Smallies In River (Under 6Ft Depth)

[tntitans21399]

I have been taking my kayak out more and more on some river near Nashville. They all have smallers and I have been using a Senko green watermelon 3" worm rigging weedless. I can usually get about 4-6 each outting. My question is usually the fish I catch sre nice size for the river but you will see some bigger ones swim by when you surprise them. What other lures or retrieve would you use to get the bigger ones to bite.

And if you have been on any of the rivers near Nashville let me know what you had good luck with.

[fish365]

jigs, T-rig craw, soft swimbaits, and shakeyheads

[Scott F]

The Senko is a good choice. Maybe go up to a 4 inch or even 5. The color does not matter too much. The bigger fish didn't get big by being careless. The smaller fish are often more aggressive and will grab baits in front of the bigger and more cautious fish. Make long casts and be as stealthy as you can. Keep trying.

[bigbill]

Crawfish cranks(rebel) match the natural craw color or try chartruese, panther Martin spinfly silver blade yellow fly.

I cast past the rocks that Stick out of the water and bring the inline spinners into the backwashes.

Mister Twister has the craw cranks discounted.

[Wild Idaho]

Try a crank bait. I used to only use plastics but this year I have been plaing with crank baits. Wished I would have used them more before. Another good setup to try is some super fluke swim baits,baby bass color seems to produce for me. With the fluke in current I like to rig with a jig head and reel some and then pause retrieve. Not sure what your water temp is,but if you keep an eye on it you can really find some killer days to fish early when the temp is getting in the 50s. Good luck and be safe!

[brgbassmaster]

pop r's are my favorite shallow river bait.

[Bassin Bob]

It's not really near Nashville, but I fish the Elk River in southern middle TN for smallmouth.  We use pop r's primarily, but also finesse worms.  In clearer parts of the river, I've thrown sassy shads with luck.  I also saw a Fishing University show where they were using kayaks on the Duck River (just south of you) and catching smallies.  I don't remember what they were using, but they were hauling them in!

[moguy1973]

Walk the dog lures should start to really work this time of year.  Lures like Strike King Sexy Dawgs, Lucky Craft Sammy's, Damiki Dolphins, Zara Spooks, etc.  Smallies love them and when they are on the top water it's not uncommon to have 2-3 or more smallies chasing after a walk the dog.

[bclark7b]

This isn't the coolest thing you could throw but in shallow streams and rivers I have alot of luck with a mister twister grub on a jig head.. I just reel it in steady and they nail it.. idk its worth a shot.I've caught some big small mouth with this

[slainempire]

rapala dt4s, bps xps super shallow cranks, and rebel craws work wonders for me for susquehanna river smallies

[Hogsticker]

Daiwa peanut! If you don't have any, get some!! Also a grub on a darter head is deadly. Swim it, twitch it, snap it, dead stick it. Senko of course, and this is top secret but why not. Owner Cultivate zip n Ziggy. This is my recipe fishing the same exact conditions. Good luck

[flyfisher]

nose hooked 4" stick baits will kill the smallies any time of year.  You can use a circle hook or a finesse hook just watch your line because you will hook a few deep until you get the hang of it, hence the reason i prefer circle hooks since you don't even really need to set the hook with them.

[EvanT123]

I'd try a 3.5 inch tube. With 1/8-1/4 weight. Swim it, drag it or hop it.