jmutto - i've had best luck using kind of a drift rig setup - slinky or pencil lead with about a 4 ft leader to the spinner or dick nite. Use just enough lead to tap the bottom 3 or 4 times per drift. You should expect to lose some terminal gear...

But it really depends on the type of water and where the fish are holding. Sometimes (probly most) they will be hugging the bottom near structure. But other times they will be suspended mid level.

If the fish are hunkered down and not moving upstream very fast, focus on the deeper holes and faster slots where it is easy for them to hide.

If they are moving (it pays to find a high place to watch from with polorized glasses). Then you can find a somewhat shallow, narrow spot that kind of funnells (sp) the fish. You can easily intercept them here as they shoot through in schools. The best place to be working is the spot just below the fast chute of water. The fish will be more aggressive here as they work up courage to shoot up through the shallow run. A small lure drifting into the mix of fish jockying for postion is sure to get chomped by a cranky silver... But sometimes the best spot is just above the shallow fast run where they once again fight over position. Basically, any time you have fish moving and then being forced to mingle in tight quarters - they tend to get more cranky.

If you don't have any luck keeping your lure close to the bottom, try a few other things:

* Try a very fast retrieve - sometimes this can trigger an aggressive strike
* Try a soft jigging type retreive (not snagger style where you are jerking the rod looking for contact) - works best with spoons and jigs, but spinners can be worked this way as well. Sometimes a free falling lure is what gets them...

As you can see, there is no 'best' way to fish for silvers in the rivers. Every day and every river and every hole can and usually does fish different. Try one thing for a little bit, then switch your lure or your presentation a little.

Don't forget to try some scents, and fresh eggs can be deadly as well. A little shrimp or prawn meat can help as long as it doesn't interfere with the action of the lure.

And if you don't see any fish rolling where you are at, move on! If fish are there, you will usually see them.

Good luck!