Ideal Smallmouth Setup?

[hookedahawg]

Hey guys, so I decided today was the day to try for my first smallmouth. I went to a little creek a few miles from my house and went wading for a bit, after about an hour I scored my first smallie. It was a little Guy, maybe 10 or 11 inches long, but he fought like a prizefighter, all in all he lived up to the hype. So now im officialy hooked on creek/river fishing. But I don't have the slightest clue about what rig to buy. Today I borrowed my buddy's. 5' microlight rod and reel setup, as fun as it was I dont know how ideal that rig would be. So what is a decently priced rod reel combo I could use to walk a few miles of backwater and get to more of those guys? I like specifics also, rod reel line ect. Thanks guys!

[OkobojiEagle]

Rod & reel specifications are more about the technique & bait you will be offering and less about the species you're fishing for.

oe

[hookedahawg]

I hear ya, I caught the one today on a wacky senko.Looking to use light tackle, rooster tail,senko,cranks,crawls that sorta thing.

[Crestliner2008]

Look at getting yourself a 6' - 7' spinning rod with a medium-light rating. Match it with a light reel such as a 1500 series Shimano Sahara. If that's too expensive, look at an Abu Cardinal 101. Fill the reel with 6# test fluorocarbon - or a quality monofilament - and you're good to go. Get a couple of dozen 1/8 oz. ball head jigs and some 3" - 4" curly tailed grubs of your color selection. Put the curly tails on those jigs and you'll get your share of smallies in short order. Just remember to always cast up-stream and retrieve down stream, or quartering down. Target eddys, current breaks of any kind and especially bridge pilings. Good Luck!

[OkobojiEagle]

If this is a 1st or only stream rod I'd recommend a hair heavier tackle. 6 1/2' med. power with a fast action (leaning toward a softer tip)spinning rod -- 2000 size reel filled with a 10lb. test fused PE line. Learn to tie a good line to line knot and fish with a fluoro leader. This combo will fish your stated plastics and also a selection of smaller spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, top water baits and cranks. There can be good sized carp, catfish, and suckers in them there small streams...

oe

[hookedahawg]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice

[smalljaw67]

Look at getting yourself a 6' - 7' spinning rod with a medium-light rating. Match it with a light reel such as a 1500 series Shimano Sahara. If that's too expensive, look at an Abu Cardinal 101. Fill the reel with 6# test fluorocarbon - or a quality monofilament - and you're good to go. Get a couple of dozen 1/8 oz. ball head jigs and some 3" - 4" curly tailed grubs of your color selection. Put the curly tails on those jigs and you'll get your share of smallies in short order. Just remember to always cast up-stream and retrieve down stream, or quartering down. Target eddys, current breaks of any kind and especially bridge pilings. Good Luck!

 

This is great advise, the medium light is great as it will handle the small baits and will be fun to fish but it will also handle a larger fish should you get one bigger than you expected.

[mod479]

I hear ya, I  caught the one today on a wacky senko.Looking to use light tackle, rooster tail,senko,cranks,crawls that sorta thing.

 

Some of the most fun fishing I've ever done has been in creeks and small rivers using a 5'6" Med-Light action rod and 1000 size abu cardinal spinning reel with 4lb copolymer line.  A 3 or 4 lb river smallie (There is a difference, they fight current their entire lives and are stronger/leaner) will test your angling abilities with such a setup and you will have lots of fun fighting the smaller ones too.

 

Get yourself some 3" yamamoto chub tubes and some 1/8-3/16oz internal jigheads.

[jtharris3]

Look at getting yourself a 6' - 7' spinning rod with a medium-light rating. Match it with a light reel such as a 1500 series Shimano Sahara. If that's too expensive, look at an Abu Cardinal 101. Fill the reel with 6# test fluorocarbon - or a quality monofilament - and you're good to go. Get a couple of dozen 1/8 oz. ball head jigs and some 3" - 4" curly tailed grubs of your color selection. Put the curly tails on those jigs and you'll get your share of smallies in short order. Just remember to always cast up-stream and retrieve down stream, or quartering down. Target eddys, current breaks of any kind and especially bridge pilings. Good Luck!

