Creek Smallmouth

[Quarry Man]

I am new to the creek smallmouth game. I am talking about small rivers. Not small streams or big rivers What are your tips? What lures, what time of year, where to find the fish, etc. thanks

[Drowning A Worm]

Starting with lures. Many times lure selection is extremely important, depending on pressure and fish size, they're usually extremely picky, but when you find what they want it's hot and heavy.

For topwater: Poppers, heddon tiny torpedos and buzzbaits are usually effective. Black is my favorite all around color.

Crankbaits usually anything that dives halfway up the water column works best. They never worked well for me when I fished closer to the bottom. Good cranks are the KVD 1.0, 1.5 and smaller Flickr shads

Xrap xr-8s are expensive but they are really good for both size and numbers

Good colors are pink,clown, and hot steel.

Drop shot is an amazing bait when the bites tough, any finesse worm around 6 inches works good (can switch out with a split shot rig)

Shaky head craws catch fish anywhere, anytime. I like 1/8 ounce heads with a 3 inch green pumpkin chigger craw.

Wacky rigs are the best numbers rig. 4 inch watermelon candy was the ticket for me.

There are many other lures you'll find to like after doing a little exploring.

If you can find hellgrammites they're killers.

In the hottest days of summer are going to be your best days, but spring and fall you have to use dropshot, finesse craws, and jerkbaits if you want to get bit. 

For areas current breaks are your best friend. Anywhere where there's a big change from fast water to slow pools will be your most productive spots. It pushes baitfish and provides cooler water. Bridge pilings are always good, as well. My biggest fish came out of my rivers "pond". The river pooled up into fairly deep water and I caught a lot of big fish. If you see foam on top of the water give it a try. Those are general rules but every river is different so it's all about exploring

 

[patred]

I don't remember where I heard it, here or another forum but the best lure for smallmouth is something that resembles your pinky finger.  Tube or plastic worm, about 3" long, put it on a jighead and bounce it off the bottom.

 

Pat

[Scott F]

I fish small rivers a lot. I seldom find river smallies picky about baits at all. Almost any bait will catch smallies. I choose my baits by what will cover the water without getting hung up constantly. It may be just me, but I'm a numbers guy so I don't use bigger baits.

In the spring, you need to find spawning areas. In the summer, you need to find current. Active, feeding bass will be found in the break lines next to fast moving water. Downed trees, overhanging trees, and big rocks are always spots to check out. Casting accuracy is very important. Your bait needs to be right up against that rock, way back underneath the tree limbs or right up tight to that log. Miss by more than a few inches and you come up empty. 

[bowhunter63]

A fluke rigged weightless or a baby Rage craw.Normal Smallie baits will work just down size a little.The old Rebel crawdad crankbait is a killer too.

[Justjigger]

Watermelon baby brush hog, mepps comet minnow and storm 360 work wonders for me

[HookRz]

Tubes, 3" Senkos, Fluke jr.s , rebel teeny wee-craws, inline spinners, original floating Rapala, and small Pop-Rs make up my starting line up for creeks. 

 

Then there is all the other stuff I've just got to carry but probably won't use.  

 

Learn to read the current, don't be afraid to cast to cover and you'll have a ball. Wading creeks is my favorite fishing on weekends,  when waterskiers and the tournament guys are churning lakes to a froth. 

[the reel ess]

What about in the dead of winter? I'll be on vacation at a mountain cabin on the South Fork of the New River in NC next weekend. This will be following a very cold spell, but should be warming a little before the next weekend. I imagine they'll be sluggish, but I've also heard it can't really get too cold for smallies.

[BigSkyBasser]

As it was said before. Wacky rigged and weightless worms such as senkos, yum dingers, etc will help you find fish in numbers and this works from early season through post spawn and fall bites.

[Drowning A Worm]

On 3/14/2017 at 9:01 AM, the reel ess said:

What about in the dead of winter? I'll be on vacation at a mountain cabin on the South Fork of the New River in NC next weekend. This will be following a very cold spell, but should be warming a little before the next weekend. I imagine they'll be sluggish, but I've also heard it can't really get too cold for smallies.

