Small Creek

[fishinphilly]

so when it gets really hot in the dead of summer and I'm a bank fisherman i go to a small creek not far from me that i wade, and ill usually catch anywhere from 20-80 fish depending on how long i fish and anywhere from 5 to 14 inches, but I've seen some up to 3 pounds in there that i just can't catch. my setup is a 6 foot medium spinning rod with a pflueger president with 6lb fluro, so I've used everything from grubs to stick baits to topwater lures and i can't get any of the bigger ones to bite at all and the creek has no pressure, so what lures do you think i should try?

 

thanks for the advice and tight lines!

[RHuff]

Mature smallmouth are so smart. You gotta use absolute stealth when fishing for them. If you can see a fish it can see you. Look for areas of current around rocks that create a "swirl" of water. If it is in a shadow that is a plus. Big smallies will crush a lure usually within the first few seconds of it hitting the water.

[Ozark_Basser]

Jitterbugs at night in the summer are a good way to catch the bigger ones. Bring a flashlight but don't shine it on the water. They can and probably will be super shallow. During the day its all about stealth. Make long casts. A good rule of thumb is if you can see them, they can see you, and you probably won't catch them unless they are on beds in this situation. I like using an old Rebel F30s floating minnow in gold and black where I live in the summer. It SLAYS creek smallies.

[drew4779]

I fish a lot of small creeks myself and my advice would be try up-sizing your lures. It's seems the smaller fish are more aggresive and will get to the lure before the larger ones. I like tubes, t-rigged creatures, and spinnerbaits.

[Pete-K]

Creek here we used to wade every saturday in the summer. Always waded upstream, while others would wade upstream. We would catch fish until you give out and good fish. The others were lucky if they caught a smallmouth over 2 lbs.

(1) for us we were sneaking up on the fish above us, not causing stuff to filter down like the others.

(2) when we got to a good hole that held good fish, we fished the lower end hard and did not cast up to the head of the hole. As if you do that most times you caught a small fish and then all the others seen it fighting through the drift hold.

(3) bait for us and it was killer was 5 to 6" jointed baits. This was back in the mid 1980's and found some jointed suspending type jerk baits. Old man made them near where i grew up. Man I wish I had 120 of those babies these days. Buddy and I would catch untold fish and some up to 5 lbs out of this creek. It was about 5 miles from the Tn river.

(4) we never allowed our shadows to fall over the water we were fishing. I have seen fish that after one of our shadows went over that fish and spot. We could not catch?? Guessing way to many eagles and stuff eating them, scared them to the point that shadows like that scared them.

(5) as one of the other posters put it go bigger as it keeps the smaller fish from eating it and at the same time gives the bigger fish something to look forward to.

(6) Go slow as in when you think your going slow slow down more. Think of your bait this way.... You just ate a 16 oz steak and all the trimmings, your so full you can't breath. I offer you a piece of cake and you turn it down. But I put it by you with a fork there. What will you do after seeing it a little bit?? Yes you will take a bite does not matter if your about to throw up from eating so much. Same with the fish leave that bait by them for a longer period of time. They will take a nip.

 

Man I miss the old days of creek fishing fighting the snakes and all the fish that did not see other fisherman for months or years.

 

Pete

[Tony L.]

Mature smallmouth are so smart. You gotta use absolute stealth when fishing for them. If you can see a fish it can see you. Look for areas of current around rocks that create a "swirl" of water. If it is in a shadow that is a plus. Big smallies will crush a lure usually within the first few seconds of it hitting the water.

^^^^^

Beat me to it! It is awesome that you can see them to know that these fish are in there, but that's also the problem. You can see them. That almost assuredly means that they see you.

[MSWV]

I fish a certain small creek quite often and my bigger smallmouth have usually came during times when the water isnt so clear..  Over the years Ive began to enjoy when my creeks/rivers get stained.  Big fish tend to let their guard down during these times and can be caught on big baits such as spinnerbaits and flashy crankbaits..  Big Smallmouth with clear water conditions are tough..  While clear water is great for numbers, it isnt so much for big fish..  

 

Back to the original question:  I feel that your best, clearwater, big smallmouth bait is a topwater..  Try a big topwater walking bait.  Ive had good success during summer for bigger fish with spook Jrs & Rapala skitter walks an hour or so before dark..  Another good clear water bait is a Zoom Trick worm..  This worm may seem kinda big for smaller creeks but if you texas rig it weightless and work it erratically, it will draw a reaction strike from some nice fish..