Best River Lures?

[fishnkamp]

I fished the Shenandoah and Potomac as well as the Susqy for years.  Kalin grubs on a Perfect finesse work hook (check out Bass Pro Shops) small twin tail beetle spin type bodies on 1/8 ounce ball head jigs used to work well. If you have to upsize to get rid of the sunfish/ piranhas then do so.  Add another couple of baits to your arsenal. Throw a tiny torpedo and mid sized PoP R in the slack water just behind and in front of each of those rocks.  Another bait to get to know well is the Reaction Innovation Skinny Dipper and Little Dipper. Throw those on a belly weighted swimbait hook. Throw those up into the current as it comes around the rocks and into the slack water and just hold on. 

[RoLo]

If I was restricted to nothing but a jig & Kalin Lunker Grub,

I'd be as happy as a pig in <?>, whatever it is they like.

 

Roger

[Susquehanna]

IMO, the two best baits are crayfish and stonecats.

Im not sure where you get a stonecat for conventional tackle besides using live bait. I tie them and they work wonderfully.

[TriCityBassin']

Sorry I've been mia....work.  I use the topwaters now.  I will definitely try the swim baits.  I was thinking of trying a finesse flipping jig also. 

[FryDog62]

On 12/20/2016 at 5:14 AM, roadwarrior said:

I have been fishing the Tennessee River for nearly twenty years. The only lure I have ever used that has out-fished live bait is the Rage Tail Menace, T-rigged and weedless.

 

Road, what colors on the Menace do you find best for smallmouth?

[gim]

I prefer to fish them with a topwater or shallow running crankbait but sometimes they aren't aggressive enough for those so I will use a soft plastic resembling a crayfish like a tube.

[SneakyPete]

A buddy and I kayak drift fished down near point of rocks Md, and he crushed the smallmouth with a black lizard on a Texas rig. He caught over 30 smallies on our trip.

[Justjigger]

Mepps comet minnow, watermelon baby brushhog, storm 360

[Buckeye Ron]

I fished river smallmouth for fifty years. I'd rate a plastic craw near the top. I've also done very well with in-line spinners such as Mepps and Rooster Tails. Don't forget to throw a few small crankbaits in your box as well,along with some Rapalas and topwater lures. Jig and pig can't be beat if you're after big fish.

[roadwarrior]

On 3/18/2017 at 11:10 AM, FryDog62 said:

Road, what colors on the Menace do you find best for smallmouth?

Smokey Shad

http://www.strikeking.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=661&Itemid=1060

[dwh4784]

I'm jealous of all of you that can fish rivers and creeks for smallies with Senkos and other plastics. My local river has native redband rainbow trout and is "selective gear" which means single barbless hooks and no bait or scents. Sadly that takes pretty much every soft plastic I can find out of contention since they are always salted and/or scented. I do best with float-n-fly but catch a LOT of dinks. If I could find a source for unscented tubes or stick baits I bet I could find some bigger fish in there.

[Turkey sandwich]

3 hours ago, dwh4784 said:

I'm jealous of all of you that can fish rivers and creeks for smallies with Senkos and other plastics. My local river has native redband rainbow trout and is "selective gear" which means single barbless hooks and no bait or scents. Sadly that takes pretty much every soft plastic I can find out of contention since they are always salted and/or scented. I do best with float-n-fly but catch a LOT of dinks. If I could find a source for unscented tubes or stick baits I bet I could find some bigger fish in there.

Smallmouth on the fly are a LOT of fun, too.  Casting streamers accurately definitely takes practice, but size 2 - 1/O Clouser minnows, size 4 or larger wooly buggers, and articulated sculpin patterns will catch both numbers and large smallies.  As a bonus, any trout you're likely hooking on any large streamer is probably a 16" or better rainbow and are definitely a fun change of pace from the smallies.  

[TriCityBassin']

On 3/22/2017 at 0:21 AM, dwh4784 said:

I'm jealous of all of you that can fish rivers and creeks for smallies with Senkos and other plastics. My local river has native redband rainbow trout and is "selective gear" which means single barbless hooks and no bait or scents. Sadly that takes pretty much every soft plastic I can find out of contention since they are always salted and/or scented. I do best with float-n-fly but catch a LOT of dinks. If I could find a source for unscented tubes or stick baits I bet I could find some bigger fish in there.

Reach out to the custom garage pour guys.  A lot of them will pour to order for you. Problem solved.

 

Everything you all list I use. Plastic=mean river bream in the James. Lol but I will keep donating if that is what it takes. 

 

I want to get out pre spawn on the river. Temps here are 54-57 on the river. Any advice on where and what to use?