Depends on water depth. If you go out try jerkbaits, drop shot, shakey head...etc basically anything you can fish slow

[the reel ess]

Thanks guys! I'm dying to catch a smallie, even a little one. There aren't any withing less than an hour's drive from me.

[fishwizzard]

I fish smaller rivers a ton and the Ned is by far the most productive lure for them I have found.  A weightless 3" senko rigged on a 1/0 Owner Finesse Twistlock hook also works well if you need somehing that will give a slower fall.  For hard baits, I like a J-5 Rapala with the trebles replaced with single hooks.  They come throgh rock and wood well this way and the dink sunfish foul hook themselves as often too. 

 

Actualy just last night I went through my "Creek and Stream" box and repacked it.  I will try and grab some pictures tonight.  

 

[Quarry Man]

3 hours ago, Bunnielab said:

 

Actualy just last night I went through my "Creek and Stream" box and repacked it.  I will try and grab some pictures tonight.  

 

 

Please do!

[fishwizzard]

So this is my "non-zman" set up.  One box for plastics, one for terminal tackle.  Both fit in a small fly fishing chest pack with room for a few random hardbaits, micro-jigs, or anything else I want to try on a given trip.

 

The lures are mostly 3" Senkos or Stick-Os, so far I cannot tell much difference at this size.  The larger fork tailed worm is also a BPS brand, I got it right at the end of last fall so I don't have much time with it yet, but I am liking what I see so far.  The tubes are from Doc Irv and are solid and "salted like a senko".  They skip like a dream and look amazing on the fall.  They also provide a bit of protection from tiny panfish as they are too big for them to get a bite on.  And finaly there are a few small beavers and tiny paddle tails, grubs, and the odd swim-senko, mostly just the ends of packs.  The paddle tails are the smallest Keitech FIs, and while they work great, they get destroyed in a single fish and even the lightest snag will pop the tail right off.  

My terminal tackle box is a mix of hooks and jigheads.  The hooks are 1/0 VMC EWG, which I like for the sealed eye and strength.  The twistlocks are Owners, both the light wire and finesse models in 1/0.  The light wire is a bit longer, the finesse is shorter with a wider gap.  The jigheads are a few random odds and ends in the 1/16oz range and the odd looking ones are Confidence Baits Draggin Heads in 1/8oz.  Really great heads for rocky rivers.  

 

I will post my Zman stuff in a bit, for obvious reasons I keep them in a separate box and just by habit rarely bring them when I bring my standard plastics.  Finesse plastics are my favorite type of lure and I have dozens of bags of other stuff not in this kit.  My goal this season is to fish everything and by next winter sell/donate everything that doesn't catch.  

[fishwizzard]

I am on a roll tonight, so here are my Zman kits.

 

I have two kits for the Zman plastics, a small one and a larger one.

The small box contains a selection of TRD Tubez and some TT for them.  I like the little tubes so far, but have yet to see if they are as reliable or more so then the "normal" half-zlinker or TRD.  I have heads, in 1/16 and 1/20oz, from Gopher and Zman.  They both rig well but the Gophers are a pain, but I do prefer the smaller hook they offer.  The ball jig is an Owner Ultra Head.  It is one of the best options for a weedess Ned that I have found.  The TRF Tubez are a great fit for it as the hollow back section lets the plastic collapse around the hook very easily.  I use these lures when I want a very small presentation or in slow or still water pockets.  They fall very very slowly and adding small, sharp pops while swimming it back works very well. 

