Fishing Rivers for Predatory Fish

To the unaware weekend angler, fishing rivers may seem like a straightforward endeavor. After all, they are typically narrow, and on average small, to mid-sized rivers. You can easily cast across them, so you just float down with the current and cast at the banks, right? 

Great anglers know that there is far more to rivers than just banks and flowing water and that many rivers are very complex. They can have areas that hold fish that are overlooked by the vast majority of average fishermen.

When you break these areas down in detail and reap the benefits of their tendency to hold fish, you will find just how powerful rivers can be. Plus, you will consistently catch more fish when compared to the "float and throw" bank anglers.

Predatory Focus

We are going to go through these river fishing tips with larger predatory fish in mind. Pike, Musky, Bass, and other species all will inhabit these areas for the same reasons, whether those reasons are baitfish abundance, relief from fast currents, or a combination of these and other factors. 

I view rivers as conveyor belts of food, and for predators that's essentially what they are. 

While Muskies are my passion, these spots and tactics can apply to any predatory fish in rivers, like bass, walleye, pike, and others. 

 Eddies and Slack Water Areas 

The most obvious of spots on rivers for most anglers are eddies. Eddies usually occur on rivers on inside corners. Eddies can also be present on outside corners if there is some sort of natural or man-made obstruction, like rock pikes, log jams, sandbars, or concrete piers. 

Eddies are pools or areas in which the current is blocked, and the water may swirl slowly and allow fish to rest and take a break from the current. 

Baitfish tend to congregate in these areas, and as a result, the predatory fish will follow. When you find eddies that are productive, don't throw in a few casts and then move on. Pick it apart starting from the surface to the river bottom, and throw a variety of baits. 

Chances are there is a wide variety of species present, and you could find an entire pod of bass or a combination of pike and muskies present at the same time. 

Oxbow areas are also great areas to investigate. Oxbows and other slack water areas that diverge from the main river and current flow typically have little current, and in many cases, are relatively shallow with emergent and submergent vegetation. 

Too shallow might not hold large predators, but if you find an oxbow in the 3-10 foot range with abundant cover, you better believe baitfish and predators alike will be there.

Current Seams 

Current seams can be hard to spot if you don't know what to look for in some cases. Current seams are areas where the flowing current of a river meets slack water areas. 

These transition areas occur on the edge of eddies where they meet the current and other areas. We will use the same diagram from the slack water section to illustrate a current seam location. 

Predatory fish like bass, pike, muskies, catfish, and walleyes will use these seams in the same manner that they would use a hard structure like drop-offs and edges, sitting on the edge of the slipstream and waiting for food to come to them. 

Current seams are, in many cases, visible from the surface. You should see ripples from the current as it flows up against the slack or slow-moving water. 

Inlets and Tributaries 

Inlets like creeks or smaller rivers that entire the main river channel are always places in which you should investigate as a potential consistent fish-holding location. 

Baitfish like to school at the mouths of these inlets, and as always, if the food is present, the predators won't be far from them. 

Not all inlets are great fishing spots, and it depends on multiple factors. Some inlets may have a sand bar from sediment deposits and are not great for holding fish, but if an inlet location is situated on outside corners or other areas, it may have deep holes at the mouth. These locations can be the holy grail of river fishing. 

In this example, we can see a dynamic fish-holding location. While there are dead stretches both upstream and downstream that extend for long distances, the corner features an inlet with a deep hole just outside of it, as well as an eddy. 

If you encounter holes in any stretch of river, even with a fast current, it will hold fish. On the bottom of a depression in most situations, the current is lessened and can form what is essentially a vertical eddy and gives fish a break from the current. 

Flats

When discussing flats, it’s important to distinguish exactly what I mean when I talk about flats, as there are many types of flats on rivers, and not all flats are created equally. 

Some flats are just too shallow, with mucky bottoms that might not be great fish-producing spots. Some might think that "dead stretches" of shallow river constitute a flat when, in reality, they are usually barren wastelands as far as fishing is concerned.

The flats that we are looking for are typically adjacent to the deeper river channel. Even if the river channel is only five feet deep, the two-foot deep flat next to it can hold fish if it’s out of the current stream. 

These flats are usually easy to find and have telltale indicators such as submergent vegetation or emergent vegetation like lily pads. 

In the spring and fall months, flats can be particularly productive as baitfish push up onto these flats to spawn or feed heavily with the approaching winter. Fishing fall flats is by far one of my favorite river tactics for species like musky and pike. 

 Predatory fish will cruise these flats regularly at peak times, and they will also hang just off of them on the ledge that leads to the deeper river channel. 

Discovering the power of flats in my early 20's has lead to numerous muskies in the net. This particular fish was in less than two feet of water cruising for baitfish as it encountered my bucktail bulging just below the surface. 

Man-made Structure

These spots are easy to find, and we won’t need any diagrams for these spots. Dams, railroad trestles, bridges, old pier pylons, and other man-made spots will all hold fish. 

Many of these man-made spots also have natural spots combined or formed due to their construction, with many areas near the shoreline of bridges and trestles features shallow flats and dams having eddies and current breaks downstream. 

Dams can be great for holding fish year-round due to warm water discharges, and the moving water also is highly oxygenated, which holds large schools of baitfish, which in turn keeps predators close by. 

A friend with a great 48.5" springtime musky caught in a weedy shoreline pocket next to a railroad trestle pylon. 

River bottom Composition

I break rivers down into two separate types: sandy and rocky. While both of the areas and structure described in this article apply to both, it's important that you consider a few things if you fish sandy bottom rivers. 

Sandy bottom rivers change, and your fishing spots will change or disappear over time. As currents move sediment over the years, high water flows during times of flooding, and strong currents take effect, your spots will change. 

Sand bars will shift, disappear, or form in new areas, log jams will un-jam themselves or form in new areas, along with other changes. 

Keep an eye on your river if it’s a sandy bottom, and you might discover new fish-holding spots over the years, or you might find your consistent spots no longer produce like they used to. 

Conclusion

Rivers are highly dynamic bodies of water when it comes to fishing, and as you can see, it's not as straightforward as just casting to the bank as you slowly drift downstream. 

Uncovering these fish-holding areas and fishing them with precision, and ignoring dead stretches will make you incredibly efficient on the water and produce quality fish at the same time. 

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