I’m a river guy at heart. I’ve fished the Delaware River, the Susquehanna and many other waterways. When I saw the Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound on this year’s Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series schedule, I knew I couldn’t resist making a long run up the Roanoke River.
I had a good practice day on the Roanoke. It suited my style and reminded me of other rivers I’ve fished. A nice, steady flow positioned the bass behind laydowns, stumps and anything else that would break the current.
I didn’t anticipate how drastically the river’s current would change every. The wind, rain and how much water the Gaston Lake Dam released at any given time altered the Roanoke’s flow from one day to the next.
I can’t overemphasize the importance of the current in a river. It dictates where and how the bass position and what you must do to catch them. I had to adjust every day to get bites.
Day 1
I was fishing 40 miles upriver from where the Roanoke dumps into Albemarle Sound. Since the river runs north to south, an east wind had no effect on the current that day. The Gaston Lake Dam wasn’t releasing much water, which caused a very slow current.
I started out fishing current seams, eddies and calm spots that indicate a break in the current. River bass typically hold on the downstream side of things like stumps, logs, roots and points. This lets them lie in slack water just off the main flow and pick off any baitfish that wash past them.
I fished the downstream side of several current breaks without getting a bite. When I came to a long laydown, I cast a squarebill crankbait in front of it and caught my first bass.
When the current hits an object, there’s always a little dead spot in front of it that gives a bass an additional feeding opportunity. That’s where the bass wanted to be that day due to the minimal flow.
I caught 90% of my bass casting upstream from logs, stumps and other cover and cranking into them. Berkley’s Squarebull crankbait in a shad pattern put a 13-pound limit in my livewell.
Day 2
The second day ushered in heavy rain, a strong south wind and more water flushing out of the Gaston Lake Dam. When I dropped off pad after making the long run up the Roanoke, I noticed immediately that the current was much stronger than on the first day.
I started by casting the Squarebull and cranking it into things without any takers. I made an adjustment and began fishing behind the current breaks. That hadn’t worked the day before, but it’s where the bass wanted to be on Day 2.
I caught twice as many bass as I did the previous day by pitching into protected little places where the bass had tucked in just out of the heavier flow. The stronger current helped me pinpoint where the bass were holding.
I sacked them with two lures, a Missile Baits Mini Flip Flipping Jig with a sapphire Berkley Powerbait Shadow 108 Craw and a Texas-rigged Berkley Creature Hawg. I caught around 35 bass, weighed in almost 15 pounds and made the Top 50 cut.
Day 3
The action the second day had me excited to get after them on Day 3. When I dropped the trolling motor into the Roanoke that morning, the current was almost dead.
The dam, apparently, wasn’t releasing much water, and the wind had done a 180 and was whipping upstream out of the north. It was the slowest current I had seen. In some places, it was even backing up.
This could have been a disaster. Without current, the bass don’t need to duck behind current breaks. They spread out and could be anywhere. Of all the conditions I encountered, this was the most challenging.
It took a while, but I finally figured out that some of the bass had moved into cuts, draws and drains off the main river. Many of those places would have normally been dry, but the water had backed up into them.
It was too shallow in those places for a Squarebull or even a jig or a creature bait. I managed to squeak out a limit with a 3/8-ounce Molix Heritage Double Colorado FS spinnerbait and a 1/2-ounce white Molix buzzbait.
I finished in 38th place, which move me up 20 points in the AOY standings.
A river’s current is ever changing, and the bass alter their patterns to adjust to the flow.
You can learn more about how I fish rivers and other bass habitats at www.mikeiaconelli.com or www.youtube.com/c/goingike.