The larger box contains an assortment of other plastics, lures and tackle.  I am giving the Zman micro jigs a go this season.  They are very light and will not stay on the bottom in any kind of current, but they have a great action on a swimming retrieve but will still drag and deadstick when I hit a slow run or still pocket.  The tubes are the Zman EZtubes and they are imho a very underrated bait.  Lubed with Megastrike, the tendrils move like crazy and will still swim well.  I rig them on a 1/8oz Stupid Jighead which gives me enough weight to drag them on the bottom if needed.  They also skip like a dream and have enough weight to really get up under low hanging brush or log jams, and the stout enough hook to get a fish out.  The actual Ned Rigs are mostly cut down Hula Sticks, which is something I tried last season to great effect.  They seem to have less salt than the TRDs but are more rugged than the zlinkers.  They are all rigged on 1/16oz head, again from Gopher, Zman, and the Owner Ultras.  Added to this kit are some of the new DoIt heads, I don't like the hook size on them but want to try them on a full Hula Stick to see how they do on that.  Also here is a Decoy Nailbomb jighead, in 1/16oz - #1.  They are a bit longer then the Owners but the increased hook neck and longer gap more then make up for any loss in action.  I also really like the vertical line tie, it is far better then the angled Owner one in keeping the lure upright and swimming at low speed.  And lastly, a micro chatterbait with a small chunk trailer.  I like to keep one "loud" lure around when the bass are sleepy and i need to wake them up a little. 

[Quarry Man]

15 minutes ago, Bunnielab said:

I am on a roll tonight, so here are my Zman kits.

 

I have two kits for the Zman plastics, a small one and a larger one.

 

The small box contains a selection of TRD Tubez and some TT for them.  I like the little tubes so far, but have yet to see if they are as reliable or more so then the "normal" half-zlinker or TRD.  I have heads, in 1/16 and 1/20oz, from Gopher and Zman.  They both rig well but the Gophers are a pain, but I do prefer the smaller hook they offer.  The ball jig is an Owner Ultra Head.  It is one of the best options for a weedess Ned that I have found.  The TRF Tubez are a great fit for it as the hollow back section lets the plastic collapse around the hook very easily.  I use these lures when I want a very small presentation or in slow or still water pockets.  They fall very very slowly and adding small, sharp pops while swimming it back works very well. 

 

The larger box contains an assortment of other plastics, lures and tackle.  I am giving the Zman micro jigs a go this season.  They are very light and will not stay on the bottom in any kind of current, but they have a great action on a swimming retrieve but will still drag and deadstick when I hit a slow run or still pocket.  The tubes are the Zman EZtubes and they are imho a very underrated bait.  Lubed with Megastrike, the tendrils move like crazy and will still swim well.  I rig them on a 1/8oz Stupid Jighead which gives me enough weight to drag them on the bottom if needed.  They also skip like a dream and have enough weight to really get up under low hanging brush or log jams, and the stout enough hook to get a fish out.  The actual Ned Rigs are mostly cut down Hula Sticks, which is something I tried last season to great effect.  They seem to have less salt than the TRDs but are more rugged than the zlinkers.  They are all rigged on 1/16oz head, again from Gopher, Zman, and the Owner Ultras.  Added to this kit are some of the new DoIt heads, I don't like the hook size on them but want to try them on a full Hula Stick to see how they do on that.  Also here is a Decoy Nailbomb jighead, in 1/16oz - #1.  They are a bit longer then the Owners but the increased hook neck and longer gap more then make up for any loss in action.  I also really like the vertical line tie, it is far better then the angled Owner one in keeping the lure upright and swimming at low speed.  And lastly, a micro chatterbait with a small chunk trailer.  I like to keep one "loud" lure around when the bass are sleepy and i need to wake them up a little. 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to post all of this. It is greatly appreciated. Does the durability of Zman's baits help with not being able to pack lots of stuff when you're really on em?

[smr913]

Yesterday was my first day out this year and I'll share what worked for me. Water was up about a foot due to recent rain, but still had a couple feet visibility. Air temp was around 78 and water temp around 58-60. All fish came right above a set of rapids where the water started to narrow down. Ended up catching 8 between 12"-15" on a tiny brush hog in green pumpkin rigged on a 1/10th ounce shroom head.

 

I was expecting to catch them in the slack behind the rapids, but after no bites there I tried out above. I've had other days when it is the opposite. Best tip I can give is get your feet wet and do some exploring. Once I did that I started catching way more fish.  

[fishwizzard]

On 3/20/2017 at 7:22 PM, Quarry Man said:

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to post all of this. It is greatly appreciated. Does the durability of Zman's baits help with not being able to pack lots of stuff when you're really on em?

 

No problem, typing stuff out helps me keep organized.  And yes, the zman lures are almost more always good until you snag and loose them. Often I will break the hook on a jighead and just rerig the plastic and keep fishing it.  

