The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and potentially up through New Year’s Day, provide much for folks to be thankful for: A bellyful of turkey and trimmings, presents under the tree, and a toast to both the year past and the new one on the way. Despite the cooling temperatures signaling winter’s approach, it’s a season overflowing with blessings and cheer.

Depending on where you live in the North Country, the lakes, ponds and reservoirs near you will likely freeze at some point during this time frame. Chances are they’re in transition from late-open-water to early, walkable ice. But even if the water’s too chunky to float your boat or probe on foot, you’ll find another feast, bag of goodies and joyful celebration on a river near you.

Flowing water resists freezing until air and water temperatures nose-dive in early winter, meaning that rivers are the last fishable options to form safe ice cover sometime during the holiday hoopla. They provide outstanding fishing for cold-water species like walleyes and sauger migrating toward, and gathering below, dams for the winter season. Nearby backwaters may be beginning to freeze, offering early-ice action for panfish and pike. But out in the main flow of open water, walleyes, sauger and possibly white bass are the undisputed three kings of the late-open-water season.

With the river low and flowing slow due to reduced late-fall precipitation and runoff, these species gather in eddies and along current breaks, typically within the first mile or two below dams. Flooded shoreline cover is scarce due to low water levels, so during the day, you’ll find most fish somewhere offshore, such as:

1. In or around the rim of the deep washout hole directly below the dam;

2. Relating to the tips of wing dams or shoreline points brushed by gentle current;

3. Around bridge abutments where eddies and pockets of calmer water form;

4. At junctions of the main river with tributaries or backwaters where two flows intersect, forming a current break along which fish feed;

5. Lying in the troughs of rolling sand dunes that provide calm pockets with current flowing around or over the fish;

6. Tucked in depressions or behind rocks/snags in the deep center of the river basin where fish can duck behind or dip below gentle current passing over their heads.

The key things these spots have in common are their proximity between calmer, resting zones and slow current that washes food (forage) past them, within easy reach. Predators simply make a short dash out into the current, snap up and meal and then immediately shift back out of the flow, repositioning for the next attack.

If you’re after white bass, you may see fish occasionally breaking the surface in these areas, driving minnows or baitfish to the surface. Chances are, however, you’ll incidentally catch them down deeper, and more bottom-oriented, while vertically fishing for walleyes or sauger, using one of the following techniques:

Jigs—The ultimate, versatile presentation for river walleyes and sauger. Jigs pretied with marabou, feathers, bucktail or synthetic hair can be fished plain; or add a 2 1/2-inch minnow hooked up through the jaw and out the top of the head to sweeten the deal. Plain jigheads have less water resistance than pretied jigs and are perhaps better suited for fishing in faster current. They can be similarly hooked with a minnow; or insert the hook point into the minnow’s mouth, run it out through one gill, and lightly insert the barb through the minnow’s back (referred to as double hooking). Or forget the livebait altogether and thread on a soft plastic shad or grub body.

Jigs run the gamut from 1/4- to 3/8-ounce heads for typical slow-flow, vertical jigging during winter, to heavier 1/2- to 1-ounce heads for deeper, swifter flows like the Detroit River for walleyes, or for deep sauger holes below massive TVA reservoir dams in the Midsouth. Once again, a live minnow can be added, or simply stick with the soft plastic option, which is easier to fish in swifter flows. Most walleye/sauger anglers favor hi-vis colors like orange, yellow or chartreuse—or forage patterns making use of those colors—for better visibility to the fish in dingy river water.

Vertical jigging is pretty simple: Either pop the jig up a foot off bottom, and let it fall back until your line goes slack; or lift, hold it off bottom, and briefly let it fall to touch bottom before raising it slightly again. The first method is subject to snags; the second less so. Grab the line with your index finger to help detect bites, and watch your line for jumps or twitches that indicate a strike.

Blade baits—Blades like Sonars, Vibes and Rap Vs wobble aggressively on the rise and then sort of just plummet on the drop, creating a disturbance that draws fish in and triggers strikes. They sometimes snag walleyes around the mouth and head, but they are legitimate vertical jigging lures, not snagging baits. Use a snap to attach them to your line as the baits usually have metal bodies with potentially sharp-edges holes at the attachment points. Trying direct might cut your line.

Jigging Rapalas and similar lures—Once simply considered ice fishing lures, these deadly baits have proven their effectiveness in open water for triggering strikes from walleyes, sauger and many other species. Jig upward, then drop your rod tip to follow the lure back down. Watch for the line to jump on a strike. The lure may just be heavy with a hooked fish on your next lift. Potential downside: They can be bit snaggy around rocky bottoms or wood debris, and you may lose a few during the course of the day.

Jigging spoons—Effective jigging lures in both ice and open water, pop them upward, then follow them back down with the rod tip as they flutter back to bottom. They’re not used much in rivers because current tends to sweep them downstream on the flutter. But in eddies or very slow current, they provide another jigging option.

Three-way rigs—Versatile three-ways are used to present livebait on a hook or floating jig, or a wiggling, shallow-running, minnow-imitating-crankbait. Sinker weights range from about 3/4-ounce up to several ounces, depending on the combination of depth, current, and trolling or drifting speed. Lift, hold, and slowly drop back to tap bottom before lifting again to minimize snags. Hovering or anchoring is also legit, allowing your bait or lure to dance or wiggle in place in key, fish-holding spots.

Use a relatively short dropper line (12 to 16 inches) from your three-way swivel down to the sinker to position your lure or bait slightly above bottom, so 1) the fish can easily see your offering above bottom and 2) to minimize snags. Slightly lighter line on the dropper—say, 8- to 10-pound-test vs. 12 to 15 on your reel—allows you to break off just the sinker when snagged, getting the rest of your setup back for quick and easy re-rigging.

Dubuque rigs—These hybrid setups combine a three-way swivel with a heavy jig on a dropper line, with a short snell up top that leads to a hook, floating jig or small jig tipped with a minnow. It’s kind of a one-two punch version of a three-way rig that incorporates two opportunities to hook up rather than one lure/bait and a sinker. Like jigs, they can be vertically jigged in place, drifted down current or slowly pulled upstream while lift-dropping the jig on and off bottom.

Generally, you’ll find walleyes shallower than sauger, despite their similar physical appearances. Sauger eyes are more light-sensitive than walleyes’, leading them to escape bright light levels by shifting deeper. If both species are present in the same area, expect walleyes to be somewhere from 8 to 18 feet deep, and sauger from perhaps 12 to 25 or 30, during the day. The main, deep washout hole below a dam is often a sauger hotspot for resident fish, while larger walleyes are usually found in spots a bit farther downstream. Mid-sized and “eater” walleyes can be found anywhere in between.

Once again, daytime fishing is generally most productive using vertical presentations; or perhaps longline trolling deep-diving crankbaits or three-way rigs up- or downriver through basins and holes. At dawn and dusk, some fish may move shallower to feed under the cover of darkness and throughout the night. Casting cranks or jigs dressed with soft plastics from shore may also produce walleyes, including large ones, in nearshore eddies, along current breaks or atop shallow rock structures. But for the most part, it’s vertical deployment during the daylight hours.

In the end, we have much to be thankful for during this transition season between both calendar years and fishing seasons. And there’s no better place for holiday fishing fun than on a river near you. And if you live in or visit the Midsouth where rivers don’t freeze during winter, you get to enjoy the festivities all winter long, enjoying a gift that keeps on giving!