Phil's Fishing Site: Woodworking 101

How much wood would a fisherman fish if a fisherman caught fish off wood? A fisherman would fish all the wood he could fish, if a fisherman caught fish off wood. Unless he was worried about getting snagged. How many lures would a fisherman lose...?

Enough of these tongue twisters. I’ve been fishing wood. I’ve been reading about fishing wood. I’ve been catching fish. I’ve been losing fish. And I’ve lost a lot of lures. But I’m here to tell you there are smallmouth bass that live under wood in rivers that you fish.

When I first started fishing rivers one thing I was always told was that smallmouth bass were found around rocky areas and fast current. Basically I spent a lot of time fishing below riffles and walking to the next set of riffles. I caught some fish and did a lot of walking, but when things would get slow I would try for pan fish around wood. I did catch the small fish I was after but sometimes I’d get a pretty nice smallmouth too. What were these rock- and current -loving smallmouth doing around wood? The seeds were planted.

My next exposure to fishing wood was reading Dan Gapen’s Smallmouth Bass in Rivers. His chapter on dabbling involved tying your boots up to wood in the over and fishing directly beneath the boat and wood. (This chapter is required reading for Woodworking 101.) In hindsight I should have paid more attention to this. Since I wasn’t doing any boat fishing at the time I blew right through this chapter. But fishing right under wood in rivers turned out to be right on. Fishing vertically right next to wood and roots also turned out to be very productive on small creeks and drainage ditches. Many times this was the only cover or protection and deeper water you could find on small creeks.

The most exciting development in river fishing for me in the last two years has been fishing for cold water smallmouth. This too has often involved wood. From 45° to 33° the fish move out of flowing water and often hold behind anything that blocks the current. In a lot of the small creeks and ditches in Central Illinois there are very few sharp points or big boulders to block the current so these fish use whatever they can ; oftentimes that means roots, stumps or trees in the river.I could go on about other examples of smallmouths using wood, such as spawning areas or current breaks in fast water. I’ve seen smallmouth bass use wood quite a bit in a lot of different conditions. In spite of all these different situations I feel like this summer I was able to take this wood thing to another level.

If there was anyone out there who didn’t need to be convinced about fishing wood, it was me. So why didn’t I fish around wood more? Obvious answer number one: getting snagged. If you fish rivers you lose a lot of lures. If you fish wood in rivers you lose a REAL lot of lures. The not so obvious answer is that maybe I forgot how good wood could be. A friend once told me he had forgotten more about football than most people know. I am thoroughly convinced that I’ve forgotten more about fishing than I presently know. Maybe that’s not so bad either. Any of us who have fished hard for a number of years could go on about crazy theories and methods for explaining why fish do what they do and how to catch them. Most of these ideas are best forgotten but every once in a while something clicks and I say to myself, “I remember this. I guess I haven’t used this lure or fished this way in years.”

Anyway, here’s what happened to me a bunch of times this summer. I would make a cast at some wood, maybe catch a fish or two, sometimes not. But eventually I’d get snagged. If I’d caught a couple of fish or at least made a few casts I would wade in or paddle over and get my lure. I’m not one of those people who go in and get every lure, especially if I haven’t thoroughly fished a spot. I have this theory that a certain number of lures is usually lost before a spot produces. This may have to do with not spooking the fish, and being in the strike zone. Or it may have to do with appeasing the river gods. Anyway, I’m snagged up, a few fish have been caught or the gods appeased. But I’m walking in. The water’s been low this last year so wading in this hasn’t been too dangerous. Oftentimes the quickest drop (the approximate distance from the top of my waders to over my head) is right next to the roots or wood where the current has dug out the soft sand or gravel. Try to avoid stepping here as this is where the fish will be and you should not be.

Now you’re next to the wood, maybe you got your lure back, and hopefully you’re still dry. Before going back, drop your lure right next to the wood and jig it around a little bit...wait a minute... there’s something there, and it’s not a snag. Now you’ve got problems - good problems. A two or three pound bass hooked on three feet of line. He’s jumping, you’re wet, the fish is gone. But that was fun. Try again a little closer in. Remember, you haven’t throroughly fished a piece of wood until your rod tip is touching up against it. How many fish are under here? How many trees will produce? Are single tree roots better than a whole bunch? What about lures? If you use weedless lures sometimes you can’t get a good hook set ; if you use lures with exposed hooks your wife will ask you where your savings have gone.

Hopefully these are the kind of questions we fishermen love, and that keep us up at night strategizing. I really like going to the river with a new idea to try. Suddenly I see all sorts of new spots I just passed by before. So if you’re out on the river, fish the wood. And if you get snagged, go in, get your lure, but before you go on to the next spot try dropping your lure right next to the snag and hang on tight.