Ohiopondfisher Posted January 7, 2017 Posted January 7, 2017 What are the go to lures for smallmouth bass in small rivers and streams 1 Quote
Drowning A Worm Posted January 7, 2017 Posted January 7, 2017 Rebel teeny pop r, rapala x-rap xr 8, KVD 1.0, jig with chigger craw, senkos, finesse worms, flukes, heddon tiny torpedo 5 Quote
Frenchman83 Posted January 7, 2017 Posted January 7, 2017 I also like a 1/8 or 3/16 spinnerbait. 2 Quote
basscrusher Posted January 7, 2017 Posted January 7, 2017 My top producers for small streams are 3" and 4" senkos, tubes between 2.5" and 3" (such as Strike King Bitsy Tubes) and a 3" grub (last year the Berkley 3" Rippleshad did pretty well for me in lieu of a regular curlytail grub). No need to get crazy with colors, either. Green Pumpkin or watermelon hues under normal conditions, or black if rains have put some stain in the water. Chartreuse if the fish need a little extra enticement to bite. If you get bored with those, a really small craw imitation is good, too. For small streams, I like the Yum craw papi in the 2.75" size. 5 Quote
WI_Angler1989 Posted January 7, 2017 Posted January 7, 2017 50 minutes ago, Ohiopondfisher said: What color kvd 1.0 That would depend on the river and what forage is in it. If there lots of bluegill or other sunfish, an imitation or natural green wold be a good bet. If the river has shad and bait fish, a sexy shad could be a solid choice. When I fish my local small river I honestly use the same lures: 2.5" tubea, 4" grubs, poppers, buzzbaits, small jerkbaits and whatever else I fell like if the bites aren't coming. 2 Quote
Super User Gundog Posted January 7, 2017 Super User Posted January 7, 2017 Around here the big, go to lure for small rivers and streams is the Rebel crawfish in small sizes. The colors that really produce are dark browns and reds. 3 Quote
PatrickKnight Posted January 7, 2017 Posted January 7, 2017 Grub, tube, or a swim bait on an 1/8th jig head would be were I would start. 4 Quote
Ohiopondfisher Posted January 8, 2017 Author Posted January 8, 2017 Thank you to everybody who replied 4 hours ago, PatrickKnight said: Grub, tube, or a swim bait on an 1/8th jig head would be were I would start. What areas of the river would you fish these lures 1 Quote
PatrickKnight Posted January 8, 2017 Posted January 8, 2017 47 minutes ago, Ohiopondfisher said: Thank you to everybody who replied What areas of the river would you fish these lures I would first target the head end to faster moving water and any deep holes. If those didn't work I would throw at any large boulders I could find. 2 Quote
Super User RoLo Posted January 8, 2017 Super User Posted January 8, 2017 Stream or lake, when I lived in the northeast, my go-to lure for smallies was a "3/16 oz Ballhead Jig & Grub" (Kalin 5" Lunker Grub - smoke hologram) Roger 4 Quote
Drowning A Worm Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 On 1/7/2017 at 11:29 AM, RuffNick said: I like the Xrap 6 as well as the 8. Won't go as deep, which can be a plus if the river or stream is shallow and rocky. I have done good on rainbow trout color, olive green, and silver Yup I normally fish them in pools so depth isn't a problem but rusty craw is my most productive color 1 Quote
U-boat Aficionado Posted January 10, 2017 Posted January 10, 2017 On January 6, 2017 at 10:13 PM, Ohiopondfisher said: What are the go to lures for smallmouth bass in small rivers and streams 5wt. fly rod, black or olive woolly buggers and balsa, foam or hair poppers. You'll have a blast! 3 Quote
Turkey sandwich Posted January 10, 2017 Posted January 10, 2017 On January 7, 2017 at 7:03 PM, Ohiopondfisher said: Thank you to everybody who replied What areas of the river would you fish these lures Seasons and the type of river can have a big effect. Generally, look for active fish at the heads and tail outs of pools and in/around riffles as the water warms, typically using current breaks and live vegetation as points of interest. From late fall up until pre-spawn, you're going to be keying on slower, deep holes with some kind of structure or at least large current breaks where fish can stack up in slack water while occasionally slipping into current to feed (points, oxbows, and some islands can be great examples). Pre spawn indicates a move toward shallow flats with moderate to moderately slow current and often gravel bottoms, or feeder creeks to spawn. Pre-spawn/spawn can very a lot depending upon th body of water and the quality of spawning areas available. This is kinda the Cliff's Notes version, but it should give you some basic ideas on which parts of a river to fish and which to pass by based on the seasons. 3 Quote
bagofdonuts Posted January 11, 2017 Posted January 11, 2017 My favs are tubes, rebel wee craw, and a rapala skitter pop. All time fav tho is a black bunny leach on a fly rod. They hate it. 2 Quote
Super User fishwizzard Posted January 19, 2017 Super User Posted January 19, 2017 Ned Rig all day every day. Until I get bored, then 3" senkos. small tubes, and J-5 Rapalas with the trebles switched out to single hooks. But really I think the Ned is my all time most productive small water lure 1 Quote
WI_Angler1989 Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 1 hour ago, Bunnielab said: Ned Rig all day every day. Until I get bored, then 3" senkos. small tubes, and J-5 Rapalas with the trebles switched out to single hooks. But really I think the Ned is my all time most productive small water lure I still need to try a Ned rig. I almost bought some, but decided not to jump yet since I've been a tackle buying machine recently haha. 1 Quote
frosty Posted January 22, 2017 Posted January 22, 2017 On 1/19/2017 at 10:46 AM, WI_Angler1989 said: I still need to try a Ned rig. I almost bought some, but decided not to jump yet since I've been a tackle buying machine recently haha. They work great on the small creeks I fish. I like the big TRD in a shad color, I think it's called the deal or something like that. 2 Quote
Super User Spankey Posted January 22, 2017 Super User Posted January 22, 2017 All great mentions but throw in a few Mepps Anglia Spinners also. 2 Quote
WI_Angler1989 Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 23 hours ago, frosty said: They work great on the small creeks I fish. I like the big TRD in a shad color, I think it's called the deal or something like that. Nice, I worry about snags with how rocky my main river is. 1 Quote
frosty Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 4 minutes ago, WI_Angler1989 said: Nice, I worry about snags with how rocky my main river is. I feel your pain. I lost 5 tungsten cylindrical drop shot weights in one day. I wanted to cry! I've since just switched to using cheap lead weights, saving the tungsten for less aggressive areas. You can buy mushroom jig heads from vmc, but I don't think they end up being any cheaper, still about $1 a jig. I just buy the Zman stuff, I like the keeper on them. 1 Quote
BassResource.com Administrator Glenn Posted January 23, 2017 BassResource.com Administrator Posted January 23, 2017 These articles are specific to the OP's question: Shallow River Smallmouth Current Events Catching Smallmouth In Streams 1 Quote
kbeeb374 Posted January 24, 2017 Posted January 24, 2017 Its all been said but on my river the priority list goes like this: 1: Green pumpkin tube (2.75") 2: drop shot hellgrammite imitator 3: white grub on a blue jig head 4: rapala original floater in gold black (F-7 or 9) caught some nice ones with these 5: small popper / tiny torpedo 2 Quote
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