To Casey Knaup, catching a river smallmouth bass is like trying to ride a bull. Be prepared to battle!

When targeting smallmouth bass in river systems, there are a few key points you should know before hitting the water. The first thing to consider is the time of year you will be fishing (spring, summer or fall.) This roughly indicates what the water temperatures are going to be, and in turn, indicate which baits to throw and where the fish should be located. If you can put these pieces together, you will be rewarded with plenty of great memories.

In spring, when the water is generally cooler, I concentrate on areas that are pre-spawn areas and locations that have gravel or rock. The rocky bottom causes water to heat up quicker and bass will move to the warmer water to start looking for prey. If you can find rock in deeper water, that will be best for this time of year. The water should be deeper than the average depth relative to the body of water you are fishing. These areas will most likely be main-river areas that have slower current.

Colder temperatures can make it tough to catch river smallmouths, but once it hits the low 40s, it seems like somebody turned on a light switch. It can be a challenge to locate them when the water is this cold, but if you do, they will be schooled up and you can catch them in a hurry.

During early spring, I like to throw smaller-profile baits: compact jigs, smaller swim baits, blade baits or baits making a lot of contact with the bottom.

As the water continues to warm and temperatures are between the upper 40s and low 50s, smallmouths start feeding shallower on rocky and wooded banks. At this time, they tend to disperse more and feed more solo, but if you catch one off this type of a shoreline, there will be a few more using that same type of location.

During the summer months, smallmouths tend to roam around and hang out around tree laydowns and rocks. They are extremely active and aggressive during this time of year. You will often see or even hear them chasing bait and feeding on the surface. This is a great time of year to throw topwater baits around trees and rocks. During the summer, it is possible to catch them shallow or deep.

I have noticed that mornings and afternoons are the best times to catch them on topwater because they tend to be feeding shallow at these times. During the heat of the day, smallmouths will bury in the thickest laydowns and brush overhanging the riverbank.

In summer, they will wait on ambush points and tend to be reactionary; as soon as your bait comes by, they attack. They are opportunists that must determine within a few seconds if they are going to eat or let the current take the meal downriver and let the prey get away.

If I am fishing the thick cover, I will throw a Texas-rig with a craw style bait or tube. If I am fishing heavy current, I will go up to a 3/4-ounce tungsten weight. Otherwise, flipping a 3/8- to 1/2-ounce jig with a craw trailer is always a safe bet.

Another good option is throwing moving baits around the thick cover. One of my favorites is a Texas-rigged, soft plastic fluke-style bait. You can viciously bring this across the surface and it will drive the smallmouths crazy!

If I am fishing a cut bank or targeting the outside edges of thick cover, I love throwing a Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil or a 3DB Prop in the bone color. Smallmouths have a hard time resisting these baits if they are keying in on minnows on the surface.

Now, let’s get to the fall feeding frenzy. This can be one of the most amazing times of the year to chase and catch giant smallmouth bass. These fish are getting ready for winter, and they are feeding, feeding and, oh yeah, feeding!

Keep a lookout for bait busting and making racket on the surface. This is a prime time of year to fish around schools of bait. If you can find schools of bait, there will probably be smallmouths chasing and stuffing themselves! When you get to experience this, it will make you think you are fishing piranhas.

If you encounter this situation, throw a Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil in the middle of it and you can thank me later! At this time of year, really anything you throw has a chance to work: jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, topwatera crankbaits and more. It’s a great time to experiment with a variety of baits. Let the smallmouths tell you what they prefer.

As the water continues turning cooler, fish will start to move deeper, just as the bait moves deeper as well. This is a good time of year to find deeper-water holes adjacent to feeding grounds, as they will push off at night to the deeper water and move back up to shallower water during the day.

When water temperatures reach the 40s, these fish tend to stay in the deeper water, because that’s where the baitfish remain. One of my favorite baits is dragging a tube across the bottom. Otherwise, dragging a Carolina rig with a small swimbait works well.

To respool a few of the main points, the best time to target river smallmouths is May thru October. The most ideal locations will be rock areas and laydowns on river systems. Watch for signs of smallmouths. Do you see fish splashing and swooshing on the surface? Do you see bait in the shallows? What are the water temperatures? Let the fish tell you what they are doing and then expand on what you learn.

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