Best River Lures?

[Snipe Hunter]

Hmmm. The cool thing about smallmouth in rivers is that they're usually where they're supposed to be so getting your bait in front of them is the key. Rivers are all different, fast, slow, deep, shallow, rocky, sandy, grassy etc. I'll throw whatever puts itself in the strike-zone the longest without hanging up too often. I'll throw tubes and creature baits in slower water and lipless crank baits and spinner baits in faster water. I've found that I can throw billed cranks in eddies or calm areas in tailraces with success. Lots of noise and flash in fast water and more realistic baits in slower water.

[WI_Angler1989]

I fish rivers pretty much exclusively. Here in WI there's no shortage of big river smallies either! Of course, I love fishing lots of lures, but for the sake the topic here are my favs/best.

 

-Tubes- (Cabin Creek, River Rock) easily my most productive and favorite way to fish. Nothing beats the feeling of a big fish hitting a little tube for me. Tubes are also my best numbers bait. So long as you know there are or should be fish around (eddies, pools, break lines), youll catch smallies on a tube. It's the first thing I fish and the lure that I have the most confidence in.

 

-Grubs- (Kalin's) also super productive at any time of the year. I play around with colors and length to see what they want. Greens and smokes work best here. 4" usually, some 5" and 3" for trailers.

 

-finesse jigs- they'll will get bit any time the tube bite is on in my experience. The kicker is that I've had days when a tube gets nadda, but the jig gets slammed. 

 

-Mepps Aglia- for me it's Mepps. Not inline spinners. Mepps. They're money here on any fish and Smallies love them. Downside is they're very snaggy if you're in unfamiliar water. 

 

-Plastic Craws- I use these as jig trailers a lot, but fish them alone more probably. Some days they out fish tubes, some days it's about the same but the claws make them fall slower which can be key. I cast into current and just reel slower lack as they bounce down river.

 

I do all my tubes, craws, finesse worms, etc on Cadman's Smallie slidin' jigs (confidence baits draggin heads too) and that's the key. They weedless, pretty snag proof unless it's super rocky, and make plastics sit up on the bottom. Finding this style jig hook was the best thing for me. No more worries about snags and lost lures so I fish confidently!

 

Well, that's my run down on what I do and like. Now I wanna go fishing... crap.

[TriCityBassin']

Here is a picture of my smallmouth river...James River in Richmond VA. I don't catch fish on plastics/bottom baits. I also don't have one over 2.25lbs. HELP!

[Jagg]

Topwaters. Floating minnows, Heddon Torpedoes, Tiny Lucky 13s.

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, TriCityBassin' said:

Here is a picture of my smallmouth river...James River in Richmond VA. I don't catch fish on plastics/bottom baits. I also don't have one over 2.25lbs. HELP!

Senko Senko and more Senko. weedless and weightless. It can be a topwater a jerkbait or a do-nothing bait 

[WI_Angler1989]

4 hours ago, TriCityBassin' said:

Here is a picture of my smallmouth river...James River in Richmond VA. I don't catch fish on plastics/bottom baits. I also don't have one over 2.25lbs. HELP!

 

Personally, I'd fish some Kalin's grubs and Aglias. If it's topwater season I'd throw a popper too. 

[smr913]

In the late spring/summer throw a 3/16 or 1/4 jig with a craw trailer straight up stream and let it bounce down. Use a high speed reel to keep in constant contact with the bait. I also do pretty well with a buzzbait or whopper plopper 90 in black across current breaks and eddies. 

 

In early spring/early fall you can't beat a white beetlespin or other shad colored spinnerbait but they move out of the fast water.

[Jagg]

Yup, my bad. This time of year a Spot Remover jig with a Z-Man plastic. Ned rig or Slider Spider jig is also an option since you don't want to really be on bottom with those, but swimming just off bottom.

[TriCityBassin']

5 hours ago, Jagg said:

Topwaters. Floating minnows, Heddon Torpedoes, Tiny Lucky 13s.

Yep do this now. But no option when that bite shuts off.

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Senko Senko and more Senko. weedless and weightless. It can be a topwater a jerkbait or a do-nothing bait 

What do you do? Just let it tumble in the current?

[Scott F]

19 minutes ago, TriCityBassin' said:

Yep do this now. But no option when that bite shuts off.

What do you do? Just let it tumble in the current?

It doesn't exactly tumble but flows with the current. I use braid that floats. Reel fast enough to keep most, but not all the slack out of the line. Watch the line, when a fish picks up the bait, the line will twitch, then set the hook. If you drift it under overhanging trees, you will get lots of bites.

[Tryan]

Bottom:  Chompers Hula grubs on a standup jig or football jig.

 

Middle: spinnerbait or crankbait

 

Top:  A Sammy/ other WTD or buzzbait.

 

Also, a Ned rig always produces numbers for me.

 

I'll have to give the rage tail menance a try.  

