| During the heat of summer, many bass in lakes retreat to deeper waters, making them harder to reach without specialized gear. River bass often remain in six feet of water or less, where they’re easier to access and more aggressive. The flowing water keeps them energized and actively feeding in shallow zones. This is ideal for anglers who enjoy power fishing or working visible cover near the surface. These shallow-water areas can be rich with ambush spots like laydowns, overhanging vegetation, and shoreline areas. For those who prefer a more visual, hands-on fishing style, river systems offer consistent action and high engagement throughout the summer. Bass in shallow rivers also benefit from better oxygen levels and a steady influx of food, both of which keep them active during otherwise sluggish conditions. This makes soft plastics effective, as they mimic the natural forage washed downstream. When targeting river bass, you can often see strikes happen in real time, adding excitement and immediacy to each cast. Rivers tend to have less recreational boat traffic than lakes, making for a more peaceful fishing experience. Whether you’re new or looking for change of pace, the river is a rewarding place.Our Fresh HellaMite is designed to imitate a major aquatic food source, delivering a realistic profile of an insect larva that fish can’t resist. Each is scented for complete and total attraction underwater along with being made in the USA by real fishermen just like you. We’ve recently dropped a new HellaMite Pro Pack that is loaded with 60 total baits in all six proven colors, plus three Owner Block Head Ned Jigs and a handy storage bag. This kit has everything you need to stay rigged and ready year-round. Grab our newest Lil Bass, Hot Sauce, MidNight, Glow, 10w30 Synthetic, Slimer Green, and Barbie Pink HellaMite colors. We’ve also recently restocked our popular Smoke Purple HellaMite. The HellaMite’s solid body and hyperactive ribbed tail design produce a life-like quivering action with every twitch of the rod. Its unique flat underbelly detail enables this bait to be fished as a drop shot, Ned rig, neko rig, and even a small Carolina-rig, making it the ideal bait in any condition year-round. When the water is clear, the fish can see the bait and look like real food, causing strikes. Each cast becomes an opportunity for an exhilarating catch, thanks to its superior performance and versatility. |
| One of the most important elements in summer river fishing is current. It provides a constant supply of oxygen-rich and slightly cooler water, which helps keep bass active even during the hottest months. Rivers that have steady water movement, especially near dams or natural chokepoints, tend to hold more fish. The current also positions prey like baitfish and insects, making it easier for bass to locate and ambush food. As a result, areas with stronger current often support better fishing than stagnant backwaters or main lake flats. Understanding how current shapes bass behavior is critical for consistently locating productive stretches of river. When current is present, bass hold tight to specific current breaks where food flows to them. This allows anglers to focus their efforts on high-percentage areas instead of aimlessly covering water. Soft plastics such as cray-styled baits and beetles are effective when worked slowly along these breaks, mimicking the natural drift of prey. Timing also plays a role, many rivers experience stronger flow in the morning or evening due to dam schedules, which can trigger feeding windows. Knowing how and when current flows through a river can turn a slow day into a highly productive one.We use our Fresh Scorpion because it closely imitates a crawfish. Our newest 10w30 Synthetic, Slimer Green, and Barbie Pink Scorpion colors work wonders. The Scorpion is a revolutionary new look to soft plastics. Its intricate detailing and texture mimic the nuances of a real crawfish, making it hard for bass to resist. Of course, water clarity always plays a role in color selection but in any season, you can’t miss using colors such as Green Pumpkin Seed, Brown Bark, and the Magneto. This bait not only appears natural to fish but gives them something to become curious about. The Scorpion paired with a stand-up jig is deadly because the jig actually sits the bait upright in a defensive stance. The subtle color variations across the bait further enhance its appeal, mimicking the natural color shifts found in live prey. Each Fresh Scorpion has a unique and exclusive 3-axis tail design that is engineered like no other soft plastic bait. Our Scorpions are made by anglers from high-grade non-salt plastic to provide superior life-like action that triggers strikes! |
| When water flows through a river, bass naturally position themselves behind objects that block or break the current. These could be rocks, logs, root wads, or sections of the bank that deflect flow. Bass face into the current and wait for food to wash past, conserving energy while remaining ready to strike. This predictable setup truly gives anglers a major advantage, as it narrows down where to cast. By focusing efforts on these current breaks, you can effectively target the highest-percentage areas. Once you understand this behavior, the river becomes much easier to read and fish productively. What makes this even more rewarding is the ability to repeat success across similar types of cover all throughout the river. If bass are consistently holding behind logjams or boulders in one stretch, chances are you’ll find them the same way elsewhere. Presenting soft plastics upstream and letting them drift naturally into these ambush zones can trigger fast strikes. Precision casting becomes more important in rivers, as small changes in position can determine