Pro Tip: Current Seams

**edit - I apologize for the example videos not loading into this video. I’m not sure why they didn’t load. I recommend just looking at some of the footage from my st Lawrence river tournament. I was going to include some fish catches from that event. Here is the link to day 1 • MLF Pro Circuit Recap ... **
In this video I’ll give a quick breakdown on how to properly fish current seams.
Remember to subscribe to my channel to be automatically entered into my monthly prize drawings!
New KZbin videos uploaded EVERY day!
Click here to SUBSCRIBE to my channel:
/ @mattstefanfishing
How to Support this Channel:
1) Purchase tackle through this link from The Reel Shot:
bit.ly/3mxAfXX
USE CODE "stefan10" FOR 10% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER!!!!
2) Share my videos on your social media platforms!
3) If you enjoy the content and want to see more of it. Consider donating to the channel to show your support for future video creation. Very much appreciated!
Paypal - paypal.me/Matt...
Venmo - account.venmo....
Follow Matt Stefan Fishing on Instagram / mattstefanfishing
Follow Matt Stefan Fishing on Facebook / mattstefanfishing
Do you live in Wisconsin or plan on visiting anytime soon. Contact me for a guide trip!
MY SPONSORS:
Bridgford Foods www.bridgford....
Berkley www.berkley-fi...
Abu Garcia www.abugarcia....
Striker Brands strikerbrands....
Battle Born Batteries battlebornbatte...?afmc=3p
Dirty Jigs Tackle dirtyjigstackl...
ugo ugowear.com/
Lowrance www.lowrance.com/
Skeeter Boats www.skeeterboa...
The Boat Center www.theboatcen...
Power-Pole www.power-pole...
PROcise Outdoors prociseoutdoor...
TH Marine thmarinesuppli...
Mud Hole Rod Building www.mudhole.com/
MHX Rod Blanks www.fishmhx.com/
CRB supplies crbproducts.com/
Costa Del Mar Sunglasses www.costadelma...
My Profile:
www.mattstefanf...
I was born and raised in Chicago, but after working 12 years in the financial Industry regulating the futures and options markets at the CME/CBOT I decided to pursue my passion fishing professional tournaments and left my full time corporate job. At that point, I moved to Junction City, WI with my wife Sara and two boys Hank and Duke. I've been fishing professionally since 2011 and full-time since 2015. I've qualified for six MLF Championships and won roughly a half million in tournament winnings at the professional level.

[@richardmajewski4104]

Thanks for the insites Matt.

[@MattStefanFishing]

My pleasure!

[@theultimatesteelshooter8610]

I learned to fish trout fishing in upstate NY and this is classic trout fishing strategy. If you fish water that has current you’d be well advised to study trout fishing techniques to learn to fish current.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for the tips!

[@auto_5]

Underrated comment. Current is such a crazy thing and can be so tough to pinpoint, in regard to fish positioning. The spots that look great on the surface can and will be a different, twisted beast underneath. It is a constant mind game fishing rivers.

[@dustinwalker8152]

Solid video, as always, even without the videos loading. Your stuff is always short, to the point, easy to understand and legit. Matt, thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for watching!

[@academicmailbox7798]

Matt, did you ever see a Murray's fly shop video lesson (called 'reading a pool')? It's really an ornamental pond size of water. That the speaker in the lesson. Uses to explain how a fishing pool works. In terms of current. However, the whole thing. Expands up. To the size of a larger river too. Which you may need. An actual 'bass boat'. To navigate around. In order to position yourself. From a rod casting point of view. To fish it. In the right way. You're correct in saying. That it is the responsibility of the angler. To un-tangle all of this. And figure out. Their own strategy. To fish a pool. And it's something in fishing. That very few talk about (mostly people talk about baits, rods, reels and lines). Which are all important. Not as important. As one's own self-orientation though.

[@academicmailbox7798]

This is where. The bass boat angler. And the kayak boat angler. Are different. In this respect. The kayak boat angler. Won't be able to stand up tall. As often. In order to review the situation. To figure it out. When they are there (a walking bankside angler, and wading angler in rivers). Have even less mobility and options. Than a kayak boat angler. The bass boat angler. Because they have got. A trolling motor. And a vantage point. To be able to survey their surroundings. Can slowly position and navigate themselves. Into certain places. The kayak boat angler. Will fish some of the time. And other times. Will need to be sitting down. Much lower in level. To the water (if you want to see the difference that it makes). Then simply 'test the life jacket' some day. In a small safe pond of water even. It's something that anglers. Are recommended. That they do occassionally anyhow. Understand how their own 'life protection' equipment operations. And a couple of anglers. Should always pair up. And simply jump into the water. In order to get used. To get familiar. With their own floatation devices. How important it is. To strap them on correctly.

