So anyways, I've been fishing this spot for a while. Lately, we've been getting a lot of catches... but the problem is, they are all small. I fish on top of a spillway, where the current is extremely heavy. This of course helps catch fish, because the bait fish like shad have no control against the current. The problem is, I'm getting kind of bored with catching small fish. We could try to change to shad, of course, but what is the chance that one big fish hits my one shad in the middle of a giant mass of them? Right now, I'm using night crawlers, by the way.

I'm just wondering if any of you have any luck with particular bait in heavy current?

Don't have much to add just like the word conundrum. But... several times I tried fishing the release spillway of a local dam.  Overlooking the water, I often saw the bass rise and fall in the fast moving water, but was never able to catch any of the good ones. So I gave up!

5 inch senko that is rigged wacky style and weightless.  The wacky rigging will give it a really erratic action in the current and it's weightless rigging will allow it to suspend or slowly fall (depending on how strong the current is.)  Make sure your bait passes area where the current is broken by terrain, rocks, laydowns, grass...whatever.  This might get you a larger bite.  If the water is clear use either green pumpkin or watermelonseed and if it's stained use either white or chartruse.  If it's muddy, use something else entirely.

Depending on the make up of the bottom and the depth you could try either a slab spoon or a heavy buck tail jig. These both look like a shad on the bottom and their weight will help you hit the bottom.

Best thing though is not to let yourself be limited by this one location. Try other places on the lake or body of water, and don't be afraid to try new things. There is no sure fire lure that will work 100% of the time so the important thing to do is to learn to match your presentation to the location. Think like a fish and go for it! Good luck,

Peter

I would definitly stop fishing the crawlers. Don't get me wrong, they are a great bait, but the problem is that anything from a bluegill to a lunker will eat them.

If you want bigger bass, and shad is your predominate forage, then a double willow white spinnerbait thrown cross current should do nicely. let the current take it downstream while reeling accross the current. a chorme/blue ratletrap should nail a few nice ones too.

good luck and have fun.

PS > I respect your use of conundrums...........better safe than sorry  :-/

Thanks so much, Avid, and I'll try the spinnerbait idea.

I'm glad you see the conundrum, because I'm still having fun catching fish, nothing beats catching them, but I'd have a whole lot MORE fun if I were catching big fish rather than half-pound whatchamacallets every 30 seconds. Then again, I'd have a whole lot less fun if I were to catch nothing at all.

Avid great advise !  I caught my only doulble digit 10.2 on a spillway using a spinner bait. We have 3 lakes in a row the bigger lake is released when rain is on it's way. When they release the water the shad come up in the rushing water and all hell breaks loose.

Is there a major advantage fishing cross current rather than from atop the spillway? I know that I've always fished from atop, although if a real big one ever does hit, I'll have to move down to the banks anyway and let it swim around with my hook while doing so. I've seen it done before (no way you'll get a monster up a 30 foot drop).

by fishing cross current, the lure will swing in a wide arc downstream from you.  This puts it right in their nose and covers the whole width of the stream.

fishing cross current will give your bait a much more realistic appearance.  not only that but you dont want a biggun "swimmin around" with your hook in its mouth while you climb down a 30 ft embankment.  catching a big bass is hard enough dont compound your efforts by using an inferior presentation and giving the fish excess opportunities to get away.

So I took your advice... and it worked out TOO well.

I was chilling out, fishing off the bank, proudly totting my new 20 lbs test line, pumped and ready to catch something big...

I got exactly what I asked for. Out of NOWHERE, at least 4 alligator garr just started jumping around and tore my line off of my pole. It was horrible! Haha. And SO unexpected.

Well, now that you know the technique the next trick is to do it in front of bass  ;D ;D ;D

I kind of thought to myself.. by the way... those fish were HUGE, those gar. How do I catch one? Lol!

Gar are probably the most hated fish is florida.  I know alot of fisherman. Most are decent guys who follow the rules and are conservation minded.  but the Alligator Gar seems to bring out the demon.  Many of these otherwise good ole' boys will kill any gar they land.

they are hard to catch too.  I was fishing for snook with shiners below a spillway and doing very nicely, but then some gar moved in.  They tend to chew a bait rather than just eat it.  So often when you set the hook it's a miss.  If you let them chew too long they will shred your line.  they ruined what was otherwise a very productive day.

I have them in my home lake too.  I catch one on occasion when using live bait.  Big toothy critters that look like something from the dinasour age.  Last one I caught went over 9 lbs.  

I released it ( the lake is catch and release only).  I was telling some of the local guys I know about it and they gave me hell for releasing it.  

Not sure what I'll do next time.  When in Rome eh?

Haha! Yeah, I've heard a lot of nasty words when Gar enter the sentence. They are predatory, from what I hear, and they tend to ruin fishing in the area. I'll tell you, from the way they were surfacing and gulping down bait, I can see why they are hated. A friend suggested I use steel leaders, but said the same thing as you: They are crazy hard to catch. I guess I'll just give up on them and go back to fishing bass. It was the first time I had ever seen them in the area, so I doubt I'll see them again.. I hope.

I don't know what a conundrum is but I have a BASS DRUM here it is Hope this helps