River fishing in 50-55dF water

[HookUp]

Was going through my files last night & realized I learned the lesson of jerkbaits in the spring, but never internalized it.

April, very cold, water temps low 50's, Susky, Pointer 100 Pearl Ayu



April, very cold, water temps mid 50's, Private NY lake, xRapp Purple Ghost



Thanx Matt, I'll remember from now on

[Jiggy]

I've been thinking about this for a couple of days. My "river" fishing is the lakes along the river so it's likely different. I have no "swift current" experience like many of you - though current will play a HUGE role in the bite on the TN river chain. My experience is also Bucketmouths.

Are the same temps different? Absolutely for the reasons listed above. Warm to Cold or Cold to Warm. BUT do the baits you use change? Not really that much. Mid-late Fall I throw some frogs and some topwater but the best producers are changing. At those temps in the Fall, the shad are balled up. So any shad imitation works well: jerkbaits, crankbaits, senkos, rattlebaits, a-rigs, swimbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs. In the Spring we throw many of the same baits, however the presentation may be modified. Jerkbaits and crankbaits for example are worked much slower. A 10 second pause on a jerkbait is all but required. I have little success with spinnerbaits in the Spring in those temp ranges but I can get bit swimming a jig and those are aggressive bites too. The crankbait bite is completely different - at least on Guntersville.

So, in the end while the two occurrences of temperature change are different, the lures won't change much but the presentations definitely change for me.

And then, there's the A-rig. It was the exception for me last year. MUCH more success in the Fall than the Spring in that temp range.

Very interesting topic. Jiggy like!

[numb3rs]

This is an interesting question and since we are humans with large brains we probably over think everything versus Mr. Smallie. Im going to try and and answer this like I have a brain the size of a pea.

FALL
There is less current
There is more water clarity
The sun is not as bright
Weeds are no longer green and hold less food
I have an urge to move (migration)

SPRING
There is more current
There is less water clarity
Thes sun is brighter
Weeds are begining sprout
I have an urge to settle down (spawn)

I fish both the same.

[Jeff Little]

Trend not temp. The last two days have been a tough bite. I've been on reservoirs, but the same thing applies. All that wind from Sandy sucked a lot of heat out of some deep reservoirs and they are shocked. Or maybe I just need an excuse why I can't catch them. In any case, Matt nailed it. I'd rather fish 37 degree water that just came up from 34 than 52 degree water that just came down from 55.

[PaddleOut]

I'd say they are different too. No matter spring or fall I am always throwing a lipless crank. In the fall they are more aggressive and will even hit buzzbait in 50F water. It seems the bite is more consistent through the day in the fall. In the spring the bite doesn't start until the afternoon sometimes. (frustrating)

As far as locating them, in the fall I'm looking for bait fish back in tributaries and shallow. In the spring I look for sloping points near spawning locations where they might be staging. Someplace where they can change if the weather gets cold on them. These are observations I've made, but I'm only guessing what they point too.

[HookUp]

Trend not temp.

You talked temp & I agree.

Since you brought up Sandy, what about barometer?

[jameswells421]

I agree completely that rising temps usually produce better fishing conditions. The thing that often affects fishing for me in the fall are the cold fronts that move through. That's when I usually slow things down and move more towards slower finesse presentations. I tend to use the same baits/lures but will use more "baitfish" style baits in the fall when they are keying heavily on YOY's for their fall feed. Where in the spring they seem more willing to hit anything that they take for food.