ON-FOOT TECHNIQUES
Rivers are very dynamic systems. Learning to "read the river" --visually recognize its depths, bottom types and current speeds -- is very important, and it's one of the things I teach in my stream schools.

One way to spot likely fish locations, and avoid spooking the fish, is to approach slowly and take the time to carefully study the river ahead of you. Likely smallmouth locations are rocky pools (especially the head-of-pool area), outside bends (where the current scours the bottom), bank eddies (slow-flow areas) and current breaks (where two currents collide). To approach any of these spots, you should wade quietly by using the "wader's shuffle" (sliding your feet along the bottom).

One way to effectively fish a mile or so stretch of stream is to use what I call the "Top-Down, Bottom-Up" method. This means first heading downstream and fishing on or near the surface. By fishing against the current with a topwater or shallow-running crankbait, you can quickly cover water and hook the most active smallies. Then when you head back upstream to your vehicle, you can fish slower for the less-active bronzebacks. Casting upstream, you work a jig with the current and near bottom. These are two very different techniques and often you'll find you will catch smallies going both directions in the same stretch of river.

A more unorthodox against-the-current trick is the "in-their-face technique." This is a very focused technique where you keep your offering right in front of or next to a specific target. The idea is to keep the lure in a small zone for as long as 30 seconds. You do this when there is a high probability of a nice fish being in a spot, but it won't hit. A 1/16-ounce jig dressed with a 3-inch grub, or a 1/32-ounce head if the water is shallow, works well. If the current is moderate, a thin-minnow crankbait is also good. Using rod-tip twitches, you make the lure hover and dart forward and back, while it remains nearly stationary. For reasons known only to the smallmouths, sometimes they love this non-retrieve. Some good places to use the in-their-face technique are near logjams and big boulders and in the tail end of pools. Sometimes I've twitched a lure in the same place for what seemed like an eternity, and just when I was ready to cast to another spot -- bingo! -- a smallie whacked it.

These and other techniques and tricks are thoroughly covered in my Stream Smallmouth Schools. You can find more about them by going to www.smallmouthangler.com.

A FEW MORE TIPS
Here are a few more tips to make your on-foot fishing more productive.

If possible, fish during lower river levels. Fish are more concentrated at this time, walking and wading is much easier, and identifying likely fish-holding spots is simpler. This means the upcoming mid- and late-summer season is generally the most productive time of the year.

Another tip is to cover a lot of water! Don't spend all day pounding the water to a froth under the bridge. By working a mile of river or stream, instead of only a couple hundred yards, you'll fish over many times more active smallmouths.