these are develpoed partially from Natural Rock as well as large chunks of asphalt demolition.....often even Squarebills will even get wedged BETWEEN rock due to non-rounded asphalt chunks.
   
SHOREBUSTING (WHOLE RIVER IS BASICALLY CLOSED OR NO-WAKE ZONE...MOST RAMPS CLOSED)......fish from the bank ALTHOUGH have and will wade.
                           BUT do to the ROCKS/BOULDERS walking the shoreline can be VERY challenging. especially wading CAUSE YOU can not see more than a half foot down....SEE WATER CLARITY.

CURRENT.......definitly moving at a good pace.....BUT not actually 'rapids style' ALTHOUGH can appear to be at places where larger combined rock piles area CAN/DO make smaller slower 'patches' of slower semi-calm 3' by 3' type patches.....BUT also produces stronger current above rocks and after semi-calm patches.

WATER CLARITY........about 8" to a foot.

WATER TEMP.........about 60 degrees.

What I've tried......
                         Squarebills, 3'-4" divers, like 1"-2 1/2" maybe thinner 3" plus but not the 'fatter style squares' (remember Smallies, and they prefer thinner baits BUT fatties can produce, just not as well .......some success, but often still get rock gap snags and current makes them when casted up river (current moving with bait retrieve) you have to reel fast...(when casted at a like 2 o'clock angle up river you will at the end of retrieve be bringing it back at a 7 0r 8 o'clock angle.

                          Caffiene Shads (Flukes)......can and do work......even with tails bit off BUT MUST be fished down river fished back against current and kind of 'jerk bait' style allowing the shad to float back with current on pause...else weightless will ride at surface...belly weighted can and will catch rock gaps resulting in snags.....these 'gaps' are EVERYWHERE.....you will get snaged EVERY retrieve!

                           Jigs......even 3/8ths and 3/4 OZ. will catch current and float  when 'hopped, crawled  (casted UP river OR DOWN river) AND swiming requires faster than desired speeds unless casted down river coming back against current and then the retrieve speed again becomes faster than desired.

                           IN-LINE Spinners...... working OK to good BUT the strikers are coming in at smaller 9-12" (can catch a dozen in 'past rock hump slack areas' but the BIGGIES just seem to either be not interested, not around as much or simply getting 'out fished' for the meal ticket from the smaller fish.
(note.....I've caught maybe 2 over 14" and only ONE 17"ish.

SO PRO-STAFF (members)........what am I MISSING?
                                           WHAT should I be 'throwing'?

I have put in  AT LEAST TWENTY HOURS trying to figure out the 'pattern'.
Have fished over a MILE of shore line IN TWO DIFFERENT AREAS OF RIVER (mile each)....so I'm searching and know where humps and eddies and semi-slack areas are! (know river VERY WELL)

DO NOT BE OFFENDED IF I TELL YOU THAT I'VE TRIED YOUR IDEA/SUGGESTION....BECAUSE I'VE TRIED A LOT MORE THAN I MENTION........being the 'short poster' that I LIKE TO BE ....I haven't mentioned everything.

PLEASE INCLUDE 'prefered presentaions' with your ideas.....YOU ALL KNOW I'M A 'WHY GUY'! 

THANKS PROSTAFF...........I KNOW WE CAN FIGURE THIS OUT....... TOGETHER!

Not a big small mouth guy being in Florida, but how bout t rigging a larger gitzit. Put the bullet weight inside and it might not hang up as much. Just a thought, used them a few times in the rockier areas of Lake Mead when it was a lot higher.

Riverside baits makes soft plastic craws with hollow bodies to fill with scent or rattles. You might be able to insert a bullet weight inside as well. I'm not sure if there are other hollow-body crawfish baits like that by other manufacturers, but it's worth a check.

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