jackie several years ago i gave it a good go in a river up here in nea. had the same problem and just gave up on it. i have since found structure in areas when the water is right i do good in and has natural cover. i put out approx a dozen 5 gallon buckets with bamboo in concrete and the spring flood of 2011 got most all of them. they are best without a doubt in lakes located in good areas. not trying to tell ya to give up but i have in this river an just learned more about where they wanna gather with whats natural etc... i will say this i seen a post a good while back and a guy wast putting a pvc pipe in the middle of his 5 gallon bucket to drive a t-post thru to anchor to bottom which i thought was a good idea. might take that an see what you can make up? hope i helped. good luck