I need help. I have fished in a boat on a river with some success, and i have dift fished for steelhead and salmon with success. Also, there is a large area of slack water underneath our dam wich i fish in for spawning smallies. But how do i fish in the current from shore?

Fist off try to walk up stream, this will eliminate spooked fish and when you quarter your bait back to you it will flow more naturally by the structure. What is the depth of water?

Also pick areas behind and in front of obstructions i the flow, like a boulder or fallen tree. Pick areas where the current eddies. lso pick baits that are not easily affected by the curren in the water. If you fish jiggs go as lite as possible this will make it appear more natural to the fish.

Well the river i am fishing is about 200+ yards wide, and ill be fishing around 6-7 ft. deep, give or take a few feet. The current is fast enough to drift a 3/4 oz. weight naturally in some spots, but generally 3/8-1/2 oz will tick along the bottom pretty good. I a more concerned about retrieve (mainly jigs), do i just drift it, do i jig it, or do i swim it, etc.

Cast upstream and let your lure float down, this works really well with inline spinners, and soft plastics such as senkos, most of the time the bass wil be ambushing right behind a rock, and when your lure floats by, SET THE HOOK AND HOLD ON!!

In Florida one shore fishes rivers very carefully

Casting upstream is good advice,your bait will be swept naturally downstream.The current is your friend,make it work for you.

Check the articles section,there are lots of good articles about bank fishing rivers and creeks.......

here's one http://bassresource.com/fishing/river_bass.html

Will a drifting lure like an in-line spinner, spoon, curly tail, etc. still have action on the drift? I mean, will the twister tail still twist when its flowing with the water?

Well I am going to go through this in reverse order.

First will these inline baits keep their action in a heavy current? Yes and as a matter of fact they were some of the first lires found to be as such in fast currents. You may not be able to just reel it in pell mell but with the right weight you'll do fine. But due to the width of your river stick with spinner baits (R shaped) in the heavier variety. This is because they are less likely to snag up.

Second in heavy current those senkos are a waste of time. Their action is severly impaired if used weightless. But in areas of moderate current they can be an effective lure. And yes the twister tail will still twist. But just a personal thought, rule out weightless rigs.

Your jigs will do fine and so will soft plastics. I use 2 1/2inch tubes religiously with a 3/16 once bullet weight. And it is a matter of drifting at the right time and swimming at the right time, and jigging when able. If the current already has you off the bottom make the best of it and really swim that jig in. If you can combine the jig and drift theory.

Here is a great rule of thumb, the most fish are in the areas of the least current! So you can use those light baits. I would tell you to use a deep diver to do most of your horizontal retrieves. This lure will track well with the current and against it. Rapalas seem to do well as do Bagleys, some fellows love Bombers, just do whats best for you.

Key bait minnow, and crawfish. Anything else let me know.