 

+1

[roadwarrior]

I don't think rods should be categorized by species, lures and technique are what's important.

[Kevin22]

I grew up stream/creek fishing for smallies! A couple lures really shined above the rest, but anything that will catch a largemouth will catch a smallmouth. If he can fit it in his mouth he will attack it. I have caught quite a few in those creeks on topwater frogs even. 

 

For rod, I suggest a 6', or 6'6 if you can get away with it, Med power, Fast action spinning rod. 8lb clear mono or fluoro if it is a gin clear stream. Most people think stream and think tiny fish and UL or L rods, that was not the case for me. My average fish was about 14" and the last thing I want to do is fight 30-40 a day with an UL rod. 

 

For lures, my all time best producer is a 4" finesse worm on a 1/16 ounce jig head with a #2 hook. Not the little tiny crappie jig heads, these are "walleye" jig heads with a bigger hook. Just thread on the worm like you would a grub. That rig has caught me thousands of fish in those creeks, from 8" up to 20". I have tried the same rig with a shakey head and produced very few fish, the jig head is the way to go. 

 

Second was a zoom fluke jr, in the smoke shad color, 1/0 hook and no weight. Jerk it like crazy just under the surface, smallies cant resist it. 

 

For color, black with chart tail, green pumpkin, green pumpkin chart tail, and pumpkinseed were the best. 

 

 

One huge suggestion I have is to not let people fool you into throwing tiny rooster tails or 2" grubs. Chances are there are some BIG fish in there, go for them. The small ones will still hit a bigger lure. Fish them like they are largemouth. 

 

Good luck and have fun, its a riot! 

[Capt.Bob]

My favorite rigs for the river and small creek's is a 6' LF Loomis IMX with a 1000 stradic FJ, I run 10# test braid and 6' 6lbs or 8 lbs test fluoro leader. If I am in big fish rivers I like my 6'3" MXF St. Croix Legend Elite, with a 2500 Stradic FJ and 14 lbs test braid with the same leaders. 

 

When I( really want to have fun though I use my 9' 7wt St. Croix legend Ultra with my Redington AL 7/8 loaded with SA WF7F flyline and a 6 to 10 foot 6 lbs test fluoro leader,,,,,,,with wooly buggers, egg sucking leaches and crayfish patterns, early and late in calmer pools I like a grasshopper pattern on top!!!!! FUN,,FUN,,FUN,,,,

[gall]

i fish my local crik non stop for the all mighty bronzeback i run a 6'6 m fast rod with a 2500 reel i got the carbon lite and it works great for a lot of different baits as for line i run 30# powerpro with a 10# leader holds up to any small big or small

 

as for lures craws tubes and senkos in green pumpkin work great so do baby brush hogs in green pumpkin magic and of course the favorite bait is the heddon baby torpedo i cast out and do a series of pops they crush it

[moguy1973]

When I'm wading I break out my 6' medium action berkley Amp rod with a Abu Cardinal 102i on it and 8lb P-line premium CX. It allows me to throw pretty much any lure I want from a small rooster tail up to a heavy top water walk the dog. The shorter rod is better IMO for portability and ease of use under low hanging trees.

I used to use a 5' UL rod and reel and let me tell you a 2 1/2lb Smallie is a fight on one of those. Stepped up to a medium just so I wasn't fighting them for a long time.

[gall]

i wade all the time since its mostly shallow max 8ft in certain areas i like the 6'6 m fast just because i can launch light baits which i primarily use i rarely throw anything over 3/8oz unless its a topwater and for long cast i get a good hookset green pumpkin soft plastics are deadly in my area especially if you tip the claws in orange my advice is catch a few crawdads out of your local water and then of course match the hatch but i never throw anything over 4" when mimicking a crawdad