[Brown Town]

My go to baits are 4 inch senkos rigged wacky and lipless crankbaits thrown down stream and worked yo-yo style slowly against the current. Try to simulate a baitfish struggling against the current they usually crush it as you're lifting your rod tip and bringing that bait towards the surface. Downside is getting snagged on any laydowns or rocks you can't see as you let the bait fall, but you can usually get it back if you walk downstream of the snag.

[Mokujon]

Double fluke (donkey rig) pearl white or pink zoom super flukes always produces for me. You can fish them fast or slow. 

 

Whooper plopper, buzz baits or poppers work well. I also like lipless or shallow square bills. 

[Collin W]

I like using a 1/0 flipping hook, with a tungsten weight pegged at the top. Remember to use a snell knot to ensure better hookups. I then Texas rig a craw and hook it along the rock bottoms!

[Penn Fisherman]

I've heard that in most rivers in-line spinners perform well.

But sometimes on new waters it's best to just use a trial and error technique.

[MNGeorge]

Swim jig with craw or swimbait trailer if the water is clear enough, chatterbait if not, 5" stick worm rigged wacky, beaver style bait or tube on a Fin-tech Titleshot jig or on a Jika rig, squarebill cranks, buzzbaits once the water warms up. NED rig if the fishing is tough.

[flg2010]

 

Well the only thing that has worked on the Walkill river near me has been:  Yellow Hair Swim Jigs (Roadrunner), White Grub Swim Jigs (Roadrunner), Gold Spoons, and a floating crankbait.  The water is pretty muddy looking but when the sun is out a little that stuff works.  I have caught smallies consistently on them.  I have seen them spit out spinnerbaits.  

 

The biggest fish I have caught was a 3.5 pound Smallie on a yellow hair swim jig.

 

I also need to point out that the bass in the Walkill seem to be a strange hybrid in regards to the Smallmouth Bass I have seen, likely a sub-species.  The part of the river I fish seems to only contain Smallmouth bass, Rock bass, catfish, and baitfish.  There are no trout, no largemouth bass, and it seems the bog turtle and crawfish population has exploded.

 

The fish are agressive however they avoid top lures.

 

Despite all of this the fishing is the most challenging I have ever seen.  This is not a stocked pond or lake, these fish are tough.  I had a catfish on th eline could see him in the murkey pool.. tried to land him and my rod snapped.  In the same pool I saw rock bass just hanging out unphased...

 

I have tried various rigged and brand plastics, various spinnerbaits, various creature plastics.. nothing.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2017 by flg2010
add bass photo

[Scott F]

1 hour ago, flg2010 said:

I also need to point out that the bass in the Walkill seem to be a strange hybrid in regards to the Smallmouth Bass I have seen, likely a sub-species.  

 

 

What makes you think the smallies are a "strange hybrid"?

[flg2010]

21 hours ago, Scott F said:

 

What makes you think the smallies are a "strange hybrid"?

 

Extremely aggressive much more so then usual.

[Scott F]

Not likely any kind of hybrid. If food is scarce and they are schooled up, they need to be aggressive to get to food before another fish does. Not an uncommon occurrence in rivers.

[oakeybassin]

I fish the Susquehanna River quite a bit.  Most of my fishing on that river so far has been from the bank since I don't have a boat yet and just made friends with someone who does! My go to baits are a swim bait, a lipless crank bait and tubes when fishing slows a bit.  Although their names for lures and colors might be a bit on the lewd side, I love fishing Reaction Innovations little dipper in statutory grape color either weightless or on a ball head jig.  I was directed to this by our local bass specific tackle shop when the fishing was tough and it was an immediate producer.  Also, I fish a lipless crankbait in sexy shad color with great success.  I've even pulled in a few walleye while fishing this lure.  For tubes, I like using a green pumpkin or watermelon tube with some type of natural colored flake.  Generally speaking, each time I have gone out one of these lures has worked in my favor.  When all else fails, my fallback is a green pumpkin Yum Dinger or crawfish pattern, but this is usually my last resort.

[bassguytom]

 Specifically in the Susquehanna River we use tubes (road kill camo made by wack worm) and swimbaits. Anything  that imitates a crayfish works here as there is a massive population of crayfish in this river. That's what makes this river a world class smallmouth bass fishery. Go get them! 

[NYWayfarer]

I had success this weekend throwing weightless stick baits while drifting along the shoreline. While the boat was drifting down the shore I would get multiple catches as the Smallies were attacking anything that looked like food that floated past them.

 

Top water baits of any kind on this kind of drift would have worked as well. The way the smallmouth were surfacing for top water insects made it a fly fisherman's dream out there.