By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan
It’s a safe assumption that anglers well-versed in tidal waters would fare well on a river system, and vice versa. Not entirely the same deal, of course, but solid similarities exist – particularly in terms of water movement and fish positioning.
A comprehensive comparison would take a while, so we’ll just share a few insights from a 2015 Costa FLW Series event on Lake Dardanelle. With recent heavy rains swelling the Arkansas River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pulled a lot of water during the practice period, but started reducing the volume as the tournament continued.
As is the case in reservoirs and hydro-electric impoundments nationwide, this gave anglers a good look at the rise and fall of current strength – something that tidal bass anglers face every day.
Here’s a roundup of observations with tidal similarities from Dardanelle:
Where They Want to Be
> Tournament winner Jason Lieblong looked for reed-line tips with back waters where fish could sit out of the current – classic tidal water ambush points.
> Lieblong favored secondary vegetation like pads adjacent to reed lines. Bass position on these outside edges to take advantage of river current, same as tidal flow.
> FLW Tour pro Dan Morehead observed: “The good thing about a river system lake is that (good) spots often replenish.” Tides also reload your sweet spots.
> Lieblong stressed the importance of points where current ran through gaps in reeds. From California Delta tules to Southern Louisiana’s Roseau cane, tidal influence pushing water past or through such gaps is a definite cast magnet.
> Tour pro Barry Wilson got most of his work done by fishing up and down a good stretch of riprap. He’d cover bank with a Strike King KVD 1.5 squarebill and flip any isolated cover with a jig. The key, he said, was repetitive passes over promising areas – a principle not uncommon to tidal waters.
“River fish are constantly moving and all of a sudden, you’ll have one pull up and you’d get bit,” Wilson said. “I just fished everything thoroughly. I spent my time dissecting (the cover).”
> Where shallow flats extended off points or island tips, scattered wood (logs, laydowns, stumps) provided good additional cover, where fish positioned accordingly with current. Fish a tidal environment and those spots are golden when the tide’s bringing groceries through the area.
FLW Tour pro Dan Morehead stresses the importance of keeping a topwater bait handy whenever you're fishing a river system.
Food Collection
Each day, several anglers reported taking advantage of periodic shad gatherings along the edges of flats. Case in point, Tour pro Kerry Milner made this one of his daily patterns. He mostly targeted shell beds, but as he noticed current stacking shad along the perimeter of a flat, he’d give the area a good work-over, mostly with spinnerbaits and swimbaits.
While following a couple of top-10 competitors in a camera boat, I took a look at the graph and saw streak after streak indicating fish sitting in about 6 feet of water were rising to gulp shad that the current had gathered along the edge of a flat. Similar scenarios occur when tides push bait onto vulnerable areas.
Top Tactics
Morehead stressed the importance of keeping a topwater handy. Similar to tidal bass stimulated by pods of forage washing overhead, when fish rise from the river channel, round up shad and push them onto shallow bars, the surface action can be off the chain.
This schooling activity creates sudden moments of fleeting opportunity, so don’t get caught unprepared. By the time you reach into the rod locker or tie on a topwater, such fleeting moments may pass.
Weightless flukes on wide-gap hooks are another good bet for these impromptu bursts of feeding activity. Maximize your appeal with a double rig – twin flukes, two different size/color topwater walkers. The bass will be looking for clusters of food, so show ‘em what they want to see.
Wilson kept himself in active water by locking down and working the tailrace. Compare this to a tidal fishery’s option of “running the tide,” in which an angler moves up or down the tidal plane to stay with a productive water level.
Milner fared well on days 1 and 2 by employing the strategy of adjacent structure – something tidal anglers know well. Fish move higher on shoreline cover as incoming tides allow and then back out to deeper cover on falling water.
Milner’s plan was actually less about water depth, but still a relevant example. Essentially, he found that a lot of the shallow brush piles were getting so heavily pressured that the fish were relocating. Often, they just slid over a boat length or two and parked on adjacent shell beds where swimbaits and Carolina-rigged Brush Hogs got their attention.
Knowing when your water’s going to move and how much volume to expect stands essential to river-system fishing. Just like knowing daily tide schedules bears significant impact on a day of tidal fishing, checking the release schedules of the USACE, TVA or other local dam authority will keep you on top of when to be where and what to throw when you get there.