[chattooga_ basser]

There are some good answers here. My  favourite river smallmouth baits are a Rebel craw crankbait, 4" stick worm, and a tube. I throw the craw around rocks, gravel etc, the stick worm is for skipping under shady trees and  undercut banks. The tube is my open water bait for fishing eddies, eddy lines and other current breaks.  

  

 

[PatrickKnight]

If the fishing is just really bad I can always get something on 4 inch green pumpkin Yamamoto curly tail. Cast it up stream and bump it off every rock possible.

[TriCityBassin']

All good ideas...some is textbook and should be solid.  I will try most of these...but the plastics are a killer in my area bc of the sunfish (river bream).  Freakin' piranhas!  They shred any plastic i throw.  A hula grub will be a Ned rig in 5 casts. I will give all of these a serious go, i know the big girls are there but not hitting on the top.  I will have to figure out the senko drift

[PatrickKnight]

1 hour ago, TriCityBassin' said:

All good ideas...some is textbook and should be solid.  I will try most of these...but the plastics are a killer in my area bc of the sunfish (river bream).  Freakin' piranhas!  They shred any plastic i throw.  A hula grub will be a Ned rig in 5 casts. I will give all of these a serious go, i know the big girls are there but not hitting on the top.  I will have to figure out the senko drift

 

I have this issue as well, I find the Z-Man brand baits hold up better just due to the material they are made out of. However I seem to do better on the Yamamoto baits.

[razor6570]

 Jig head underspin with a green pumpkinseed grub.

 

 

 

[roadwarrior]

One of my favorites, too!  I throw a Sworming Hornet/ LFT Live Magic Shad.

 

[Jacob Phelps]

I have had success with 5 inch senko style works wacky rigged, T-rigged craws, tubes, and crankbaits. I began to use jigs at the end of last season with a little success. Purchased a couple finesse jigs to try. I also have a popper that I want to start using on the river. 

[WI_Angler1989]

1 hour ago, Jacob Phelps said:

I have had success with 5 inch senko style works wacky rigged, T-rigged craws, tubes, and crankbaits. I began to use jigs at the end of last season with a little success. Purchased a couple finesse jigs to try. I also have a popper that I want to start using on the river. 

 

Sounds like myself. I haven't done much wacky rigging, to my own loss, but I want to do some more finesse jigs and poppers too. The main spots I fish from shore are tough for wacky. I think once I'm in the canoe more it'll work better.

[Snipe Hunter]

Are you fishing anywhere near some deeper water? I catch a lot of small smallies in the Upper Potomac and Shenandoah. Almost (maybe all) of my bigger fish came in or near deep water. When I say deep, I'm talking about 6ft if I can find it. They may not be in it but they'll be near it. Fish the fast water near deep spots.

[king fisher]

In a river that size at that water level, I would cover every inch of it with a number 3 Mepps, or Vibrax.  You would be able to put an inline in every riffle pocket, edie, run, pool, and tail out from top to bottom quickly. It all looks very fishy. Some of slower water looks perfect for a floating Rapala.  Twitch it on the surface in the pockets next to shore than steady retrieve through the middle.  With these two lures, you should be able to catch any species of sport fish in that water.  Also perfect water level for a fly rod, with wooly buggers, and string leaches.

[WI_Angler1989]

3 hours ago, king fisher said:

In a river that size at that water level, I would cover every inch of it with a number 3 Mepps, or Vibrax.  You would be able to put an inline in every riffle pocket, edie, run, pool, and tail out from top to bottom quickly. It all looks very fishy. Some of slower water looks perfect for a floating Rapala.  Twitch it on the surface in the pockets next to shore than steady retrieve through the middle.  With these two lures, you should be able to catch any species of sport fish in that water.  Also perfect water level for a fly rod, with wooly buggers, and string leaches.

 

+2 on the Mepps for a search lure! It's worked well for me at all stages too: early spring, summer and fall. Just vary the speed and beware snags.

[BigSkyBasser]

Senkos seem to rule all on the rivers here for the vast majority of season. The versatility of a wacky rigged senko in current is incredible and call also be rigged for any other smallmouth finesse application you could think of. 

[scaleface]

I bank fish the Mississippi . I find a rip rap bank in the current  , cast cheap spinnerbaits up stream to different depths , let the  lure sink . As soon as it  touches  down   pop it up and try to retrieve barely above the rocks.  H&H spinners and 1/4 ounce beetle spins work well with this tactic .  

[Sammies77]

River smallmouth aren't very picky, get the bait in front of them and more than likely they will eat it. Learning how to read the current and using it to properly present your bait to the fish is more important. 

 

Some of my favorite river smallmouth baits are:

Buzzbaits 

Spinnerbaits

X raps and pointers

1/4 oz Rattle traps and red eye shads

Pearl Flukes

Mann's baby 1-

Kvd square bills

Bandit 200 and bomber 4a's

Jig-n-craw, tubes

And the yum christie craw is my absolute favorite soft plastic for river smallmouth. 

 

For water temps under 40 the erie darter jr is my go to bait.