I heard from a few people that The river that I fish here in North Carolina needs to be fished with smaller lures. About 75 yards wide. Ranges 5-20 feet deep depending on how close to the center you get. Temps now in the water about 72*.

The people I spoke to said their logic comes from a slower current need smaller bates especially swim bait minnows.

Any input?

did you try any of the suggestions you received?  have you done any experimenting with identical lures, but in different sizes to see if there is a difference?

my logic is to typically always downsize when fishing the rivers near me

That would not be the case around here, but maybe it is on that particular river.