River guys - what is your spring fishing strategy, do you exclusively target dams or do you focus on any current seam?

[Ohioguy25]

I know a lot of guys who don’t even bother with anything but fishing the face of a low head dam in late March-April, do you find this to be the most productive approach to spring fishing?

 

Do you wait until water is over 50-55 to switch to moving baits or do you think once they are active anything goes?

[bowhunter63]

Both They all don’t move up at the same time 

[PaulVE64]

Yep, both.

 

But in a river system I also  take a look at creek throats.

[Susky River Rat]

I fish up the creeks as far as I can get my boat off the river 

[Ohioguy25]

3 hours ago, PaulVE64 said:

Yep, both.

 

But in a river system I also  take a look at creek throats.

 

8 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

I fish up the creeks as far as I can get my boat off the river 

Why is this, food or spawning habitat?

[Susky River Rat]

Generally higher water. Fish push up during higher water. Spawn does have a part to do with it. Food also follows higher water.

[MIbassyaker]

Put me in the anything goes bucket.

 

3 weeks ago, my first bass of the year -- top two were below a low-head dam.  Bottom two were in the slack water just downstream of a bridge piling.  Water was 38 degrees, and I was swimming a grub. 

 

[PaulVE64]

I have some nice resident smallies that like the warmer shallow waters in the creeks for spawning.

 

[PaulVE64]

Plus the creeks warm up quicker but they wont run into the creeks until the late winter storms and runoff have finished. Those creeks can turn into white water rapids real fast around here. 

I fish urban rivers and creeks in Ontario.

It's still pretty cold but we had a very mild winter.

[Glenn]

 

[JacobB006]

From 50-60º: Moving baits first if I want to pick up some smaller, more active fish. Work a jig real slow for the big fish

[Ohioguy25]

1 hour ago, JacobB006 said:

From 50-60º: Moving baits first if I want to pick up some smaller, more active fish. Work a jig real slow for the big fish

Even in prime prespawn feeding you need to slow it down to get mature fish to bite?

[Columbia Craw]

The term river is relative. What is a river to you may be a stream to me. Regardless,  the desire to feed up prior to the spawn drives where I want to start.  I want flats or  even better, flat points with current running over it in 3 to 12 feet of water provide feeding areas. Fish can move up and down quickly.  Anything that can break the current is targeted.  Lipless and spinnerbaits do well.  Mid depth crankbaits also cover lots of water.  If fish aren’t aggressive I like a jerkbait .

 

I will also work main river access points to spawning areas and cover those locations with the same baits.  Plastics come into play at the spawn and post spawn.  That’s my direction in April.

[JacobB006]

On 3/27/2024 at 10:07 AM, Ohioguy25 said:

Even in prime prespawn feeding you need to slow it down to get mature fish to bite?

Not necessarily. This is more of a rule of thumb that I follow. I can still catch some citations on swimbaits and other moving baits, but in general, I have found that I catch more big fish when I slow down and really break down a spot. In my experience, big fish are less active than most people are led to believe. There certainly are exceptions to this, but this is what I have found to be true on the waters I fish during this time of year.

[Ohioguy25]

22 hours ago, JacobB006 said:

Not necessarily. This is more of a rule of thumb that I follow. I can still catch some citations on swimbaits and other moving baits, but in general, I have found that I catch more big fish when I slow down and really break down a spot. In my experience, big fish are less active than most people are led to believe. There certainly are exceptions to this, but this is what I have found to be true on the waters I fish during this time of year.

They didn’t get that big by burning calories that’s for sure