Tim Berkheimer

Looking for some opinions on how to most effectively fish for smallmouth in a certain situation. The water I am fishing is a large fast moving creek 2-5ft deep. The grass grows thick and tall to within 6" from the surface. The current bends the grass and creates a pocket underneath. These big bass lay under there and hang in these pockets. The water is nearly gin clear and the current is pretty strong. With these conditions how can I best target these bass. They are here almost year round. I can't seem to get down to them before I spook them with the boat. What do I need to do to get to these fish without spooking them.

I went out this past Saturday on the potomac river. The water temp was 40 degrees and clear up to 6-8ft. The wind was blowing 10-20mph with gusts near 40mph. I found the fish in 1-5ft of water near and under leftover grass in which is now almost all brown. I had one bite on a small green pumpkin tube. I was trying to drift down through slowly and pick apart the grass but the wind had other ideas. In no time I was drifting at a steady pace up river. The current under the surface was pulling the bait downstream as I headed up. This left me with no feel of the bait at all. I also tried a small chrome/blue lipless but only came up with grass. How do I overcome these obstacles and catch a few? Or are the conditions near impossible and I should have just stayed home?