[patred]

12 minutes ago, Bunnielab said:

 

No problem, typing stuff out helps me keep organized.  And yes, the zman lures are almost more always good until you snag and loose them. Often I will break the hook on a jighead and just rerig the plastic and keep fishing it.  

I started using the Z-man worms last spring* and fished them heavily for the rest of the year.  I don't think I ever had to replace a worm because it was torn up.  Only replaced a worm when the jig got snagged.

* Caught a 15" smallmouth on the Potomac on the very first cast with a Z-man worm.

 

Pat

[Turkey sandwich]

There's a lot of great info on here already.  Fishing rivers for smallmouth can be very, very addictive.  

 

To dispell a common misnomer about smallmouth - "smallmouth tend to prefer smaller baits that largemouth"... I think a better way of relating has more to do with the size of the body of water and the prey available, and I think adjusting this to match the river you're fishing is generally a good idea.  After accepting this and scaling appropriately, most lures come into play.  I fish mostly big rivers, but a lot of the techniques I use on the Susquehanna would be the same on a smaller river.  Grubs, finesse jigs, football jigs, flukes, in-line spinners, and tubes are all very effective.  Pop-R/Skitter Pops/X-rap Pop work well in small streams or mile wide rivers.  If you're fishing slower current/seams/spawning areas I can also see shaky heads w/floating worms/craws being an excellent choice and for fishing specific, often visible cover a drop shot can be hard to beat for numbers. 

[Spankey]

6 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

There's a lot of great info on here already.  Fishing rivers for smallmouth can be very, very addictive.  

 

To dispell a common misnomer about smallmouth - "smallmouth tend to prefer smaller baits that largemouth"... I think a better way of relating has more to do with the size of the body of water and the prey available, and I think adjusting this to match the river you're fishing is generally a good idea.  After accepting this and scaling appropriately, most lures come into play.  I fish mostly big rivers, but a lot of the techniques I use on the Susquehanna would be the same on a smaller river.  Grubs, finesse jigs, football jigs, flukes, in-line spinners, and tubes are all very effective.  Pop-R/Skitter Pops/X-rap Pop work well in small streams or mile wide rivers.  If you're fishing slower current/seams/spawning areas I can also see shaky heads w/floating worms/craws being an excellent choice and for fishing specific, often visible cover a drop shot can be hard to beat for numbers. 

Very well said. ??

[fishwizzard]

13 hours ago, patred said:

I started using the Z-man worms last spring* and fished them heavily for the rest of the year.  I don't think I ever had to replace a worm because it was torn up.  Only replaced a worm when the jig got snagged.

* Caught a 15" smallmouth on the Potomac on the very first cast with a Z-man worm.

 

Pat

 

Yea, I have had a few half zlikners that have ripped where the hook comes out, but that is after dozens of fish.   I have had their finesse worm rip at the head, but they are still by far the most durable plastics I have ever seen.  

 

8 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

There's a lot of great info on here already.  Fishing rivers for smallmouth can be very, very addictive.  

 

To dispell a common misnomer about smallmouth - "smallmouth tend to prefer smaller baits that largemouth"

 

While I agree, for me the part of the fun of smallies is wading/walking the water, so I like to keep both my rod/reel and my tackle as light and compact as I can.  I actually have a little kit made up with an assortment of tubes, but I have never really spent a lot of time fishing them.  

[Turkey sandwich]

If you can, consider fly fishing those streams, too. It allows you to carry a ton of options without all the bulk and smallies on the fly are really fun. 

[fishwizzard]

4 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

If you can, consider fly fishing those streams, too. It allows you to carry a ton of options without all the bulk and smallies on the fly are really fun. 

 

Thus far I have resisted the Fly-Ape (a cousin of the Bait-Monkey) but my wife wants to give it a try so we are going to take a guided trip/lesson sometime next fall.  Sadly a lot of the smallest creeks have so much overhead cover that I don't know if I could cast with a long rod. 

[Turkey sandwich]

They can make casting tricky, but learning how to roll cast well can make a big difference. 

Also, the Fly-Ape is a jerk.