You like fishing, but you’re growing sick of going to the same lake all the time. You may try a river that’s nearby. Rivers provide a range of fishing opportunities, make fishing easier, and may even have some of the greatest fishing in the region.
The vast majority of us have, at some point, struggled to get our waders on at our preferred trout stream. A good many of us have even dabbled with river fishing for catfish or smallmouth bass. The waters of a river provide some of the best fishing opportunities. Enjoy fishing while seated on a boat. The answer is yes, you can do it on a river.
Troll upstream is one strategy that I have been using more often as of late. Assuming the river is deep enough to support it, this should not be too difficult to do. Just cast out 50 to 70 feet of line with a Rapala of size 9 or bigger connected to the end of it. You may also utilize crawler harnesses or spinners, as well as baits like as Reef Runners, Bombers, Thunder Sticks, Thunder Stick Jrs., Erie Dearies, and spinners. You should make use of your trolling motor if it is powerful enough; nevertheless, you may also have some success when utilizing an outboard.
Your presentation truly does not need any more weight at all. In most cases, you will be fishing in water that is between six and 10 feet deep. The majority of the baits described above are designed to be fished between four and eight feet deep. When fishing with weighted baits such as an Erie Dearie, you should cast closer to the boat. There is a possibility that light baits such as spinner rigs or crawler harnesses need some additional weight. If you need more weight, you can have success with a walking sinker, a bottom bouncer, or a three-way rig. In conditions with a high current, it is particularly important to use a swivel on your line since this will prevent the line from twisting.
You may be wondering, “Where can I give this a shot?” Some suggestions: The AuSable River below Foote Dam, the Muskegon River above Rogers Dam, or the Cronton Dam to Lake Michigan stretch of the Muskegon River, all of these are examples. The Huron River from Rockwood upstream, the Manistee River downstream from Tippy Dam, a number of locations along the Grand River, the St. Joseph River, the Kalamazoo River downstream from Allegan Dam, the Cheboygan River, the Thunder Bay River in Alpena, and so on and so forth. The list goes on and on. If you want to catch more fish, you should strive to remain in the deeper holes and flows wherever you fish. For instance, while fishing a major bend in the river, the outer bank will have deeper water than the inside. In this scenario, you should position the boat and any baits you are using so that they are as near to the outer riverbank as feasible.
Many of the rivers that are mentioned above have been fished by me personally. Depending on the river that you fish, you could reel in a wide variety of different species of fish. You may expect to catch walleyes, trout, pike, catfish, rock bass, sheephead, and depending on the season, steelhead or salmon as well. Rivers also have a number of other positive aspects to them. River fish seem to be less vulnerable to fronts and heat, and you can often find cover from high winds in river environments.
What about fishing in the Winter?
During the winter, ice was starting to develop on many of the interior lakes and bays that were located along the Great Lakes. Anglers have reason to be optimistic about the possibility of ice fishing occurring very soon.
Even though the temperatures were lower and there was a greater accumulation of ice, the kind of ice that was forming was not exactly an ice angler’s ideal scenario.
The presence of snow has a variety of effects on the ice that forms over the Great Lakes’ lakes, streams, and bays. Snow acts as an insulator for any existing ice cover and actually slows down the production of any ice that may be present below. Heavy snow cover, such as that which has recently fallen throughout most of Michigan, has the potential to press down on the ice that has formed, which may cause an even greater degree of instability.
Snow cover prevents fishermen from seeing assessing any ice cover, seeing where fissures or breaches in the ice could be, or noticing where tiny streams or any inlets or outlets may be along a lake. This makes it hard for anglers to catch fish throughout the winter. Even in the absence of snow, these regions are known for having a thinner layer of ice.
There have been some limited openings for ice fishing around the state in a number of locations, but even the most experienced fishermen are taking it extremely gently because of the snow. This year, there has already been one person who was killed while riding a snowmobile. The accident that resulted in the loss of life occurred when a snowmobile broke through the thin ice that covered a lake.
Knowing what you’re doing, coming prepared, and exercising common sense are all necessities for enjoying wintertime activities on the ice. When one plans to fish or engage in other types of recreation on a particular piece of water, it is very beneficial to have some background information about that body of water. If you want to go exploring, talking to people who live in the area may be of great assistance in pointing out places that are dangerous and can be an excellent source of information on the locations of some of the best “hot spots” for fishing in the area.