whether a bass sees your bait or not. With a little observation and pattern recognition, you can dial in a productive rhythm that leads to steady action.The new FreshBaitz Lizards deliver a realistic profile that excels in both power and finesse techniques. Act fast, we’ve recently just released new Hot Sauce, MidNight, Ghost, and 10w30 Synthetic Lizard designs! The unique forward-facing leg design creates drag that holds it in the strike zone longer or produces wild flapping action with every pull of the rod. Additionally, its slightly ribbed solid body and large head hold your hook in place and provide much better weedless performance making it the ideal bait to use in any condition. Water clarity always plays a super big role in color selection but in any season year-round, you can’t miss when using colors such as Watermelon Red, Black & Blue, or Green Pumpkin. Its flexible tail design ensures added movement, tempting even the most cautious fish. The superior 5.5-inch profile stretches to a whole 7 inches which is perfect for predatory fish including bass year round. Made from long-lasting durable high-grade non-salted plastic for total and maximum attention-grabbing action underwater. |
| The amount of current flowing through a river can dramatically affect the success of your fishing trip. When upstream dams or rainfall generate steady flow, bass are easier to locate and more responsive. On calm days with little movement, fish tend to suspend and become much harder to catch. Visual cues like water swirling around shoreline brush or grass indicate that current is strong and positioning bass properly. It’s always worth checking water conditions before launching, especially on regulated rivers. Paying attention to how much water is moving can help you determine whether to stay in the river or explore other options. Strong current not only activates the fish but also consolidates them into predictable holding spots, reducing guesswork. When the current slows down, bass may scatter or retreat to deeper pools where oxygen and food are harder to come by. This makes timing your trip around water releases or natural inflow events a valuable tactic. Some anglers tend to use river gauges or dam release schedules to plan their outings around optimal flow periods. Understanding the relationship between water movement and bass behavior helps you fish smarter and avoid wasting time on unproductive water.Our Fresh Beetle delivers ultimate versatility in a soft plastic bait. Its slim yet wide body design and four claws are engineered to naturally glide and wobble as it moves through the water. This design ensures they remain enticingly active longer than conventional baits. Its unique texture also provides a realistic feel, making bass hold on longer once they bite. Water clarity plays a big role in color selection but year-round you can’t miss when using go-to colors such as Chocolate Mint, Ox Blood, or 10w30 Synthetic beetles. The hyper-active swimming claws are designed thin with long-lasting durable non-salt plastic to make them come alive with the slightest movement. The Fresh Beetle offers an enticing 4-inch profile and is scented for complete and total attraction! You can rig these Beetles as a Jig/ Chatter Trailer, Flippin/ Punching, Texas Rig, Swing Jig, and Carolina Rig. Making the beetle beyond perfect in any weather condition year-round! |
| To take full advantage of river current, proper boat positioning is essential. Anglers should set up downstream from their target and cast upstream, allowing soft plastics like worms, beetles, or cray-styled baits to drift naturally back toward the fish. This approach mirrors the way food moves through the water and presents lures directly in the line of sight of waiting bass. Since river bass face into the current, they’re more likely to strike a lure that approaches from the front. Keeping your presentation aligned with the flow leads to more natural strikes and fewer spooked fish. It’s a subtle adjustment that can significantly increase your hookup rate. Maintaining this position can be challenging, especially in stronger current, so a reliable trolling motor and responsive boat control are key. Staying too close to your target can alert fish, while being too far can make it hard to cast accurately into high-percentage areas. When executed well, this positioning gives you repeated opportunities to present your bait exactly where bass are holding. It also helps you pick apart cover more thoroughly, working each angle as your bait flows past. Mastering boat placement becomes just as important as choosing the right lure.Using a stick-styled worm is the most tried and true ways to catch fish. We have a variety of 5-inch Worms to choose from but we just added MidNight, Glow, and Ghost Worms! Our popular Watermelon Red Worms have been restocked as well. You can also experience our new wacky rigging kit while it’s ON SALE! The WACKY Pack offers our most popular colors and essential tools for wacky rigging. If you’re fast enough you might be able to grab the limited-release Pumpkin Spice Worm before it’s completely sold out along with some of our newest colors including the Brown Worm, Electric Chicken Worm, and Goby Wan Worm colors. The high-grade non-salt plastic they’re made from provides positive buoyancy and it even floats underwater! We also released new 6-inch Worms including Charmeleon, Rainbow TRT, Bone, Chocolate Mint, and Fire TGR — all available in 5 and 6-inch. We’ve also recently released new 8-count packs of worms available in Watermelon Red, Black & Blue, and Green Pumpkin. We also offer worms that have the unique ability to shift from one color to another. Scented for total attraction underwater. |
