River Rasin Small Mouth Fishing

[Owningsky10]

I am just turning 16 and i live not to far from the River Rasin . I hope to drive there all the time in the summer for a good time with some buddies. What kind of Lures would you think be best suited for small mouth fishing in the River Rasin?
 

[retiredbosn]

Have never heard of it, but I've never had two lures fail in any river. 4" curly tail grub, or a Rebel Pop R

[Owningsky10]

Thank you so much for the help what colors would you recommend and how should I rig it.

[ChrisWi]

Tube jig.

[Crestliner2008]

Get a bunch of 1/8 oz. ball head jigs and a large color selection of 3" curly tailed grubs. If there are smallies in there, you'll get more than your share.

[retiredbosn]

Thank you so much for the help what colors would you recommend and how should I rig it.

Smoke, motor oil rigged on a 1/8oz lead head

[jjconnaire]

Check to see what color the crayfish are when ur fishing and match that. Black is also a good color to match helgermites

[Owningsky10]

Thank you for all the help I will make sure I go to cabelas soon to pick up some new tackle

[noway]

Where is this River Rasin located?

[MrM_vs_Wild]

There are two main categories:

 

1) Grubs

 

I like Kalin's lunker grubs and the Strike King rage tail grubs (4 inches in size)... favorite colors for the rivers I fish are smoke salt and pepper, watermelon red flake, blue pearl salt and pepper (blue glimmer flake for rage tail), and pearl.  I usually rig them up on an 1/8 or 1/16 oz jig.  I like football jigs for fishing the rivers just because I seem to get less snags but the round heads work great too.  I like to buy jigs with a 1/0 or 2/0 hook.  Check ebay for deals on jig heads man... don't waste your money at Cabelas.  I just picked up 50 football head jigs with a 2/0 hook for 10 bucks.  You'll probably pay between 3 and 5 bucks for a 3 pack at Cabelas.  Rig them along the seam with the tail pointing away from the turn of the hook.  Check out youtube for some good videos from the guys from Uncle Josh's baits (makers of Kalin)... they have some great tutorials on how to rig them and fish them.  Basically all you want to do though is make a long cast and as soon as the jig hits the water start reeling nice and slow... 

 

2) Hardbaits 

 

Minnow stick baits 

 

I can't tell you how many monster walleye and bass I have picked up on the Allegheny river using the Rapala original floaters.  I usually use the F13 size for walleye... bass tend to like the F09 size.  Really just depends on how big the river is that you are fishing.  The Allegheny is a large river and thus has larger forage species.  Good colors for me have been silver w/ black back, gold/black, blue/silver, and firetiger.  I use a duo snap while fishing these so I don't have to tie a loop knot (Rapala knot) every time I want to change baits.  Haven't lost a fish due to a snap failing.  Just make a long cast and vary your retrieve speed until you develop a pattern.  

 

I also recommend jerkbaits such as the rapala x-rap (pearl ghost), or the husky jerk (same colors as the original floater).  There are hundreds of companies making jerkbaits, but these are the ones I have had the most success with and they are relatively affordable.  Again, depending on the size of the river you plan to fish you're going to want to adjust size accordingly.  I usually fish these exclusively on the Allegheny.  

 

Craw style crankbaits 

 

I have also caught a bunch of fish using the Rebel craw cranks. They have an assortment of colors but brown and orange bases seem to work best for me.  They are really light baits so you'll need a spinning rod with a moderate action to cast them well.  For the smaller rivers that I fish (Shenango, Youghiogheny) this bait has been a great producer.  

 

Again there are plenty of options out there that will produce fish.. I didn't mention the senko, which is another great bait.  So are tube jigs.  If you are just getting into river fishing and don't want to break the bank, get yourself a nice medium action graphite rod (6 1/2 to 7 foot) with a 2500 size reel (don't care what line you use, but I prefer braid w/ flurocarbon leader) and pick up an assortment of grubs and jig heads.  They are probably the most efficient smallmouth bait out there.  

[Owningsky10]

Where is this River Rasin located?

South East Michigan 

[Owningsky10]

MrM_vs_Wild thank you so much for the help it is much appreciated 

[MrM_vs_Wild]

No problem man... again there is a lot of stuff out there but I've probably caught more on grubs than any other bait when fishing rivers.  Paddle tail baits like mister twister's sassy shad or keitech easy shiners work well too.  

[noway]

A friend of mine did well using Little Cleos near the Monroe County Library.

[ClayBuster]

Owningsky,

 

     I have a little experience fishing the River Raisin in Monroe. I'm far from an expert, but may be able to offer a few pointers. The Raisin covers a good chunk of land so, if you'd like, message me with a slightly more specific location and we can discuss some details.

 

Also, you may have some luck asking questions here, http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/. You will probably stand a better chance of getting your question in front of someone with local knowledge that will help you with your specific situation.

[jtharris3]

Get a bunch of 1/8 oz. ball head jigs and a large color selection of 3" curly tailed grubs. If there are smallies in there, you'll get more than your share.

This answer is spot on. I fish the River Raisin a lot. As far as 3" curly tail grubs go, white, black w/ chartreuse tail, watermelon w/ black pepper are my best colors. Yellow gets hot every now and then.

Tubes work but in my experience the curly tail grub out fishes them. Tubes seem to work best directly below the few dams that are left.

Mepps, Panther Martins and Rooster Tails also do well in the deeper areas.

I fish every where from Dundee all of the way to the mouth of the river.

Since the library area has been mentioned, that is a popular area with the fly fishermen. About a mile up stream and a half mile down stream is good wading. You'll even see a hex hatch in that area as well.

There are also rock bass and northern pike in the river.

Hope this helps.

[Turkey sandwich]

The grubs and topwater poppers are probably the easiest to fish, and most productive options for fishing smallmouth in a river. I grew up on the Susquehanna, and more 25+ fish days than I could count just throwing those two baits. A tube jig is also probably a close 3rd or 4th.

As for soft plastic colors - there are a million, but keep it simple. When the water is clear, throw light/natural colors (pumpkinseed, watermelon, white/pearl, anything that matches the color of natural forage). If the water is more stained, throw darker colors (black, blues, purples, junebug, etc) or really bright colors (chartreuse, bubblegum, methiolate, etc).

As for jig heads, when throwing grubs, always go the lightest you can get away with. 1/16th-1/8th ounce will cover most scenarios. I've gone to 1/32 oz on the light side when fish were really finicky, to 1/4 oz when I need to either get the bait down or fish it more quickly.

As for poppers, the.old school Pop-R is still a great lure. I also really like Rapala's Skitter Pop. Think about matching forage. Colors that mimic shad/herring/alewives, bluegill, and perch will always catch bass.

Good luck, and have fun!

[masterbass]

Get a bunch of 1/8 oz. ball head jigs and a large color selection of 3" curly tailed grubs. If there are smallies in there, you'll get more than your share.

Chartreuse works the best for me.

[smr913]

I've been having the most luck with 4" ultravibe speed craws in green pumpkin on a 3/16th ounce shakeyhead. Cast into the rips and let the current bounce it through the eddies.