[@academicmailbox7798]

What most people will be shocked by. Is that when bank walking and shallow wading. In rivers. How much better vantage point. And awareness of your surroundings. That you will have. How much more. You are basically able to see around you. When you are standing (especially if you are like Matt Stefan you will have at least 'six feet' of distance). Between the ground or water level. And your eye level. You put on. Your floatation device though. And get into the water. And you suddenly discover. How little awareness (or even basic sense of direction). That you have. When you're eyes. Are basically down at 'fish level'. Around the surface of the water. Which is why. In salmon angling where we wade. We do actually practice this stuff in groups. Even in relatively small rivers, which are shallow (i.e. you could simply stand up, and the river is only two foot depth). If you are laying horizontal. The current is going to carry you. And spin you around and things. Sometimes. You'll find yourself facing 'head' downstream. When you fall in. Other times. You'll find yourself facing 'head' upstream. As the current takes you down. And most people. Have to get used. To the reality that you are controlled by the river current (when you're feet are off the bottom).

[@academicmailbox7798]

Kayak boat anglers. Do this sometimes. I have noticed. When someone flips the kayak boat over. They say to themselves. When fishing in groups. They say. Okay. Now lets use this as an opportunity. To learn how to cope with this. When it happens. To learn how to get the kayak boat. The right way up. And you to climb back in. It's no easy thing to do. The point is though. From purely from an angling point of view. A lot of the time. That you spend fishing in kayak boats. You will spend. Simply trying to get from 'A' to 'B'. And for that reason. Kayak boat anglings. Might be less sophisticated. In their strategy. For working with the current seams. In a river pool. Than an angler may (if it's a large enough river and they have space). If they had a trolling motor and a bass boat. The bass boat angler can 'break' down the water. A good bit more. From this point of view. Of how you approach the pool. And where you allow the boat. To drift over (the other St. Lawrence river angler that you competed with was 'blowing' in the opposite direction to the wind). Because of the size of the bass boat. And the strength of the wind. That was in the opposite direction. To the current flow. However, he did succeed in cancelling out. That wind drift. By using his trolling motor. In order to keep his fishing bait. Flowing with the current. As opposed to getting dragged against the current (because his boat if not corrected, would have been blown that way).

[@academicmailbox7798]

A lot of anglers. Would not even realize. That was happening. If they were not paying. Very close attention. I have mixed feelings. About kayak boat anglers. And it would be interesting. To see how one of the expert kayak boat anglers. Was able to deal with this situation. With one of their pedal drive systems. For example. It would be interesting to see. If one did have. The Hobie Lynx or similar craft (that was a little bit like a paddle board). And a little bit like a kayak. If one had set up. The kayak boat. In a certain way. To drift with the flow. And orient the kayak. So it did not blow so much. With the wind. How that would have worked out. Particularly. If one decided to 'stand'. Instead of sit. On the kayak boat. That was a little bit more like. An actual paddle board. I wonder about that. And I wonder. How many kayak boat anglers. Actually think enough. About the current seams. That they could fish.

[@academicmailbox7798]

The problem there being. That while a lot of kayak boat anglers. Are in a position. To use the knowledge of fishing a current seam. And use that knowledge. To their advantage. From the perspective of a kayak boat angler. In fishing terms. Because a lot of kayak boat anglers. Grew up paddling around in lakes. Where the current was non-existent. Where they simply use the kayak boat. To perambulate around the edges and the shorelines (where the kayak is literally just an access device as such). A moveable static platform. I've noticed that. About many of the kayak boat anglers. They still have figured out. How to make this work. With the current. Not least because. These peddle drives. They have in those kayaks now. Are so good. They can do anything. And take the angler. Anywhere. With the current. Against it. It does not matter.

[@robertstone3417]

Very helpful, Matt! Thanks again for your effort.

[@MattStefanFishing]

No problem!

[@edpelkey7798]

Thanks Matt, great info as always 👏

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cerebraltackle]

Ahh, good stuff!

[@tommywalker741]

Appreciate the advice Matt even without the videos, I understand current A little where I live on the Tennessee river system, keep videos coming.🙏

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks!

[@juleswinnfield826]

One of the best descriptions about fishing current.... good on you. My first current lessons were on Steelhead streams/rivers 30 years ago. Over the past 30 its been amazing to see how many common denominators in river fishing. From 700 cfs to 250,000 cfs they all have common denominators that transcend them all. Keep up the good work.

[@MattStefanFishing]

thanks!

[@johnrayner5599]

I am not very good at fishing current but this explanation was probably the best description I have ever heard, thanks for doing this video Matt.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jinxthecat3822]

Hey Man! You're telling my secret! I always look for current seams, breaks, and eddy's. I do it on lakes. But I suppose it is even more relevant on rivers. Good info!

