Story by Hunter Baughman | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Coming to you this week from my recliner with Peppa Pig playing in the background. Dad life!
We are in the middle of a nearly two-month break between NPFL tournaments. It just so happens the flooded Arkansas River Basin in Oklahoma and Arkansas is finally getting back to normal. That means all the river series around here are having tournaments to make up for the last three months of flooding. Lots of these were evening series and have gone to weekly events to catch up. This means we are fishing 2-4 tournaments a week right now on the Little Rock pool of the river. That’s great! There’s not many places I’d rather be in mid to late summer than the Arkansas River.
I thought this would be a great time to go over some river fishing tips. There are three major tips I’d give to anyone looking to fish around current.
(1) All current related fish behave the same. They use current as natural breaks to hide and ambush bait. To me, current fishing is the most predictable pattern out there. The best way to explain it is this: if you are not hungry and somebody offers you a cookie, you probably won’t eat it. But if the same person sets a cookie right in front of you, chances are you will take a bite regardless of hunger. Same thing with fish. They sit in current breaks and bait floats right past their face. It’s natural for them to eat when that happens.
(2) Always cast upstream. There is nothing natural about a bait moving against the current. In fact, it won’t even go to the bottom a lot of times when casted downstream. Position your boat facing upstream and cast above current breaks. This could be rocks, logs, grass points, etc. Anything that alters the natural flow of the river is a current break. Nearly all breaks will have an eddy below them and that is where the fish will be sitting. As a bonus, positioning your boat into the current gives you full control of the boat vs moving downriver.
(3) Weight your baits appropriately. When a shad or crawfish floats down a river they aren’t glued to the bottom. They naturally float in the current. Choose your weight based on the amount of current to give that natural approach.
These three tips should help you generate a few more bites next time you are on a river. And remember, you don’t have to have a boat. There are lots of rivers and streams that can be fished by wading. Always be careful if you are walking in the water. Go slow to make sure you keep your footing and don’t step in a hole.
Thanks for stopping by. Catch you next week!
Hunter Baughman – Angler Profile
