By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan
It was one of those deals you just knew was going to happen and despite our own priorities, Bassmaster Elite pro Russ Lane and I were happy we got to see it. Needing to borrow a particular bait during a media photo shoot on the Upper Mississippi River, we approached FLW Tour pro Michael Neal, who was fishing the down-current side of a wing dam tucked in close to shore.
He said he had a couple good fish in the livewell, but as we were leaving, we heard the telltale smack of a big fish crashing bait at the surface. The big smallie had staked out a handy little ambush zone that was a level craftier than the general down-current zone – exactly where Neal suspected the more dominant fish would be.
“There’s a little trough off to the side of that wing dam and the better fish are sitting there and grabbing anything that washes over their heads,” he said. “That big one has been doing that for a while now.”
Neal’s second cast with a Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow drew a serious blow up. The next shot found lip, as a 4-pound smallie just couldn’t help itself. It was a textbook example of why leveraging current, whether direct or indirect, is always a wise strategy.
Go With the Flow
“Any kind of break that disturbs the straight flow of current can be productive; whether it’s a trough or depression or wing dam or a channel swing,” Lane explains. “Anything that turns the water in a different direction forces the bait into a pinch point and brings it to the fish.
“Any time the current turns, it speeds up, but it also creates a little vacuum area where the fish can sit. It’s really close to where the current speeds up so the bait washes in front of them.”
As far as boat positioning, specifics vary from spot to spot, but Lane said the bottom line is making sure your bait washes naturally with the current. Achieving this disoriented-shad look might take some adjustment in bait size, line weight or casting angles, but dialing in your details is well worth the effort.
“When the fish are aggressive, it might not be that big of a deal, but when they’re not, it can make a huge difference,” Lane said.
Notably, Lane said that determining where the fish are holding in the water column stands essential to current-break success. A large laydown positioned in line with the current provided a vivid example.
“If you have a laydown where the fish are suspended behind it and off the bottom, you have to get your bait to wash into their face,” he said “You don’t want your bait to fall too fast and drop below them and you don’t want it to go speeding over their heads.”
Bassmaster Elite pro Russ Lane makes sure he’s always presenting his baits naturally with the current.
Sky conditions, Lane said, can greatly influence fish positioning. For example, hot, slick days will probably find most of the fish hunkered down around the current break’s lower edge; whereas cool, cloudy and murky conditions typically see them up high in the water column.
“On a post-frontal bluebird day, I’d expect the fish to be sitting lower in the water during those bright, high-pressure conditions; unless we’re talking about smallmouth or spotted bass and you’ve got wind. Then they might sit up high and feed very aggressively. They really like those bright, sunny conditions with the water disturbed.”
Bait Options
If the fish are high in the water column, Lane likes the bold, aggressive look of a Big Bite Baits BB Kicker swimbait. Long casts with the big-profile bait allow him to cover water to find exactly where the fish are holding.
“When the fish are sitting lower (on the current break), my first choice is going to be a Buckeye Lures Pitch & Skip jig with a Big Bite Baits chunk trailer,” Lane said. “I’ll have a 3/8- a 1/2- and a 5/8-ounce jig rigged on 22-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon. The harder the current, the heavier the jig.
“Every piece of cover you come to may have a different amount of current on it, so it’s good to have all three sizes rigged up.”
For probing the deeper edges, Neal’s a fan of rigging his 3.75-inch Big Bite Limit Maker in either a Ned rig, dropshot or Carolina-rig presentation. He designed this bait with a narrow tail that wiggles with the slightest action, so even dead sticking in the current will yield an enticing wiggle.
Others to consider: spinnerbaits, bladed swim jigs and topwaters — especially big, noisy poppers.
Other Examples
> (Rip) rap music — A day earlier, Elite pro John Crews stopped on a seemingly vanilla bank that initially looked just like the miles of riprap we’d already passed. But subtle differences can mean big opportunities in a current environment.
Specifically, Crews looks for current seams created by a point or protrusion in a riprap (or natural rock) bank. This creates a backside indention of slack water where bass can sit and pluck meals from the passing current.
Navigational markers deflect massive volumes of current, so work all angles to find where the fish are holding.
“It’s usually on a straight-line bank,” Crews explained. “If you have a mile of bank, there will usually be a handful of current seams somewhere and the fish will get right in those seams because that’s where the eddies are.”
Crews acknowledges that side-imaging sonar can be helpful in locating a subsurface seam creator, but he can typically spot the emergent ends — similar to a rock vein running down the side of a hill and into the water.
Crews attacks a riprap current seam by positioning downstream and casting right into the redirected water. For this, he prefers a SPRO Fat John, which runs at a scenario-appropriate depth of 3-4 feet and emits the hard thump needed to attract attention in moving water.
> The mark(er) of success — Elite Series pro Chad Pipkens points to navigational markers as obvious, but often underutilized current breaks. He particularly likes the rock-bolstered towers made to withstand powerful flow like that of the Mighty Mississippi.
Check all around the marker – cranking, jerkbaits, and try bumping a jig or shaky-head along the rocks in the slack areas. You don’t want to do this on up-current side or you’ll risk rocking your bait every time.
Fight Right
For any current-break scenario, Lane offers these tips for successful finishes:
• “The main thing is the same principle that applies out of the current — try to not turn their head too much so you don’t turn the hook,” he said. “That widens the hole and gives the fish a better chance of jumping off.”
• “Closer to the boat, try to keep them on the down-current side of the boat so when you go to grab them, the current doesn’t wash them under the boat.”
• “As far as boat angles, if I’m fishing a bank with current, when I’m fighting a fish, I kick my boat out so the current doesn’t wash me into the next piece of cover.”
Here modern GPS-guided trolling motors are super helpful in keeping you in position to benefit from the current without succumbing to its vindictive side.
