New guy so I have questions

So this year I acquired a newer boat from a friend and it’s the size that I finally feel comfortable going out on the river/pepin so I guess as the newbie that I am I just have a couple of questions for you “veterans”/ seasoned anglers that have been on the river for quite a while. I just have some questions about fishing the river. I have only fished inland lakes and from what I hear fishing the river is way different so I’m sure I’ll have To go through some growing pains right away and I’ll probably have to acquire some new tackle too but I’m just looking for some guidance I guess.

1. Cranks or live bait rigs or jigs
2. Do the fish like to hang around the points like in lakes or do they cruise around some more
3. Any special gear I should get making the river easier to fish?

Any other tips or tricks I’d really appreciate too, just a college kid trying to have a little fun fishing the river.
Thanks

All the above. There is a ton of info on this site. Read some of the older posts and watch the video’s on this site in regards to rivers. Priceless information.

I started on this site as a lakes only, live bait only fisherman. My advice is to start with what you know and apply it to the river. It will work, you will catch fish. But as you hang around here and read about new techniques, start to incorporate those that appeal to you. I wouldn’t abandon what you are comfortable with.

One thing to remember about the river, it is full of snags. Learn to jig and live bait rig “just off” the bottom. Dragging them around will lose you tackle faster than a lake.

One can easily step up to cranks from live bait rigging with nothing more than a crankbait and a snap. I now buy bait about 25% or less of the times I fish. Jigs and plastics (no bait) are killer on the river, but for this time of the summer, I’d grab some bait.

James has a video, “Mastering Jig Dragging” that I believe was filmed around this time of year. In fact, I should dust it off, watch it and head down to P4 now that the water is leveling out. It might be linked around here somewhere.

Good luck!

Get out and fish often. If you really want to jump forward learning the river in a hurry hire a guide a few times. What you can learn from them in a day can easily take a entire summer or more to figure out on your own. There are several good ones that fish out of Everts Resort.

Like said above there are some great videos on this web site about river fishing. Very worth while looking at for those days you cant get out on the water.

Thanks guys appreciate the insight