Striped Bass are river fish! No "if's",  "and's",  or "but's" about about it, the rockfish is a current oriented creature.
A careful look at the anatomy of these fish will show you how the striped bass are designed to live in flowing waters.
Their long torpedo-shaped bodies are perfect for running against the current, and their thick musculature provides the power needed to overcome the swiftest moving water. The thick, broad tails on these fish is easily strong enough to propel them through rapidly flowing waters.
      And were it not for rivers, we would in all probability not find this fish in our reservoirs today. The first striped bass were landlocked in Santee Cooper, South Carolina. They were trapped there during the fish's annual upstream spawning run when the lake was impounded. The original habitat of these fish were the oceans, and there they battled tides and currents of all magnitudes.
     But even though these fish are perfectly at home in a moving body of water, many anglers overlook the rivers when searching for the striped bass, choosing instead to concentrate their efforts on a placid reservoir. Most every rock fisherman knows just how productive the tail race area below a power generating dam is, yet very few will turn downstream and seek these fish in the rivers. And that is a shame, for the rivers below our dams are often the easiest places to catch these brutes.
     There are several considerations to take into account before you set out in search of river rockfish, but the most important of these is the current situation. If the river you are fishing has a hydroelectric power generating dam upstream, then you should determine the generating schedule before you begin your day's fishing. Since a generating turbine contributes greatly to both current and water level many miles downstream, it will affect the behavior and feeding patterns of the fish.
     Rockfish and hybrids feed primarily on shad, and shad require well oxygenated water. Because of this, the shad seek and move into waters laden with heavy current,  since current serves to oxygenate the water. Current also cools the water, especially during the cooler fall and winter months, and both the shad and the rockfish prefer colder water. So the rockfish will move into the swifter currents to seek prey and to enjoy a cooler water temperature. A good though basic rule of thumb to guide you in search of river rockfish is to look  for those areas where the  current is just a bit swifter than the rest or the river.
     Another factor which must be considered is the time of the year, or the season. Striped bass are basically cold water fish. Rockfish have been known to literally starve themselves to death rather than leave a comfortable water temperature in search of bait fish in warmer waters. If the weather is cool, you can generally expect to find at least a few fish in shallower water, say up on shallow flats. If you are fishing during the mid-summer months, the vast majority of your fish will come from deep holes and pools in the river.
     A third consideration is the topography of the river. A working knowledge of the area of the river you are fishing is very helpful, but excellent results can be had by keeping a keen eye on the above water terrain on the banks of the river. These out-of-the-water structures can generally be used to predict the underwater structures. A topographical map of the river is helpful, and a flasher, LCR, or graph is often a necessity, especially during the summer when the fish remain deep.
    When the turbines are in use or the current is running strong, my number one hotspot would he a shoal directly upstream or downstream from a deep hole. These are normally fairly easy to spot, as the shallower water will boil and bubble against the rocks underneath. These shoals will attract shad, and in turn rockfish and hybrids. The easiest way to fish these areas is by drifting a large live shad 15 or 20 yards in front of the boat as the current pushes your boat downstream. A large one or two ounce bucktail jig dressed with a four to six inch Sassy Shad can often be substituted successfully for the shad. The eddies and quiet pools in the shoal, which many fishermen overlook, should be hit with large topwater plugs like the Cordell Red Fin or Whopper Stopper Hellcat as you drift downstream.
    Of all areas in a river, I would have to choose a deep hole as one of the best year-round producers of big striped bass and hybrids. Taking into account the physics of water and wave motion, the deeper water near the bottom of these holes receives very little, if any, current. The current present in these areas is sufficient to oxygenate the waters, yet slow enough to allow the cooler water to remain in the lower depths. Therefore, during the summer months the water near the bottom of a deep hole will be much cooler than the water above it, and this will attract a population of striped bass. This same deep water area can be counted on to hold fish throughout the year, but in the heat of the summer it is your primary holding area for big rockfish. These deep holes can often be found adjacent to a sandbar, but sometimes are located in the riverbed with no visual clues above the water to tip you off to their presence. A lot of luck and a good depthfinder are needed when trying to find one of these hidden lunker lodges.
     To fish a hole such as this when the water is relatively calm (turbines not in use), I would opt for slow-trolling a live shad near the bottom. You could also troll deep-diving crankbaits through the hole, or bounce jigs off of the bottom. During the winter and early spring months, top-water plugs will often pull a big fish up from his deep water haunt. When the current is fairly strong, I think the most productive method to fish these holes is to drift live shad into the upstream end of the hole. You will most likely need a weight of at least an ounce to keep the big baitfish down deep. The fish move to the forward sections of these holes with a strong current, and a large shad drifted into them should produce a screaming drag.
     Another area in rivers which consistently holds rockfish is the outside shore of a curving river channel. The outside bend of the channel is normally quite a bit deeper than the inside bend, as this is the direction in which the current flows and the rapidly moving water washes the bottom away here. These areas are much like the deep holes I mentioned previously, and can often be fished in the same manner. The major difference in fishing technique between a river-channel bend and a deep hole is the speed with which you move your bait. As I said before, there is very little current near the bottom of a deep hole. But current is present in a bend in a river channel. Rockfish feed almost exclusively (can never say always!) on live food, and even though the current will wash live food to the fish, anything alive will not be moving at the same speed as the water. Since fish in a moving body of water situate themselves with their heads facing upstream, I prefer to troll a live shad downstream at a speed just a bit faster than the flow of the current. If you throw a crankbait, toss it upsteam and retrieve it downstream just a little faster than the water is moving. This same technique can be used with jigs.
       When you are fishing a bend in a river channel, remember that the inside bend is shallower than the outside bend. Since both hybrids and rockfish will often move onto flat-type areas such as these, especially during the winter and spring months, it often pays to hit these areas a few times with a topwater plug.
       Another excellent river rockfish area is the point where a feeder stream meets the main river. One technique often used here is to place a live shad on a leader of three to four feet below a good sized float. The rig is then tossed far up into the feeder stream and allowed to drift down to the river and then downstream 20 to 30 yards. Strikes usually come just as the rig enters the river.
      If the feeder stream is large enough, you can often find fish up in the creek in deep pools and below shoals. The same techniques which you should use in a large river apply here. This is an area rarely frequented by rock fishermen. If you can find a feeder stream large enough to take a boat into, you may find yourself fishing from a smaller Jon boat, traveling into these streams and creeks should be no trouble.
       Next time you can't decide where to wet a line, swing that truck toward a river. Try to keep in mind these few common sense tips, and I think you just might surprise yourself. Give river rocks a chance, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

        Good Fishing! *
 
 

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