I am reading a book from the author Tim Holschag about fishing Smallmouth in rivers. He has a section all about topwater and he highly recommends the Heddon Tiny Torpedo. What is so interesting to me is his approach to fishing in current. He suggests anchoring above targets and bringing the lure past the target against the current. This is contrary to all I have read before about moving the bait downstream because the smallies are facing upstream, and the perception that anything approaching from behind is unnatural and likely to spook fish. This begs two questions from this novice.......what are your thoughts and techniques for the Tiny Torpedo, and what are your thoughts and techniques for anchoring and fishing against the current? I am fishing the Cumberland which is a pretty big, deep river with current from 1 to 2 MPH. The Cumberland is full of laydowns and rocks of all sizes.

thanks is advance. 

Fishing against the current is against the rules as far as I'm concerned.  That said,  I'm convinced that some fish don't know the rules so I'll make a few "illegal" cast on any given outing.  As for the Tiny Torpedo,  that's one of the lures I don't talk about in public.  

truly against the current isn't my preference, but down and across is killer.  That's the standard way to swing streamers on a fly rod or to throw an inline spinner in current.  A tiny torpedo is a great smaller stream lure and even look at the Teeny Torpedo which is only 1.5" and the fish absolutely hammer it.  

I can say without hesitation that in 20+ years of fishing the Upper Potomac and lower Shenandoah, I have caught as many smallmouth fishing against current as with it.  And I’m confident that overall my catches have been pretty evenly divided fishing with current, cross current and against current. And this absolutely includes topwater.  
The Torpedo lures were my go-to topwater once upon a time. But since I started throwing the Rapala Skitter Prop several years ago, the Torpedoes have been only along for the ride.  I will admit I have not read any books about river fishing, but it sounds like that may be a good thing.

Give it a try ,Ya never know. I read Tim’s books and he was the real deal . Might be surprised

Casting down stream 100% works. You’re not targeting the bass your dragging it over. You are targeting the bass further away that are willing to chase it. You will get more action out of a bait with less ground covered. 

As a lifetime stream trout spinner angler, I always cast upstream.  It is difficult to get the spinner to the bottom going upstream and I’d rather be in their face than chance spooking them from behind. I fish smallies the exact way but smallies will turn and sometimes chase too, making the hit hard to hook and keep up with. My first time I ever fished smallies that was my experience and I enjoyed the heck out of that and the addiction ensued.  

Idk about the bigger rivers that you need a boat to fish out of but on the wadeable rivers I fish both the smallies and trout will handily hit lures brought upstream.

My buddy anchors up and throws fluke and jerkbaits directly downstream. He slays big SMB 

I've never had consistent luck bringing my lure back against the current. Sure there are times when it's worked, but no where near as consistent as bringing it back with the current. I do feel like the effect decreases as current speed decreases, though. 

 

My local trail is mostly small lakes, but we do fish a river or two. It's funny watching the guys who are usually hammers on the lakes struggle in a river. And a lot of the time you see those guys on the rivers, they aren't keeping their bow into the current and fishing with it. 

I’ve never been a fan of crankbaits in the rivers I fish. Most of my rivers are shallow and not very wide. On a bigger river, there is one pattern where I find cranks work well. I’ll anchor upstream of some rocks then let my lure ride the current downstream. When it gets next to or near my target, I’ll hold the bait in position and let the current cause the lure to vibrate and wiggle as it would if I were retrieving it. You can let it sit there and dance as long as you like. If you let the lure downstream stream you may be able to cover a few different hiding places without moving. Retrieving the lure takes time. If you wind too quickly the bait will roll over. This works well with spinners, spoons, tiny torpedoes and other prop baits too. 

1 minute ago, Scott F said:

Most of my rivers are shallow and not very wide

 

That's exactly the type of river I am fishing and the average depth is like a foot most of the time.  I float down the middle and can cast to both shore banks.  Try a shallower-running crank bait.  Like a storm subwart or similar lure.  You want the lure basically buzzing the surface as it comes in, or an inch or two below.

 

To the OP, I generally cast cross-current as I drift past targets.

I fish the Columbia which has currents that run 1.5-3mph. I mostly throw upstream but sometimes fish down or down and across. Both techniques work for me at certain times of the year. In warmer water fishing downstream works for me but in cold water I pretty much exclusively cast as straight upstream as I can.