The next time you fish a river try to imagine just what is happening in the water.  Pay close attention to the current and how it moves.  You can often tell where underwater obstructions are by the movement of the water, even if you cannot see the obstruction itself.  If you see the water moving in a particular direction and then abruptly change course, even a subtle change, you know there is something under the water causing this change.  This is an area you want to cast towards because it can and will hold fish.  Objects such as large rocks, fallen trees, garbage cans and many other natural or unnatural objects in the water all serve to hold fish.

The next key is your presentation, it must remain natural.  You want to cast your lure in a manner that mimics how a bait fish would react.  It is often good to cast either with or against the current.  It is not generally a good idea to cast perpendicular to the current.  When you select an ambush point you want to cover you should remember to cast your lure beyond the target area and allow both the current and your retrieve to bring the offering into the zone you have targeted.

You have several different lure choices when river fishing.  One principle to remember is to size down.  Generally river fish eat much smaller foods than lake fish, but also feed much more often. I like to use small crankbaits in rivers.

You can also use small jigs.  Because you will generally be fishing turbid water that is not clear I would use florescent bright colors.  I have found orange, light blue, green and chartreuse to work best.

To get the full “How To Go Walleye Fishing From The Shore” article you’ll need to download it here.