River Smallmouth Bass VIDEO: Al and Dan Lindner chase chunky mid-summer river smallmouth bass in a Midwestern river and discover loads of fun!
Rivers & Smallmouth: A Natural Pairing
Rivers might be narrow compared with sprawling natural lakes, but the sheer volume of water—and life—that moves through them is staggering. From panfish, walleyes, pike, and sturgeon to the pugilistic smallmouth bass, flowing water shelters an impressive lineup of fish.
Smallies in particular seem engineered for current; put them in a river of any size and the relationship is as perfect as peanut butter and jelly. No matter the conditions, there is always some stretch of productive water waiting to be fished.
A New Stretch, a Long Winter, and Sky-High Water
Al and Dan Lindner set out on a mid-summer mission to sample a Midwestern river they had never fished before—lured by campfire stories of extraordinary numbers of bass. Their excitement is easy to understand:
- Record snowpack followed by relentless spring downpours left rivers swollen well into summer.
- Only recently had water levels and clarity settled enough to make fishing practical.
With the flows finally dropping, the brothers knew that the very conditions that frustrate recreational boaters often funnel bass into predictable zones, making for exceptional smallmouth angling.
First Casts, First Clues
Within minutes of launching, the Lindners confirmed the rumors:
“They’re a little bit active when you’re coming into them…you can see them coming out.”
From dinks smashing prop baits to chunky fish throttling spinnerbaits, every target—boulder, laydown, current seam — seemed to hold life. River fishing, Dan reminded viewers, is a “target-rich environment.” You must fish with two eyes: one on the cover ahead and the other on your partner’s casts so you don’t overlook high-percentage spots.
Reading Classic River Structure
Smallmouth love anything that breaks current:
- Boulders & rock piles – ambush stations and crayfish diners.
- Laydowns & timber jams – shade and eddy pockets.
- Current seams – distinct lanes where bait drifts but bass conserve energy.
Even in heavy flow years, the rule holds: the bigger the river, the better the chance of tangling with a five-pounder. Yet in truly small creeks you can still rack up 50–100 fish days, where a three-pounder is a trophy.
Spot-Lock, Talons & Zero-Lines: Boat Setup Matters
River smallmouth aren’t the only things that fight the current—the angler does too. Dan outlined a modern must-have checklist:
- Trolling motor with Spot-Lock – holds the boat on a dime so you can pick cover apart instead of drifting past it.
- Shallow-water anchor (e.g., Minn Kota Talon) – plants the boat instantly in slack water or eddies.
- Zero Lines SD card – even when depth contours are missing, shoreline outlines help navigate complex river corridors.
Miss any one of those tools and you’ll “blow through” prime spots far too often.
Legendary Lures for Moving Water
While plenty of presentations work, two earned most of the casts on this outing:
- 1/2-oz. tandem-blade spinnerbait – deadly around woody cover and boulders. Current amplifies its thump and flash, and smallmouth hammer it.
- Rapala Skitter Prop – a modern heir to the classic Tiny Torpedo. The twin-prop topwater excites bass lurking in a foot of water or less, especially in shaded pockets. Al called it “an absolute killer” every small-river angler should own.
Topwater shade lines, Dan noted, concentrate active fish; even under bright skies, the cooler, darker water pulls bass out from under brush piles to feed.
When the midday sun beats down, river fish rarely abandon current—but they do slide into shade. Al warns that anglers often see shade but forget to factor it into decisions about where and, just as crucial, when to cast. A sun-lit laydown may be barren at noon yet load with bass once overhanging branches throw a cool strip across the water. Even on deep weed edges, shade shifts smallmouth positioning just enough to change strikes into misses—or vice-versa.
During filming, a cloud slipped over the river and the brothers watched activity spike almost instantly. Moments later Al drilled the biggest bronzeback of the trip—pulled from the tail-out of a long run where current slowed and shade blanketed the surface.
Storm 360GT Searchbait: Mid-Day Reset
The duo cycled through several lures, but once the sun rose high the Storm 360 GT paddle-tail produced bite after bite. Dan loves the bait for two simple reasons:
- Versatility – swim it, hop it, or snap-jig it; there’s no wrong retrieve.
- Profile – the slim plastic perfectly imitates young shad, chubs, and river dace now abundant after the spawn.
That effectiveness let them keep covering water instead of fussing with boat position—the key on sprawling boulder flats where every cast might land near a willing smallmouth.
Dragonflies Mean “Tie On a Topwater”
Late-spring bug hatches are nature’s billboard for topwater fishing. When dragonflies hover over the flow—often in concert with mayflies—Al breaks out prop baits and walk-the-dog plugs. River smallies explode on surface offerings in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs alike the moment that hatch begins.
Gear Breakdown: Al’s Personal Topwater Combo
- Rod: St. Croix Legend Tournament 6’8″ MF (medium power, extra-fast tip) – compact enough for pinpoint skips yet stout enough to steer fish out of wood.
- Reel: Daiwa Zillion bait-caster – “spendy,” Al admits, but unmatched in casting control and drag smoothness.
- Line: 14 lb Sufix monofilament – the stretch helps keep treble hooks pinned when a bronzeback cartwheels in heavy current.
Pair that outfit with a Rapala Skitter Prop or similar and you’ve got a recipe for heart-stopping strikes all summer.
Local Rivers: A Treasure Hiding in Plain Sight
Al’s closing reminder is simple: great smallmouth water is closer than most anglers think. Nearly every state boasts wade-able streams or medium-size rivers that receive far less pressure than adjoining lakes. Many hold staggering numbers of 2- to 4-pound fish and the occasional 5-plus bruiser; find a tributary mouth, a tail-race below a dam, or a rocky bend with mixed current seams, and you may discover your own “home river” paradise.
River Run Smallies
What rivers lack in width, they most certainly make up for in the amount of water that passes through them.
And they have a vast carrying capacity as home to a wide variety of fish species – panfish, walleyes, saugers, white bass, pike, musky, sturgeon — the list goes on.
Let’s not forget bass, in this case, smallmouth bass, which goes hand in hand with rivers of all sizes like peanut butter and jelly.
Yes, rivers and smallies are the perfect combination because it seems like no matter the conditions, you can always find some productive water to fish on a river.
Al and Dan Lindner hit a Midwestern river in mid-summer to chase smallmouth bass, absolutely one of the most fun freshwater fish that swims.
From topwaters to spinnerbaits, swimming boot-tails, and other soft plastics, aggressive river-run smallmouths are often willing to take what’s offered to them. The biggest challenge is often finding where they are located — or relocated — near boulders, rock piles, laydowns, current breaks, and seams.
