Catching Smallies In Creeks

[Smallieslayer2234]

I have a few nice ways to catch smallies while wading creeks but was just wondering if any of y'all could give me a heads up on how to land a few more smallies....I'm open to try any new techniques...I normally use top water...small buzz baits and weightless lizards

[coak]

Perhaps one of my most dependable lures for smallies in rivers is an in-line spinner. Completely underrated by the largemouth guys IMHO, but indespensible for a smallmouth angler. If you fish stretches with rocky bottoms like I do......any craw will produce most times, though I never have had the patience to fish with soft plastics. I'm also fond of the jointed rapala's......especially in either the baby bass or fire craw paint finish.

[CPBassFishing]

Toss a small lizard to visible cover. Ex. Zoom 4" lizard

Small crank, it will bring the fish out of hiding, and if they don't bite it you can toss them the lizard.

small shaky head: ex. 4-5" worm on an 1/8 oz head.

Inline spinner

[11justin22]

I always throw a tiny brush hog Texas rigged. Have had to many 100-150 fish days on that to count... Granted most are 8-12 inches. I always use an ultralight rig too.

[Bass Junkie]

Twitching or swimming a Jackall Cross Tail Shad threaded on a 1/16 oz. jighead, and don't forget the Rebel Crawfish.

[Smallieslayer2234]

Thanks...I use spinners in the smaller creeks around my house and have had many small fish come on them....and the promblem for me throwing plastic craws and brushhogs I'd that smaller fish like warmouth and bluegill always take them before smallies get the chance

[wademaster1]

You'll need to go to bigger size to filter out the non target fish for the most part.

Strike king mini king spinnerbaits don't get snagged near as easily as inline spinners and any bass will hit them.

2"-3" grubs from sliders in baby bass color on kottonmouth jig heads are great too.

I think plastic worms and lizards and craws will all work also.

[flyfisher]

nose hooked 4" or smaller senko style baits are also deadly when deadsticked through likely spots.

[Southfork]

Most people laugh when they see me carrying these, but everyone always buys some after we fish together.

 

You will catch smaller bass too, but I've caught probably 3 out of my top 5 creek bass on these.

 

[Oregon Native]

I've had awesome success on three inch Yum Dingers.  Use 8# braid with a fluro leader in 6 or 8 and if the stream is slow flowing or heavily pressured fish weightless.  Get a lot of littl tap taps but usually only set on the weighted bites or run offs.

Tight Lines

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Dropshot a 2.5" tube. 

 

Also killer is a Slider head with a 4" Senko. 

 

Float and fly, or a crappie type rig will also take fish in current.

[retiredbosn]

A 4" curly tail grub, smoke with black flakes, or a light brown with gold flakes, tubes, 1/4 oz busy bugs jigs with craw trailer, hula grub, 1/4 oz spinner baits in brown/gold skirt with a motor oil/chartreuse grub trailer. I find in most creeks that once the Smallies start getting big that their main footage is creek chubs and craws, so that is what I imitate. You see ppl recommending white grubs allot, my experience in creeks is that you want more neutral colors.

[clayton86]

This is what I grew up doing and still my favorite way to fish. I usually load up with a bag of grubs and some ball jig heads or road runners an go to town. If I'm not wading far I will take a box with me usually with grubs, rapala J-6/8, manns baby -1 cranks, rebel craw, the small chatter baits, SK bitsy jigs, flukes, and tubes. All work awesome but I find myself throwing a grub most the time.

[wademaster1]

Clayton, what color rr do you have the best luck with? Thanx

[clayton86]

Red or chartreuse heads with white grubs.

[mrmacwvu1]

Floating jerkbaits

[jm37817]

1/8 oz. spinnerbaits, rebel craws, 1/16-1/8 oz. roostertails (goldblades), 2 1/2-3" tubes, and 3-31/2" plastic craws (dark colors)

[adamgross7875]

Inline spinners are the way to go....takes a little practice to use them in fast water or extremely small or shallow spots because you need to find the correct angle to cast them in order to establish the longest "retrieve lane" possible. How big a "creek" are we talking about? I fish Joe's superstrikers in 1/4 oz down to 1/8 oz. You can get a 1/8 ounce spinner to track horizontally in as little as 4-6 inches of water for long distances by "shirtbuttoning" a few small split shot sinkers ever few feet above the bait along the line. this is deadly in spring spawn for defensive males in shallow beds (where legal) and in summertime when theres hundreds of smaller bass patrolling shallow shallow rocky stretches with no obvious cover. keep in mind this is a fast moving "search pattern"

 

if your fishing an actual "hole" or  pool area- allow the spinner to "helicopter fall" then reterieve/repeat. If theres no room to pull a spinnerbait... try a tiny plastic grub threaded on a size 8 hook..something like a mister twister or even just a split tail grub. lotta guys here like the white color..i have better luck with red/blck or blue/black combo. by tiny i mean 1/8 down to 1/32 oz. Yes, you will get rock bass and panfish as well on this..but it may save you from getting skunked.

 

Also... Ill just say it... Live nightcrawler. 

[brgbassmaster]

Spinnerbaits and topwater have caught my biggest ones.

[Capt.Bob]

I fish a lot in rivers and smaller creeks, I will use a small Rebel wee teeny craw in chartreuse or brown craw, or my favorite bait from Lake Erie - a watermelonseed or pumpkinseed tube.  the smaller creeks where the fish are usually 6-12 inches and many species available the wee teeny craw is killer, but them little #10 trebles are very unforgiving, it can be a real ***** when your an hour or more from the truck and that little sucker is buried in your thumb!!!

[bandit14]

I find that sweet beavers texas rigged and bomber square bill crank baits baby bass or craw colors

[jhoffman]

Another thing to keep in mind when fishing moving water is that prey escapes by running down stream, its faster and more efficient. So throwing up stream and reeling downstream is the natural order.

[jhoffman]

when your an hour or more from the truck and that little sucker is buried in your thumb!!!

 

you need to learn the line trick

[Capt.Bob]

you need to learn the line trick

That usually works, but on this trip when that failed I decided he!! just cut er off and push her through??? that don't always work either, I don't know if the line didn't work this time because it was burried past the bend or so small and felt like it was caught on the barb past a tendon or nerve or ,,,,,,,, but when I finally got it cut and tried pushing it out, I ran out of hook, mid 90 temps saved the day, we had a cooler in the canoe with plenty of beer, once we got back to the truck a couple mile away, we only had an hour and a half drive back home by then the thing really wasn't bothering me anymore,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,like I said those little ******* are a B****

[jhoffman]

I hear ya, sometimes its in the total wrong spot. I pulled a crankbait out of my palm with a key once.