River Fishing With Live Bait

By tkugler at Thu, 2010-12-30 11:54 |

I have been fishing in rivers, rivers of the size that can be waded and fished effectively, for more than twenty five years and in that time have learned some very valuable tips and techniques for river fishing with live bait and that I will outline in this article. Any or all of these tips will serve you well for many years to come.

Many times river fishing in the manner that I'm referring to is thought of as something that only "fly fishermen" engage in, but nothing could be farther from the truth. As a matter of fact river fishing with live bait can be very enjoyable and quite effective for those of us who choose to use traditional "spinning gear" while wading. As a matter of fact river fishing in this manner is by far my favorite for of fishing and live bait is definitely my "bait of choice". With that being said, let's get down to the tips and/or techniques for river fishing with live bait, what do you say?

• Using Light Line Is A Must - Using light line is of the utmost importance when river fishing with live bait and the only way to use light fishing line effectively is to use an ultralight rod and reel. Monofilament fishing line from two to six pound test is ideal for most species of freshwater fish and ultralight rods and reels are perfect for using light line such as this. In many cases the water in rivers that you wade is clear to moderately clear, and the lighter you fishing line is the less visible it is to the fish you are attempting to catch, so using light line is a must when river fishing with live bait.
• Being Efficient Is A Must - When you are river fishing with live bait you always want to be as efficient as possible, by employing fishing gear such as a fishing vest, waders, a bait bag, and retractors. All of these items will make you much more efficient when you are standing in the water trying to catch fish. When you are river fishing while wading you need all of your bait and gear within easy reach at all times so that you can focus on what's important, trying to catch fish, and you don't have to "search" for your gear or bait.
• Not Transferring Scents Is A Must - When fishing with live bait you want to free you hands (which obviously touch the bait) of as many "human" scents as possible before touching your bait, because "human" scents will transfer to your bait from your fingers and cost you bites. This can be accomplished by washing your hands with an odor neutralizing soap, but a much simpler method is by rubbing your hands in a handful of gravel or grass from the riverbank before handling your bait. In any case you don't want to transfer any "human" scents to your fishing bait if at all possible.
• The Proper Hooks and/or Bait Rigs Are A Must - Anytime that you are river fishing with live bait, whether that bait is live worms, minnows, hellgrammites, maggots, or meal worms using the proper sized hooks and/or bait rigs is a must. You want your bait to appear as natural as possible to the fish that you are attempting to catch. This means that you want the focus of the fish's attention to be the bait, and not the hooks or rig that the bait is attached to. Using small hooks and/or the proper bait rigs to rig your live bait will result in more bites anytime that you are river fishing.

There is no doubt that the aforementioned tips/techniques will help anyone catch more fish on their next river fishing excursion. Add one or all of them to your fishing repertoire today.

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