Current. Bass love
it, but many bass fisherman hate it. I think some of the frustration that stems
from fishing big rivers (like the Arkansas or Mississippi) comes from lack of
understanding of how current positions fish. Check out these 3 hot spots to
help you always find fish the next time you find yourself on a flowing giant.
Wingdams
One of the most
talked about places to find bass in current is the wingdams. These are great
places to find bass, but not all are created equal and the bass will often
locate themselves on different areas of the wingdams depending on time of year
and amount of current. Be sure to check the front side, back side, and the
current eddy/swirl on the end. Once you find where they are holding, you can
generally find them there on every wingdam you stop on. Wingdams that have some
type of backwater close by will often be a little better, because it gives the
fish a places to move in and out of to spawn.
Best Time to Fish:
Post Spawn (early summer)
Backwaters
When it comes to
spawning bass on big rivers, you better be in some type of backwater. This
could be a section of slack water behind a wingdam, but you will normally find
a better population of fish in the larger backwater sections. If I have a
choice, I normally look for backwater areas that are just off the main river
and don’t have any flow coming into it. This helps the water warm faster. If
you find laydowns and stumps in the area it is a major plus!
Best time to fish: Early Spring into early summer
Note: Backwaters with
flow are usually better in the summertime, because it helps keeps dissolved
oxygen levels up.
River turns
One place that really
gets over looked in on these river systems are the sharp turns. Sometimes the
turns can be ½ mile long (or more), but often hold plenty of structure and
FISH! River turns do two things: slow/block the current on the inside bend and
speed up current on the outside bend. Look for stumps and laydowns to flip on
the inside bends and deep undercut banks on the outside bends.
Best Time to Fish:
Summer into Fall
****All images used from Navionics online Web App***
