Dion Hibdon and Dave Lefebre offer some invaluable advice when targeting flooded cover on a river.
Hibdon said, “If I’m fishing a lightweight jig and have to make 10 casts to a spot in order to get the bait to float right past the fish’s nose, then I’ll do that rather than use a heavier lure that drops with an unnatural approach. Too many anglers like to control the lure rather than let the current present the bait.
“Also, I have found that bass often position themselves `loose’ to brush that has a strong current flowing through. It would seem they don’t like being banged around the limbs and branches, so they back off farther on the low side of the brush. This allows me to make my approach cast with a spinnerbait rather than a jig. But don’t expect bass to come to the front side of the cover to take the bait; they will likely be tucked in behind.”
Lefebre says it may sound like simple advice, but the key to catching bass in flooded wood cover is not getting the jig snagged on a branch with a false hookset, thereby spooking any bass that may have been using the current break.
“Fishing wood cover with current passing around and through it is more difficult than fishing the same cover in the still water of a lake,” Lefebre said. “I let the current carry my jig to the likely holding position of the fish, and in doing so I also feel my way through the cover.
“Normally in a lake, if the bait stops moving unexpectedly or I feel a tick that might be a fish, I would immediately set the hook. But not in a river. Instead, I feel for the fish, or the snag, by giving a little line and shaking the rod tip to see the response. River bass will hold a bait longer than lake bass, so you don’t need to be so quick with a hookset that may result in a hooked branch rather than a fish.”
Wing dams
On larger river systems, wing dams are familiar structures that redirect flow and protect banks from eroding away.
“Wing dams are easy to find but hard to learn how to fish in high water,” Lefebre said. “I study them during low flow in order to learn the intricacies. First, I want to discover exactly where the outside end of the wing dam is located and then set up triangulation positions for future reference during high water. Right at the end is where current breaks around to form an eddy. It’s one cast I always want to make.
“I also study the entire back edge or downstream side, looking for any irregularity, such as a few rocks that slid off the back, a log jammed into the rocks, etc. – anything that would create a specific smaller current break on the overall big wing dam break.”
In terms of presentations, Lefebre hits the front of the wing dam and end eddy with a crankbait to check for active smallmouths. Then he fishes the backside more thoroughly with a jig for largemouths or resting smallies.
“Is a wing dam worth fishing for bass in the spring? Maybe – if its location is immediately adjacent to a backwater,” he said. “In that case it may act as a staging area for bass entering and exiting the backwater or tributary creek. A wing dam definitely has possibilities after the spawn, with bass moving back toward the main river.”