Smallmouth Lures In The Fall

[1099gl]

I am Farley new to smallmouth fishing and know the basics of how to catch them but I am traveling to table rock for the first time this fall. If you know any lures that would work at table rock for smallies spots or even largemouth PM me or post on here. Thanks for the help

[ChrisWi]

dropshot if you're fishing clear and deep (Table Rock is very clear if i'm not mistaken) if you get some dirtier water toss a square bill or spinnerbait shallow. don't be afraid to throw a bigger jerkbait if there is some chop on the water! Can get ya a big bag fast!

[Chris S]

I am Farley new to smallmouth fishing and know the basics of how to catch them but I am traveling to table rock for the first time this fall. If you know any lures that would work at table rock for smallies spots or even largemouth PM me or post on here. Thanks for the help

 

check out the posts in central bass fishing for KC guys and there is also a LOZ thread going:

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/140081-lake-of-the-ozarks/

[smalljaw67]

Fall fishing for smallmouth is dictated by water temperature, at least in the waters I fish. Right now the water temps are in the high 60s so topwater seems to be hot and if you have just a bit of cloud cover the bite will last all day. Prop baits, buzzbaits and wake baits are all doing well, but when we start falling into the lower 60s to upper 50s the spinnerbait is magic as well as square bills, and if you get a high pressure system or a cold front, tubes and 3" senkos will be a good bet. Last but not least in the Fluke, I mention this last because this bait, to me, is the crossover, if you can get them on top the fluke will work, if the spinnerbait bite is on the fluke will work, and post frontal conditions and the fluke will work. If you want rods rigged and read I'd have 4, one rod with wake bait, 1 with a spinnerbait, 1 with a tube and 1 with a fluke, that will get you through the fall.

[Ozark_Basser]

Just trying to target smallmouth on The Rock will be pretty tough. There is a good population of all three species of bass in the 2-3 lb range. Here's a good guide on what I'd be throwing this time of year if I still lived up there.  

 

Reaction/Search Baits

 

1.  War Eagle Spinnerbait in Blue Herring - It's sort of the staple spinnerbait for the White River chain of lakes.  Throw it around visible cover on banks (buck brush, laydowns), and docks.

2.  Storm Wiggle Wart - No better bait to throw than this one paralell or at an angle down gently sloping rocky banks.

3.  Megabass Jerkbait - Lots of " ledgey" points and blufflines to hang this bait over.

 

Slower Baits

 

1.  Football Jigs/Finesse Jigs with twintail trailer 

2.  T-Rigged Reapers (Not a lot of people throw them, but they get bit better than anything I've found when the bite gets tough)

3.  Skirted Twintail Grubs

 

One thing about this lake is there is a lot of deep water where bass will often hold.  It's a big lake and can be pretty intimidating.  When it comes to fishing the slower moving baits I rarely go less than 3/4 oz on the jig/jigheads to get down quicker so I can cover more water.  Water clarity is also gonna vary a bit depending on where you go also. 

 

I'd start the day off fishing visible cover and points in the back of creeks then make my way out to the main lake points that coincide with the mouths of those creeks.  You should get a pattern going pretty well this way on this lake.  If you don't have electronics, it's a good idea to buy a topo map for this lake to learn how the creek channels swing into points and what not. Another big factor is fishing areas of bank changes (areas where you can see the bank drastically change from clay to rock or even smaller rocks to larger rocks).  Hope this helps.