(Editor's note: "Catching Bass with Dustin Wilks" airs four times per week on Sportsman Channel – 6:30 a.m. ET Monday, 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, 5 a.m. Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier provides BassFans with additional insight about each episode in these submissions.)
The River Drop episode was on a river that had been way higher just a week earlier and had fallen back to almost normal. I pulled up the charts and it had actually been fluctuating all summer and then quit dramatically. This was a really fun day on the water.
Water fluctuations always cause bass to move, but on a river with mostly steep banks like I was fishing, they don’t move far. I’m always fascinated by bass. I can remember tournaments where the water rose 10 feet and the bass stayed exactly where they were. I also remember tournaments where the water rose and the fish wanted to get out on the bank and "walk around" a little. I haven’t exactly put my finger on what makes them do this, but I believe it may be their comfort level where the water feels good to them and the bait is around.
If there is no bait, bass will move. The good thing about rivers is they are usually crawling with crawfish that thrive in the abundant shoreline roots and washed out banks, so river bass don’t really need to move much during a flood. They will often just sit there and wait for the conditions to get better; the falling water brings crawfish and other bait right to them.
I think that's what I encountered on this day. I think the fish had only just began feeding again after a flood. Many of the fish where a bit pale and seemed hungry by the way they were biting. We couldn’t show you all the fish, but I bet I cleared 30 and was done by 3 p.m. It was one of those special days, and the river was void of boats, probably because of the recent flooding.
I started fishing a Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil in bone and was greeted by a 7-pounder that smashed it like a smallmouth and then jumped about five times. It was the most lively fish that big I’d ever caught. It really reminded me of a mean 3-pound river smallmouth, just over twice as big! After I caught that big one, I went back up the bank where it bit and caught a few more decent ones on a black and blue Eco-Pro heavyweight tungsten jig with a black Culprit Flutter Craw, which has become my go-to jig. It has the perfect weight to fish fast and it skips easily. On rivers, you really want a good skipping jig because of all the overhanging cover. It's pure combat.
From there, I was off to the races with the two baits. Where little drains entered the river were key spots. Once you get river fish dialed in, they are the easiest to pattern.
If I had the day to do over again, the only thing I would have changed is maybe mixed in a frog a little bit in the heavy cover on the bank.
What a great day – I hope you got a chance to watch it on Sportsman Channel. Every week until the end of June there will be a new show.
