Creek fishing questions.

[BUCKBASSKING]

I have a few. I am new to this type of fishing, and am forced to do so due to gas prices. I live near the salt river and at this part it is wadeable. When you guys wade fish what are the prime conditions? Do you like to fish in ankle deep, knee deep, or deeper water? Should there be alot of current, or do you fish in the pools? What are the hot spots of a creek? Do you like to cast where the current breaks? Do you fish on the banks where the water is still? I just need some basic knowledge of scrre fishing. Thanks for the input.

[smljaw]

June and September are my best months for catching in creeks. That's not to say the rest of the year is poor fishing by any stretch!

I think your best bet for info is to do some internet research. You can find tons of creek fishing resources on the net and go from there.

[DJD]

I'm no master at that type of fishing but I can still catch a few. I always walk to the area I like and do so as quiet as possible. It's not like your in a bass boat with the fish 20ft below you these fish can be in water only inches deep and they are aware of you. Yeah, in the pools if you can stay out of the water it's best and sometimes you have no option because it's deep. Been to a few pools that had some decent bank to walk and fish which was the best.
If I'm just checking a place out and want a sweet spot I'll check out areas with current and riffles. My best has been below the riffles on many creeks. For the most part any fisherman can figure out what works on the creeks. Just remember to let the fish go so they can spawn because these precious fisheries can be decimated by greedy fellas.

[chasmo]

Your best teacher in creek fishing is experience. Each creek can and will be different. Some fish prefer moving water in one while on another they will prefer the deeper still water. My best advice is to just go and get your legs wet, start with a lure YOU are confident in and comfortable fishing and go at it. I taught myself how to fish the creeks and love it and can now go to different watersheds and know what to use when and how. As the above post stated though, keeping too many is never a good idea in a creek. I don't even own a stringer as I love the creek fish too much to eat one and also with all the pollution you will see in and around the creek, you will think twice anyway. Be sure to check with the landowners as well, because as long as you are touching the bottom, you are tresspassing on their property!

[MrSplitshot]

Yes sir, first and foremost, catch and release!

This time of year especially, I'd get to the areas right above and right below riffles. The slow/deep pools tend to get pretty stagnant and mossy this time of year. Fish can be caught there, don't get me wrong, but there's more oxygen in those riffle areas. Also, a fish in hot water can snatch a quick bite as it goes by in the push water without having to move a great deal. If you're below a riffle, work those "edge" areas between slack water and moving water. A creek fish can hang in the slack, quickly move out into the fast water to grab something as it flies by, then retreat. They are, after all, ambush predators. Also, when the water is hot, low, and gin clear those fish can see/hear you coming a mile away. Be as quiet as you can, use the bank as much as possible, and make long casts. (That's one reason I like small diameter braided line - Super long casts and no stretch, so you can put a hookset on a fish from a good clip away.) I don't try to cover long distances when wading in the summer time. Keep your wade to a shorter area and fish it really slow and deliberate.

I prefer to wade/fish upstream. Unless a fish is swimming downstream, it will be sitting nosed into the current. That gives you a little advantage, I think, in being able to lob casts upstream and bring them back in a more natural presentation. Buzzbaits, topwater plugs, senkos/sticks, jigs, and small plastics are staples for me this time of year.

Good luck...

[Cajun78]

Buck,

Splitshot has good advice. Fish upstream if possible. kicking up silt and fishing downstream is a sure way to get skunked. If you must go downstream, do so out of the water. Get good felt bottom thigh high waders so you dont bust your a$$ on a slick rock and get poison ivy or snake bit.

Riffles do hold the most oxygen, so fish will be near them. Generally, the big, long pools are going to hold fish at the front and back, where the water starts to move fast again. But I've caught smallmouth in water less than a foot deep in riffles, too. Secondly, look for any rocks, stumps, wood, whatever, that creates a break in the current. Some may be slightly submerged. But if there is slack water behind the stump or rock, you can drop your rig right in there and usually will catch a smallie. Third, any trees turned over by the storm which have left deep holes in the sides of the creek are money for big fish.

Here's a big tip - when you first approach a good looking pool, tie on a small buzzbait and make a long cast. Usually, if there is a dominant fish in the pool, he will attack it on the first cast. If you throw it two or three times with no strike, put something else on.

There has never been a better creek producer for me than a natural color 4' cabin creek lizard, T-rigged (1/0 or 2/o hook) and a 1/32 bullet sinker on 4lb test. Try that, if its not working, go with a really small white tube of some kind. If that doesnt work, go home and come back another day. Rebel 'wee craws' work great as well, so do chartreuse rapala suspending/floating minnows in small size. 4lb test you want because of the action it allows the smaller bait, the longer casts and the low vis. But you've got to have a good balance of enough drag not to break, but not so much you can't set the hook with the light line. Rod has alot to do with that.

Good luck to ya, man.

[BUCKBASSKING]

Thanks guys, that really really helps. Now I will have some confidence when I am out there. i was catching fish but I really could not pattern them but this really focuses the situation for me. Thanks

I will let you know how I do.