[@MattStefanFishing]

Sorry to give up the juice!

[@jamierice3189]

Really enjoyed this one.. a ton of good info..

[@craig5927]

Great topic , I’m not that bright . I need a visual to get better at this.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for watching

[@jelmo1057]

Thanks for the lesson Matt. While I’ve fished some rivers, I certainly wouldn’t qualify as an experienced or knowledgeable river fisherman. This is very helpful, thanks.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for watching!

[@Shurmash]

Fishing the seam is crucial when trying to catch fish. Fish hang out of the current and then dart in when food goes past. Eddys are also another great place where the current flows backwards in a spiral.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Agreed!

[@glenndaugherity6187]

Matt sorry not related to this video but what transom saver do you use for your Yamaha ? Great video too

[@MattStefanFishing]

It’s the transom savor that comes stock with the Yamaha. Not sure the name off hand

[@richardmajewski3815]

Didn't see the videos you talked about.

[@MattStefanFishing]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZPRY4mof9GqeJo

[@kennethfilas7979]

Great stuff. What about identifying things like wing dams?

[@MattStefanFishing]

good idea

[@fjkaiser]

Hey Matt grest info I fish the Wisconsin River couple times a week. Lyndon Station area some in the dells area fished today below the dam water was really low yet your video shows it up? Probably opened the dam,does an open dam make current seams easier to find?

[@MattStefanFishing]

Yes it does!

[@HookLife]

Houston, we are experiencing technical difficulties!!! Haha all good man, still a solid video. We would love to know your perspective on fish positioning and bait retrieval direction on current seams. I have always been told to cast up current and bring your bait facing down current. Dropshot - if the currents ripping isn’t the bait going to be turned around and positioned like it’s trying to swim up current? Do you ever cast into the slack water and bring your bait into the current traveling up current or always down current?? I think this would make a fantastic video.

[@guyb5333]

I've always found the most difficult thing is keeping a bait in, or close to, that current break seem for a long enough period to be most effective without the current pulling my line or moving my lure away. Ideally i would be down stream in the seem, but not knowing where the fish are are positioned down steam of the current break, i don't want to be over top of them. So I just try to stay at a acute angle and use lures like crankbaits that pull hard to keep my line nice and straight. My river rat days are pretty much over. I stick mostly the lake. I enjoyed your breakdown of the of the water during the MLF TW title tournament. If I ever get up that way I will have to listen to that one again.

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks for watching!

[@mattorschell275]

How do you attack a river with little or no current at all?

[@MattStefanFishing]

I head for the deepest sections or the shallowest section to find current

[@juleswinnfield826]

And yes x2 here no video footage from the St. Lawrence embedded in your vid today.

[@MattStefanFishing]

I’m not sure why they didn’t load. I apologize about that. I recommend just looking at some of the footage from my st Lawrence river tournament. I was going to just include some fish catches from that event. Here is the link to day 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZPRY4mof9GqeJo

[@juleswinnfield826]

@@MattStefanFishing no worries. Somewhere the mouse fell off the wheel that drives You Tube...... dang software.

[@rcallies82]

Do current seams remain constant in a lake/river but size varies based on the amount of current or are they ever changing? So if let’s say I prefish the week before the event the current seams may change by the time of the tournament

[@MattStefanFishing]

the seem changes with the current flow.

[@sonnygreen9698]

I don’t know if you know but your videos didn’t load/launch as you intended. The Potomac is kind of the same way, the heavier grass edges provide some of what you were talking about in areas of that river also, it’s tidal I know and completely different but still is it not the same idea? or am I off base in thinking about it that way?

[@MattStefanFishing]

Dang! I’m not sure why they didn’t load. I apologize about that. I recommend just looking at some of the footage from my st Lawrence river tournament. I was going to just include some fish catches from that event. Here is the link to day 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZPRY4mof9GqeJo

[@sonnygreen9698]

@@MattStefanFishing I have already watched your event “in detail” I learn more by watching and studying where you guys fish and not so much about the baits y’all use, thats pretty much the same across the board, most all of you fish different areas however and I turn my focus to what was happening in front of you guys, as always man, really appreciate your efforts in putting quality info out there that we can apply to our own waters, awesome channel !!!

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thanks!

[@ragefootball7272]

None of you example videos played….just an awkward pause. Great info as always tho but would of loved to see the visual examples

[@MattStefanFishing]

Dang! I’m not sure why they didn’t load. I apologize about that. I recommend just looking at some of the footage from my st Lawrence river tournament. I was going to just include some fish catches from that event. Here is the link to day 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZPRY4mof9GqeJo

[@jamierice3189]

Really enjoyed this one.. a ton of good info..

[@MattStefanFishing]

Thank you!