Took the Yak on the james (Lynchburg) today in search of some smallies but I dont know what Im doing. Im much better on a lake. I caught one wacky rigged shallow but it was like 8 inches. a few other small bites and that was it. I tried finding some rocks acting as current breaks and casting behind them with the wacky rig and a T rig with no luck. I threw around every eddy and current break I could find with pretty much no luck. Any tips on figuring out the river?  

Well i fished the shenandoah this morning and had no luck either. Maybe just a bad day.

 

I’m sure the current heat wave plays a factor. Also some tide conditions can really turn the bite off.

I mostly use a fly rod when chasing smallies but when going conventional i always seem to do well on topwater and nose hooked 4-5" stick baits dead drifted through likely holes.  The biggest key for a kayak angler in the river is boat positioning, it is also the most difficult to master.