| Current breaks and eddies are the most reliable ambush points for river bass in the summer. These areas form wherever something disrupts the flow. Fallen trees, rocks, or small bends in the bank create calm pockets of water. In these eddies, bass can hold comfortably while watching for food drifting past. Some of the best strikes happen in these slack zones just behind the current line. Soft plastics like worms, insect larvae, or lizards can be deadly when slowly worked through these calmer pockets. Whether near the bank or mid-channel, targeting current breaks with intention will dramatically boost your chances of success. It’s important to thoroughly fish each eddy, as bass often sit tight in small pockets and may not strike until a bait enters the exact spot. Casting beyond the break and letting your lure drift naturally into the eddy mimics real forage washing in with the current. Don’t overlook subtle breaks, minor irregularities in current flow can hold aggressive fish, especially in pressured areas. Mid-river structures like sandbars or submerged trees can create overlooked eddies that produce big bites. With some patience and the right presentation, these current disruptions can yield anglers consistent results all summer long.Our newest FreshBaitz Mandingo Trick Worm is the ultimate game-changer for anglers with a passion! Engineered for the angler who knows SIZE does matter, this lure is designed to attract only the BIGGEST bass with a penchant for the larger bait. The Mandingo Trick Worm boasts a solid 7-inch body enhanced with a hyperactive ribbed design, ensuring irresistible mouth-watering action for those trophy bass. Officially available in a vibrant array of 8 colors. Each worm is made from durable, high-grade Non-Salted plastic for lifelike action and unparalleled durability. Perfectly balanced for a variety of rigging options and scented for total and maximum attraction, the Mandingo Trick Worm promises year-round effectiveness in lakes, rivers, and streams. Whether you’re rigging it on a Shakey Head, Drop Shot, Texas Rig, or Carolina Rig, these worms are your ticket to landing the big ones. Proudly made in the USA by real anglers to help elevate your fishing experience and catch more bass year-round! |
| The same techniques that work in lakes can be highly effective in rivers when adapted to the current. Soft plastics like worms, cray-style baits, and beetles excel when fished around cover or in eddies. Instead of waiting out one spot, successful river fishing usually involves covering lots of similar-looking structure. Once you recognize where bass are holding, whether it’s behind rocks, beside logs, or under overhangs, you can begin to pattern those spots and move efficiently. River bass tend to be scattered, so staying mobile is key to building a limit. The more water you cover with the right presentation, the more consistent your results will be. Keep your casts focused and deliberate, working each piece of cover thoroughly before moving on. Even if you catch a fish in one spot, it’s often best to move rather than wait for another bite. River fishing rewards those who fish with purpose and maintain a steady pace. Use your electronics or visual markers to identify promising structure as you go. You’ll develop a rhythm that lets you maximize each stretch of water with minimal downtime. This active approach not only increases your chances of finding bass but also helps you fine-tune your presentation with each new piece of cover.We have a wide variety of terminal tackle to choose from, but we’ve recently released new Nako Tungsten Tear Drop Shot Weights, crafted from 97% eco-friendly tungsten for stealth, durability, and vibration, with easy-to-read size stamps and a crimped swivel for quick changes. The new Haymaker EWG Worm Hooks are also now available, featuring an extra-wide gap for various soft plastics, a Z-lock shoulder bend for secure bait placement, and an angled-up super needle point for fast, powerful hooksets. For creature-styled baits, a more popular choice to use is the Stand-Up Jig because it sits the bait up-right in a defensive stance! Mosquito Hooks work for dropshotting and perfectly accommodates a wide range of soft plastics. The popular All Purpose Hooks are built with an extra-wide gap and are made to accommodate a wide range of soft plastics. The Block Head Jig is perfect for ned rigging the HellaMite with its mushroom-style head that seamlessly matches a wide variety of soft plastics. The Offset Block Head Jig, offers the same mushroom-style head with a unique offset hook, making it a go-to for weedless Ned Rig applications. The Shakey Ultrahead can permanently secure baits by inserting the pin in the center and screwing the twist lock coil spring for perfect rigging every time! The Ultrahead Wacky Jig features precise weight positioning and hook orientation for the ultimate wacky presentations. For fast Texas rigging, we use the Bullet-Type Rig which has an attached weight saving you precious time when fishing cover. The 4x Jungle Flippin Hook is designed for big fish and the toughest conditions. The Range Roller Jig Head is crafted for precision with its high center axis design, perfect for hover-strolling and mid to bottom strolling with forward facing sonar, ensuring an enticing rolling action that triggers bites. We also just released Keep’em Fresh Bait Bags! These bags are the ultimate solution for anglers who need their gear to perform. Built like a tank, this bag is 20x stronger than regular zip bags and offers 100% waterproof protection with a rock-solid double zipper seal. Whether it’s for soft plastics, snacks, or your smartphone, this reusable and versatile bag keeps everything safe from water, mud, and grime. It’s lightweight yet spacious, it fits snugly in your tackle box or backpack, making it perfect for your next adventure. |