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Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river #12038122 01/13/17 11:24 PM
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Jigflippa Offline OP
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I have been fishing a small river that runs into a Deep East TX lake. I have caught lots of fish and even one or two nice ones here. I'm looking to target bigger bass and not catch so many dinks. Any tips? It's a fairly muddy river. Any tips for this time of year or the next few weeks as pre spawn pattern gets going. Never fished the pre spawn in a river like this.

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Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Jigflippa] #12038147 01/13/17 11:49 PM
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Pre-spawn in a muddy river can be tough. That's the bottom line. One thing to remember is that bass hate the current in the Wintertime. They don't want to exert a lot of energy, so they're gonna head away from the current. Current breaks in a river are always good if you wanna catch fish, but from my experience, rarely are there big fish around them. If your river has docks, concentrate on the ones that are near spawning coves or docks that are in deeper water, like the 6-12ft range. Skip a jig or senko under there and usually you'll catch big ones that way. If you have any points or other good structure, fish some of the deeper stuff. You can throw a football jig, deep diving crankbait, Carolina rig, etc.. If you have a lot of shoreline cover, flipping a Tx-rig or a jig in there will get you bigger bites. Try to find cover that's near deep water or in deep water, like timber along a channel. Sometimes there are logjams or brush piles right in the middle of nowhere, so use your electronics to kinda scan around. If there is a flat covered in stumps near a spawning cove, throwing a flat sided squarebill in a chartreuse/black back color can deadly for big fish. Be sure to fish slow and stay out of the current.

Hope this helps


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Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: bigbass94] #12038163 01/13/17 11:57 PM
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Thank you! This does help. No docks on this river. It is very narrow, I'd say 25 yards wide or narrower. Channel is abt 19-15 ft. deep. There are some. Ackwaters, bayous and sloughs that are three or four feet deep. Lots of shoreline cover everywhere.

Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Jigflippa] #12038182 01/14/17 12:14 AM
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Originally Posted By: Jigflippa
Thank you! This does help. No docks on this river. It is very narrow, I'd say 25 yards wide or narrower. Channel is abt 19-15 ft. deep. There are some. Ackwaters, bayous and sloughs that are three or four feet deep. Lots of shoreline cover everywhere.



Those areas you mentioned are gonna be where they spawn, so fishing places that lead up those backwater areas are gonna be good pre-spawn spots. Concentrate on that shoreline cover, the thickest stuff you can put your bait into.


"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." - Doug Larson
Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Jigflippa] #12038197 01/14/17 12:25 AM
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If you can go up the river until the middle of the river hits 10 ft. deep; that is where you will find them from there to the tail waters. The farther away you can get from civilization the better. Any trees that have blown over off the bank into the water is your targets for the big fish. A 5" Black Blue Tail Lizard will be the ticket. Won many tournaments do this as far away as I could go. Usually the farther you go the clearer the water will get with no recent rains. If water is coming in from rains you will have to forget it and fish some of the clearer side sloughs.

Last edited by Donald Harper; 01/14/17 12:26 AM.

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Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Donald Harper] #12038428 01/14/17 03:00 AM
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So go as far upstream as possible? Is that just this time of year or all year?

Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Jigflippa] #12038490 01/14/17 03:39 AM
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All year. Bass in a river system move more than on the main lake. They follow the bait that is there and there are may species of forage that move upstream at different times of the year. Bass up there are use to eating anything that swims and small critters off the bank/fallen trees. It is still all about the food supply and the spawn as to where you will find them. Lots of Crayfish in a small river system and they will be after them year round. Your fineness type jigs with an exceptionally strong hook will also be a great producer. Follow the Crayfish's seasonal color changes and you will be in business. I threw spinner baits in the shallows at the mouth of the sloughs and back in the sloughs. On lay downs off the bank the Blue Tail Lizard was hard to beat; but in that smaller 5" size.


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Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Donald Harper] #12038646 01/14/17 06:47 AM
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Where can I learn about the seasonal crayfish color patterns. What color are they now? This advice is so helpful sir

Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Jigflippa] #12038817 01/14/17 02:29 PM
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This is very hard to do because every lake and stream holds different species. There are over 500 of them. The only way that you can get it right for your lake is trap them during the different seasons and it has to be in the area you are fishing. They will change color even when the rain water comes into that creek or river. They also change color with water temperature changes.

Maybe this will help:
http://www.pixelpayback.com/craws/hoverbox/index.html


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Re: Targeting Bigger Bass in a small river [Re: Jigflippa] #12038835 01/14/17 02:35 PM
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